Thom Allison Talks About Killjoys “The Lion, The Witch, and The Warlord” [Exclusive] 

Last week’s Killjoys was a just a ridiculous gift of so many riches, particularly for fans of Pree, and today I had the chance to chat with Thom Allison, who brings him deliciously to life every week. In the first part of our interview, we talked about “The Lion, The Witch, and The Warlord,” Pree’s equally delicious man candy, and a role that keeps expanding, making all of us very, very happy.

When Allison got his hands on the script for Episode 4, he says that while he’d been given a heads up that it would be Pree-heavy, he wasn’t ready for the mic drop that it actually delivered. “It was a delightful shock. They’d said, ‘Pree is going to have a great episode in Episode 4.’ Who knows what that means?,” he recalls.

“When I actually read it, I was absolutely delighted. As you saw [watching it], reading it was surprise after surprise after surprise. It’s lovely and amazing of them to think of Pree and give him his moment. It was an embarrassment of riches.”

He says the show is such a well-oiled machine that we’re likely not to see many outtakes, but they had an enormous amount of fun filming it. “I have producer’s mind, so [while we were shooting], I was thinking of how the audience is going to see it, ‘Oh they’re going to die,’ and ‘Oh, this is so great,'” he explains.

“It went pretty efficiently. The fight scenes [and] the physical stuff [require working out the blocking but] we’ve all gotten pretty efficient at getting it down. There were moments of stroking Gared in the beginning and how much I touched him or didn’t. There were moments of craziness and hilarity of lines that go awry, or, ‘How many times do you have to kiss?'”

“There was a moment at the end when I say goodbye to Lachlan. It was my idea to slide the gun into his holster, and during rehearsals, the crew was laughing so hard. I said, ‘You tell me if it’s too much, and the director [Paolo Barzman] said, ‘Let’s say no.’ And [I thought], ‘We’ll see if it makes the reel,’ and it did. They’ve been no holds barred [without being censored].”

Pree is Allison’s first long-term series role, and he adores that the character is constantly evolving. “I’d never done series TV before. It’s been fascinating. I’d [only] played myself where I was a judge on a singing competition,” he points out.

“It’s such a luxury to play this character and watch him grow. It’s quite a thrill. [When I was first cast], I thought he was like Whoopi Goldberg in Star Trek. I figured he’d be around [because of the bar] with the odd bit of wisdom and a smack in the head, taking care of his little chickens. I thought, ‘We’ll see where that goes.’ I hoped he’d become more involved somehow.”

“He kept growing and became a little more popular, and more humor was involved. At the end of Season 1, I [asked] if I was fired because they blew my bar up. I was thrilled when Season 2 came, and [thought], ‘OK maybe I’m not so fired.’ I’m a theater baby. You finish a gig and go on to the next gig. ‘If I’m gone, I’m gone, it’s been a great time, I have no complaints, I had a good time.'”

“[With Killjoys], it’s better to be on the show than not on the show, Its’ been great to ride him out and see him be what he is. What I love is that each writer has his own little take on Pree. At first, I thought it [might] be weird.”

“I realized it was fantastic because  it made him a chameleon. We’re ready for anything with Pree. In my head in the future, I’m thinking I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s on a mission and his phone rings and we pan up and he’s fully dressed as a woman undercover to get something from someone. He’s the guy who can get you out of prison. He’s on top of it.”

Allison also loves that Gared (Gavin Fox) is back in the picture, and wondered, like us, what happens if Lachlan returns this season. “Where does that go if he comes back…his ex and his current? [Gared] is this big sweet bear thing. I couldn’t wait for that to be seen [last week]. Michelle [Lovretta] had hinted at it,” he says.

“[In the second season], when we were shooting [“Wild, Wild Westerley” in Season 2], I had an impulse as an actor, ‘What if Pree is flirting with him to get him to walk out of the bar?’ You’re thinking he’s trying to be nice to him…is he afraid of him…and then of course you realize when he stabs him, Pree was trying to save time [to not have to] stab him.”

“‘This was for your benefit, I’m trying to flirt with you. If you have sex with me, we can both be happy. If not, I’m going to take a piece of you and throw your ass out of here.’ When I was flirting with him, we had this great chemistry, and Michelle said, ‘I love these two together. When I read [last week’s script], I messaged her and said, “I’m living for you.”

Killjoys [aka the gift that keeps on giving] airs Fridays at 8/7c on Syfy in the US and Space in Canadaon Space Channel and Syfy. Check back tomorrow for a preview of “Attack the Rack.” Here are a couple of great moments from last week’s episode to tide you over. I’ll have the rest of our interview later this season.