Aaron Ashmore Talks Johnny’s Journey and Future on Killjoys [Exclusive] 

Johnny has been through quite the wringer in his four seasons on Killjoys, which has its season finale this Friday. In this last installment from my on-set interviews in March, I sat down with Aaron Ashmore to chat about the road so far, and what he hopes is ahead for his character.

When Ashmore and I spoke, he was in the middle of shooting episodes 5 and 6 and getting acclimated to the block shooting of two episodes at a time. “It’s really difficult [to shoot this way], but not impossible. We were so used to working on one script and looking at one script and now we’re shooting one and looking at [another]. It’s a little harder to keep one in your mind,” he explains.

“The production has done everything they can to help keep us in line. The directors are really there to keep us in check. It’s a different way to work. The first couple of episodes were difficult. So many new elements get introduced all the time. It’s a challenge that all of us are up to.”

One of the side effects of block shooting is that this season had a fair amount of indoor work, and Ashmore appreciated that it allowed us to spend more time with the characters. “It’s a lot of set work. A lot of time is spent on the ship. It doesn’t allow for a lot of action, but it does allow for us to be more character-driven, which I think is nice,” he says.

“You’re going to get lot more of that. We’re limited in some ways of where we can go. As an actor, I really enjoy [that] and I hope the audience will, too.”

Ashmore reflected on how much has evolved for him personally, and for the characters. “My favorite thing about John has always been that there’s something a little unexpected about him. He’s always got the one liners and he’s the best friend character and he’ll surprise you by being dark or killing somebody,” he says.

“They always surprise me. Luke [Macfarlane] and Hannah [John-Kamen] and I talk about this. We’ve all changed in the last five years. As we’ve grown up, the characters have, too. That’s a fun balance. I feel like a different person from when I started the show, and I think John is, too.”

As we saw in Friday’s episode, Johnny’s relationships with Delle Seyah and Zeph have also changed and grown. He tells Delle Seyah he’ll get Aneela out, and he bears the news about Pip to Zeph and holds her while Pip dies.

He happily admits he did enjoy getting to kill Delle Seyah back in the day, albeit temporarily. “I loved when I got to shoot Delle Seyah. I remember watching it and thinking, ‘Yes.’ The build-up and watching it was really, really nice. It was really, really fun to play,” he laughs.

“I think it’s going to be a long process of building the trust. Part of him will always despise her. Circumstances have thrust us all together, and on some level we’re all on the same team.”

“There was a lot of friction in that [third] season with Zeph. I think that gets put away. He’s solid with everybody. He does the tech stuff and Zeph does the biological stuff and everybody stays in their lane. They’ve smoothed it all out and are working [together].”

Back in March, Ashmore hadn’t seen scripts beyond the middle of Season 4, but it turns out he was pretty spot-on about where his character would go this season, and he talked about where he hopes Johnny ends up when the series wraps next summer (the very last episode is actually filming right now).

“I think [this season, Johnny] is exploring other, darker sides of himself. Not necessarily by choice but by circumstance, Something that’s happening for John, or will happen, is he’s questioning, ‘Is this the life for him. Is there something outside this lifestyle?'”

“I think we’ll start to see him questioning his future and where he wants to be. In my mind, I see him settled down. I don’t know whether with someone, I don’t know. I have a feeling there may be a more exciting ending [for Johnny]. I don’t know what that would be.”

“Sometimes writers lead you down a path of seeing where this character would like to be. Sometimes, like in life, we don’t end up where we think we’re going to end up, so I think that’s definitely a possibility. It may be a robot goat farm. It may be something else. I’m very curious to see where it goes.”

The Killjoys Season 4 finale airs this Friday at 10 pm/9c on Syfy and Space Channel. The first nine episodes of the season are online at both sites and on their apps. All of our Season 4 coverage is here.