Developed by Jeff Davis, the hit MTV drama series Teen Wolf returns for a super-sized, 24-episode third season that debuts on June 3rd. Picking up four months after the events that nearly ended Jackson’s (Colton Haynes) life and resurrected Peter Hale (Ian Bohen), Season 3 finds teen werewolf Scott McCall (Tyler Posey) and his friends Stiles (Dylan O’Brien), Lydia (Holland Roden) and Allison (Crystal Reed) beginning their junior year of high school unaware that a new threat has arrived in Beacon Hills – a deadly pack of Alpha werewolves intent on bringing Derek (Tyler Hoechlin) into their fold.
With the filming relocated to Los Angeles, Collider was invited to check out the set and chat with the cast for a series of exclusive interviews. While hanging out on the set of Derek’s new loft residence, actor Daniel Sharman (who plays werewolf Isaac) talked about where things are at now for Isaac, how his character seems to get more than his fair share of physical and mental torture, what the dynamic with Derek and Peter is like this season, where Isaac’s relationship is with Scott, how nice it’s been that the fans have embraced Isaac, and what it’s like to never know what’s coming next on the show. Check out what he had to say after the jump, and be aware that there are some spoilers.
Collider: Where are things at for Isaac, when the show picks back up for Season 3?
DANIEL SHARMAN: Well, it’s funny because they released the first page of the script, and it’s Isaac in a wet, compromised situation. The first few episodes are a little bit like, “Let’s see what can happen when Isaac is just losing his mind and going through torment and problems.” When we pick it back up, he’s been thrown in the middle of chaos without the tools to be able to understand how to deal with any of it. He’s a fish out of water. He’s physically harmed and mentally harmed. The entire plethora of things are thrown at him. By the end of Episode 5, he’s just exhausted. He’s been through an enormous amount, but it’s great because he’s learning and understanding that it’s not all fun and games.
Is that fun to play out, as an actor?
SHARMAN: Oh, it’s wonderful! You dream of playing situations like that. I love playing really strung out characters, and characters that are really pushed to their limits and losing their mind. I think that’s wonderful. To be able to lose it, in many ways, is just great fun to do. I could do without being wet, the whole time, but other than that, it’s a pleasure to do. I can’t complain. It’s been really good.
Did you have to learn to just expect anything and everything with this show?
SHARMAN: Yes, pretty much. Whenever I read a script, I’m like, “Okay, which horrendous situation am I going to be in this time, that means I’m going to be losing my mind or in some horrendous bathtub that’s five degrees below zero?” It is wonderful. I’m very lucky to have that material.
Do you ever read a script and wish that Isaac could just have a nice quiet date with a pretty girl that he can enjoy himself with?
SHARMAN: Yeah, I know! One thing I’m missing is a love interest and a nice date that doesn’t go horrendously wrong, and they don’t end up freezing their asses off in some rogue way. That would be nice. But if I had my choice, I’d probably pick what I’m doing over doing that. Maybe there can just be one episode where I’m quiet and nothing happens to me. But I love doing it, so I can’t complain.
What’s the dynamic between Isaac, Derek (Tyler Hoechlin) and Peter (Ian Bohen) like, this season?
SHARMAN: It’s been really good, actually. We haven’t had that much stuff together, but I always love working with those guys. For Isaac, Peter is a really important person in his growth ‘cause he sees someone who is just a complete loose canon, and someone that he could be, if he allowed himself to give in to those urges of immediacy and anger and pain. I think he looks at Peter as a warning side of something that he shouldn’t be, but he also kind of admires him, in a strange way. With Derek, he looks at him as a flawed leader that he’s not entirely sure if he wants to follow. When this dynamic all comes together, it’s always a funny relationship between all of us. Being the youngest of the lot, Isaac is always watching and learning and figuring out which of these people he wants to follow, or if he wants to follow any of them.
What sort of relationship does Isaac have with Scott (Tyler Posey) now?
SHARMAN: With Scott, Isaac sees somebody who does have a great moral compass. Scott really has something that Isaac admires, which is this idea of right and wrong. That relationship begins to build out of a shared idea of what is right. But then, as the season goes on, he sees the ability for Scott to be flawed. Isaac is picking and choosing what he can take from everybody, and figuring out what he wants from these new powers.
Any time you join a show, it must be a little nerve-wracking to hear what people think of your character. Was it nice to find out how much fans really embraced Isaac?
SHARMAN: Yeah! It was really lovely to have people writing to say that they really empathized with him and his situation. That’s always really nice. As an actor, what you dream of is being able to portray people that people empathize with and understand and really feel for. There was a really lovely response to him, and I’m really happy that they dig it. He has flaws, too. They understand and they’re forgiving. Having been through a lot, it’s nice to have other people go, “I understand that. I get it.” The response to it has been really lovely.
As an actor, does it take some getting used to, to never know what’s coming next?
SHARMAN: Yeah, for sure! I spent a long time in London on the stage, and you knew exactly what you were going to be doing. You not only knew the performance, but you also knew exactly where you would stand. Not knowing is incredibly nerve-wracking for me, but great, also. It’s exciting! I have no idea what’s going to happen next, and that’s always exciting and interesting. But, I can pretty much say that I will definitely be in water, at some point, again. I can always say that.
Teen Wolf airs on Monday nights on MTV, starting on June 3rd.