On The CW series The Originals, it’s been five years since the defeat of Klaus (Joseph Morgan) and the Mikaelson family, and Marcel (Charles Michael Davis) is King of New Orleans. As he learns that welcoming the un-sired vampires to the city could pose more of a threat to his rule than he ever expected, Hayley (Phoebe Tonkin) continues to work on a cure that will allow her to revive Elijah (Daniel Gillies), in the hopes of reuniting the Mikaelson family to help with her daughter, Hope (Summer Fontana), who is growing ever more powerful.
During this 1-on-1 phone interview with Collider, actor Charles Michael Davis talked about the five-year time jump, what Marcel’s best days have looked like, what kind of leader he is now, whether Marcel can ever truly be King with any of the Mikaelsons still alive, whether Klaus and Marcel might ever be able to work together again, whether he’d like to see any of The Vampire Diaries cast make the trip to New Orleans, the dynamic between Marcel and Josh (Steven Krueger), and his experience directing an episode, this season.
Collider: Season 4 of The Originals picks up after a five-year time jump. What does that allow for, with the storytelling, that you wouldn’t have been able to explore and do without it?
CHARLES MICHAEL DAVIS: First and foremost, I get to have a new haircut because styles have changed. But, one thing that we all joked about is that the cell phone of the future is still the iPhone 6. It’s still the most popular. It offers the opportunity to work with Summer [Fontana], who plays Hope. We’re not working with an infant anymore. There are a lot of relationships that change. Yusuf [Gatewood], who plays Vincent, and I, had some episodes together, and when we started shooting the first episode this season, the director had to come in and say, “It’s been five years.” It was like, “Oh, yeah, that’s right! We worked together and now we’re friends. We’re not at each other’s throats.” The scenes are not as intense, so we had to find a new way of working together. It also allows for a clean slate, where we can let go of some of the tension and drama that we carried in the storylines, through Seasons 1, 2 and 3.
In these past five years, what have the best days looked like for Marcel, and what have the worst days looked like?
DAVIS: The best days were probably leading the frontline of a parade. I’m sure St. Patrick’s Day was pretty big. Mardi Gras was probably good. There’s been a lot of peace with the witches, working with Vincent, and learning how to manage the city. He’s been breathing easy, without having to worry about the Original vampires. Marcel is now the strongest vampire in the world, which is a much different position than when we met him in Season 1. And he’s probably had a lot of Netflix and chill. He’s watched Stranger Things and he’s moving onto Westworld now. He’s all caught up with his queue. I’m sure the days have been very similar, with somebody new coming into town and having to maybe deal with some egos or personalities, but nothing too big. And then, what seems like another slice of life repeat of what’s been happening over the last five years, comes a new development.
Regardless of what Marcel is leading people to believe, where is his head really at? Does he have the confidence to back up what he’s selling people, or is he scared about or have regrets about anything?
DAVIS: The great thing about all of the characters, but Marcel, specifically, is that he really pushes forward on a lot of things, especially uniting people for a cause. I think he’s also really fighting hard against what the alternative is because he knows it, very well. He relates to Klaus because they both know a certain kind of pain. Knowing that, the difference in the decision making between the two characters is that Marcel wants to build and move forward. He wants to build the city and lead the people, even if it’s at the expense of some others. I think it does weigh on the back of his mind.
What do you think Marcel learned from being a leader, the last time around, that he’s either using or avoiding, this time around?
DAVIS: That’s a good question. What he learned in Season 3 is that he had to ask the question, is he really family, based on how the Mikaelsons treat him. That’s a really deep subject, especially when he gets his identity through them. What he learned is that these people have their problems. He gets mixed up in it, and when he releases himself from that, he’s able to lead in a way that’s not about getting approval or wanting to be part of a family. I think you’d have to question why you really want to be a part of that family, anyway. I think he needed that for his identity, but now that he doesn’t want that or need that anymore, he’s able to stand more securely and decide what he comes to the world with and what he has to offer. He has skills that he’s cultivated from the Original family. So, I think he’s a bit more confident. Before, I think it was more of a show of confidence, and now it’s grounded more in a confidence where he’s not needing their approval.
Can Marcel ever truly be the King, with any of the Mikaelsons still alive?
DAVIS: Not in the way that we saw him trying to be King before. If he’s going to try to be King with the Mikaelsons alive, it will be a different kind of rule. Maybe he’ll just have to be the King of himself, his own decisions and where he wants to go. He seems to be bound to New Orleans and to trying to prove something, when there’s a whole world that he could get out and discover.
We know that Klaus isn’t going to be chained up and beholden to Marcel forever. Do all of the bad things Klaus did to Marcel before being chained up, and all of the things Marcel had done to Klaus since then, cancel each other out? Is there any chance of them being able to hug it out and work together again?
DAVIS: I think they could. I was just watching Modern Family, and they were talking about childbirth and saying, “How soon we forget the pain of giving birth. But when that child starts to ignore you, you remember everything you went through just to birth that child. You love that child, but sometimes you just want to punch that kid in the face.” I think their relationship is like that. It was born out of pain. They saved each other, but then they hung around together for so long that they forgot about the pain. And then, they started to annoy each other with all of these little things and thought they were trying to hold each other down. That’s the dynamic we get to see. It was birthed out of real connection and real struggle, so that’s what bonds them together, but they’re different personalities. That will probably continue on for a few more seasons.
By the end of this episode, it seems pretty clear that some more trouble will be headed to New Orleans, very soon, and we also know that nothing is more important to the Mikaelsons than family. How worried should we be for Marcel?
DAVIS: You should be concerned, but you’ve gotta remember that he’s the most powerful vampire now. That changes they dynamics of things. Yeah, the Original family can come after him, and they probably will, but he can take care of himself. It’s an even fight.
When I spoke to Julie Plec about the series finale of The Vampire Diaries, she told me that she intentionally left the door to New Orleans open, so that any of that cast could head over. Is there anyone from The Vampire Diaries that you’d like to see show up in New Orleans, either as an ally or adversary of Marcel?
DAVIS: Matt Davis, just because we have the same last name, and I will ask that everyone address us both as Mr. Davis. But they’re all welcome. I enjoy the change in dynamic. They were the original originals, and we owe a lot to them, so I’m happy to have any of them come over.
Where are things at between Marcel and Josh, and how does Josh feel about Marcel’s leadership?
DAVIS: Just like in real life, he admires me and aspires to become me. No. Steven [Krueger] and I have actually become really good friends. He actually texted me, because I was in New York, saying, “Brother, where are you? I haven’t seen you. I haven’t talked to you in awhile. What are you doing?” I said, “I’m in New York, studying. I’m learning the method in acting.” And he said, “You’ve gotta share everything you learn, so that I can thank you in my Oscar speech.” I said, “I can imagine it now, you’ll win Best Supporting Actor and you’ll thank me. And then, when I go up to win my Best Actor, I’ll thank you for allowing me to teach you everything I know.” That kind of playfulness we have, off set, makes it nice to have his character, Josh, on screen. I feel like we’ve been able to develop a real dynamic, and we’ve been able to add it into our characters. I directed Episode 7 of this season, and the one thing I didn’t have to worry about was Steven Krueger as Josh. With his scenes, I could just have fun with him and say things like, “That was really good, but could you give me a little Jim Carrey from The Mask, in the next one.” He would laugh about it, and then he would be spot on. Having the character Josh around has been great, and having Steven around helps to lighten things up. You get to see a different side of Marcel. He’s great. I can’t say enough good things about him.
What was the experience of directing an episode like? Was that something you’d been looking to do for awhile?
DAVIS: Yeah, I’ve been shadowing since Season 2. The experience was good. It was very involving. I used to play Poker, and it’s like any game that you play where you just don’t want to get up and leave the table because you’re so involved. It was great directing the cast members and to really see, from the other side of the camera, how they operate, what really works to serve the story, and how they bring that to the table, in their different styles. It was a really, really, really great experience.
The Originals airs on Friday nights on The CW.
