Behind the Scenes of Supernatural with War of the Worlds’ Farrah Aviva

 

One of the things I’m really enjoying this season is highlighting the amazing women of Supernatural – that means being over the moon excited about the Wayward Sisters episode and possible pilot coming up, and it just might mean another book project in the works. I also want to celebrate the many talented guest stars we’re privileged to have on the show, many of whom are kickass women in real life too.

I sat down with director Richard Speight Jr. last weekend to talk about the making of ‘War of the Worlds’ so look for his fascinating behind the scenes insights soon. I also wanted to chat with guest star Farrah Aviva, who played the witch Daniela. Even in the short amount of time we had with her, Farrah managed to make the character memorable. She was clearly a strong woman, with the smarts to ask the Winchesters for help and the courage to sit there cool as a cucumber to trap Ketch.

Lynn: How was the character described to you and did you create any additional ‘backstory’ for her to help with those scenes?

Farrah: The character was originally described to me as: 30s, please submit all ethnicities. This exotically attractive woman is a witch whose life in in grave danger.  She nervously approaches Sam and Dean for help in her predicament…GUEST STAR.

I was working on a movie in a different city when I was asked to audition for Daniela so I had to put it on tape which can sometimes be challenging because you don’t get the opportunity to ask casting or the director if you’ve interpreted it properly.  I originally prepared her a bit more vulnerable.  In a way that showed I was risking everything by approaching the Winchesters.  To prep, I imagined it was the middle of a war and I had to ask the enemy for help.  Almost as if Anne Frank escaped the attic one day to approach a couple of Nazi soldiers to ask for help.  I know that can seem a bit dramatic but I love working off of ‘what if’s’.  What if I had to risk everything in order to save others and myself? And that’s exactly what Daniela had to do.  In order to save herself and the other witches she had to approach the boys and bring them to one of the witches’ safe houses.  Not only did that put her in the middle of nowhere with the Winchesters, I also don’t think the other witches would have forgiven her for it.

Lynn: That makes sense, it really was a big risk for her. And witches don’t seem very forgiving.

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Director Richard Speight Jr. Helms a Wild Ride in Supernatural’s War of the Worlds

There was a new Supernatural episode last week even though in the US that day was the Thanksgiving holiday, which meant I was at a big family gathering and not in charge of what was going to be watched at 8 pm. Lucky for me, I have really considerate family members, because most of us ended up watching my favorite Show. However, I couldn’t exactly tell people not to make a sound (which is how I like to watch Supernatural. I mean, I make a lot of sounds, but the rest of the family should be quiet. What?) I kindly said “oh no, please feel free to keep chatting” when asked, even though I might have been gritting my teeth.

But it turns out that the episode was engaging enough that everyone ended up watching instead of chatting – thanks, I think, to Richard Speight Jr.’s directing. I’ve loved every episode Richard has directed, especially the last two, and especially especially ‘Just My Imagination’.  ‘War of the Worlds’, is not going to go down in history as one of my favorites, but thanks to Richard’s directing there was never a dull moment and I definitely wasn’t bored. It’s just that my favorite episodes have an emotional arc for the Winchesters, some of the brother moments I live for, some psychological insights into the main characters who I care about – something that grabs me and reminds me why I love this show. This episode didn’t have those things, but what it did have is excitement and surprises and reveals and some pretty epic fight scenes. Speight made sure all of that came through and kept me riveted.

We start out with strikingly beautiful images, which were so serene they didn’t look like they belonged on Supernatural. But it’s only Michael invading Lucifer’s brain to see what Earth is all about. Michael is not nice at all, which should be no surprise because angels on Supernatural are just about the most deplorable beings ever. Except for Castiel, who (as is pointed out in this episode) is truly a renegade. This fact about angels was quite confusing to the extended family members who decided to watch with me.

Michael locks Lucifer in an iron maiden and brutally tortures him, Lucifer screaming plaintively.

Family: Uh, I thought you said that guy Michael was an angel.

Me: Oh yeah, he is. Typical.

Family: Typical? And who’s that poor guy screaming and bleeding?

Me: Lucifer.

Family: Wait, the Devil? An angel is torturing the devil??

Me (silently) This was such a bad idea…

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