The CW Presents "Reign"
In To Everyone's Life, A Lot of "Reign" Should Fall!
The CW's New Drama Premieres on October 17! Crown "Reign" Your New Favorite Show This Season!
By: Susan J. Yeager
The CW is hoping that their latest drama "Reigns" supreme when it comes to captivating audiences and they certainly have all the right ingredients for an addictive new addition to our "Must-See" list. "Reign" is a historical drama based on the life of a teenaged Mary, Queen of Scots. Mary is betrothed to the future King of France and has been since she was six years old. That hasn't at all dampened Mary's independent streak and she's quite hopeful that her future husband and she can truly find love with each other.
In the first episode, Mary is sent to the castle to begin the training of one day being the Queen of France. There is no shortage of drama on these luscious grounds. Someone is out to get Mary, someone is out to keep her safe, and more than one person may or may not be falling in love with her!
Interesting characters, beautiful locations, and more than a few new crush-worthy actors make this deserving of a first glance. Complete historical accuracy? Well, you probably shouldn't watch instead of studying for your history test. However, if you are just looking for sheer entertainment, "Reign" should be able to quench your thirst.
Check out a preview of the show here:
Meet Torrance Coombs - "Sebastian"
Hailing from Vancouver, Canada, actor Torrance Coombs is no stranger to period pieces considering his stint playing Thomas Culpepper on Showtime's "The Tudors" and the fact that his first professional acting gig was a role in a production of "Hamlet." This should have made him an obvious choice to play "Sebastian" (Nicknamed 'Bash'), the illegitimate son of the ruling King of France in The CW's "Reign." However, when the humble Torrance calls to talk about this new drama, he confesses that he didn't quite win everyone over on the first go round... or the second.
"Interestingly enough, I got rejected for it a couple of times, before they came back and said, 'Okay, fine... you!'" Torrance recalls of his audition process for "Reign." "It's one of those good stories of perseverance," he continues. "I went out for the role and just kind of didn't hear anything back. Then I actually said, 'Well, let's make sure that I'm not being overlooked here.' Then I sent in an audition on tape about a month later because I had heard that it still hadn't been cast. They said, 'Well, thank you but no thank you.' Maybe five days after that, they actually wanted to see me again, so they brought me in. I did a few scenes with them. That was pretty much it. Then they gave it to me."
Winning the role was the start of a job that brings many perks including new friends, travel, and getting to show up to work every day to do something you love. "The people are really wonderful. Everybody says that, but every now and then you run across one of those casts and crews for that matter that you just want to keep spending time with," Torrance says when asked about his favorite parts of the job. "We're already spending 16 hours a day together on set, so the fact that we actually want to see each other's faces when we're done is a testament to how well we've gelled and gotten along."
"The other thing is... the scripts are really fun! We've got these huge sets and we put on these costumes and it's just a really fun show to do. I get to ride horses and get to have sword fights and your get to wear these cool things. There's just not much to dislike about it."
While cast members of some shows are quick to go their separate ways at the end of the day, the actors of "Reign" fill downtime together. "We actually hang out a lot! It happens when you do a show on location, none of us were from Ireland when we shot the pilot so we had no choice but to be each other's friends. As it turns out, we like each other a lot so it worked out well!"
"Now that we're here in Toronto shooting the rest of it, we still get together pretty much every night. Last night we went to a concert together. The night before that we had dinner and played some card games. When there is downtime, we do tend to spend it with each other."
Turning the conversation back to the actual work, Torrance admits that whereas some of the actors have roles that they could research before filming, he relies on the scripts to bring "Sebastian" to life on screen. "I had to do it mostly from the script and I'm still doing that kind of one script at a time. They're really flying by the seat of their pants with the writing of this show. So I get to find out what happens to me, shortly before it happens. Historically, there's some people that are maybe kind of similar to me, but historically, I don't really exist. So there isn't a direct historical basis from which to draw anything. To be honest, I have just been piecing it together from the script. I read up on the history of everybody else, but we're changing the story enough... there is a basis, but we're certainly making our own version of it."
Just how would he describe the character he plays? "He's got some of the traditional bastard qualities. He feels kind of trapped between worlds. He doesn't really know where he fits in. He's a good guy. He tries to do the right thing. He's a bit of a victim of the system. He can't always love the people he wants to. His position at the court is kind of tenuous. He's there because his father likes him, not because he has any right to be."
The conversation then drifts to the show's wardrobe. It's very much a part of the show and I wonder if it is true to the time period? "It's not authentic," Torrance admits. "There was a deliberate design decision to mix in a lot of contemporary elements and costumes from all periods. That will rub the more historically inclined people the wrong way, but there was a stylistic decision to make this... it almost brings an element of fantasy in to it as opposed to strict historical accuracy. I think it's actually kind of fun!"
"As far as how comfortable it is... my clothes are actually extremely comfortable. They're... structured! They give me shoulders!" he says, seemingly choosing his words carefully. "You know what? Some of the pants are too tight! I'll just go ahead and say it! I can't mount my horse! I need help mounting my horse because of my tight pants!" he says laughing. Tight or not, the costuming on the show is yet another reason to tune in on Thursdays. The wardrobe is almost like another character.
So just how did this young man from Vancouver end up acting anyway? "I kind of fell into it a little bit. I thought I was going to do computer science or something. After high school, I had done a bunch of plays, then I went to University, I just auditioned for this theater school on a whim and I got in. Then I decided, well, if I winged that and got in... maybe there's something to this. Maybe computers can be the hobby and acting can be the career."
"Theater school was four years of acting classes in theater. Then I was lucky enough, I did a play, cause when you're part of the acting firm, you get cast in plays whether you're good or not! So that gives you a chance to really cut your chops. I got cast in a really great role in really great couple of plays. This was in Vancouver; other directors in the city had seen the work. So I ended up in a big Shakespeare festival in Western Canada called 'Bard on the Beach.' From there I got my agent. When you get an agent, that's where it begins because they start sending you out for things and you bring your 'A' game when you can."
From there, Torrance segued in to television appearances. "My first show on TV, I did an episode of 'SuperNatural,' like back in the second season. It was actually quite funny because, the character was a guy playing an actor in a crappy horror movie that was being shot. So I actually auditioned for the part of 'Crappy Actor.' So I got it, and I don't think I was trying to be that crappy. Thankfully, they gave him a name. He was called 'Mitch' or something like that."
Now with Reign keeping him busy, there isn't much time for hobbies, but Torrance etches some time for himself on occasion. "I've been working out. I play my guitar. I bought a little travel guitar that I can bring around with me because I've been moving around so much. The other thing I do, when I go to a new city, I just wander it. I just go out walking all day long, learning the streets and exploring."
He's also trying to catch up on some of his favorite TV shows. "'Game of Thrones' is a big one," he says of his "Can't Miss" list. "I'm working my way through 'Breaking Bad' right now. That's really fantastic. People are weirdly good about not spoiling that show. The fact that it's been going on for five years and I haven't heard a lick about any of it; I've been watching it and been surprised is pretty amazing."
"I just worked my way through 'House of Cards' which is really great. TV is really where all the great stuff is happening. There's some good movies, I don't want to say there's no good movies but TV is reliably coming really good!"
So what role hasn't Torrance tackled yet that he thinks he might want to take on one day? "It would be fun to get into some Sci-Fi sort of stuff. It would be fun to do some Vampire-y sort of thing. I know that vampires are a little over-played now, but I'd still love to play one!"
In the meantime, he can't wait for the premiere of "Reign." "The wait is tough. When you shoot a movie, often times, they make you wait about two years so that's worse! And then you're trying to promote this movie that you don't even remember! On this, we shot the pilot back in March and April, so it's been awhile. Once we get past the pilot, we shot episode two in July, so the wait isn't very long. We got a pretty quick turn around on this. The wait is tough though. You just want it to be out there and we're certainly anxious to see what people think of it."
If you enjoy the show, tell a friend and ask them to tell a friend. "Just watching and telling your friends to watch if you like it," Torrance says is the best way for fans to help the show. "You can only do so much to shove something in people's faces but it's just that genuine enthusiasm from one person to another that spreads. If you blitz people with advertising, it only holds up if people like the show. If people like the show, the best thing they can do is tell someone else to watch it!"
Fingers crossed and hoping for a hit, Torrance would like to be a part of The CW family for a long time to come. "It's wonderful! They have treated us extremely well!" he raves about the network. "I guess I should just speak for me in particular, but they've treated me extremely well. I've been lucky enough to be included in a lot of the publicity events and stuff. Everything's just been organized and top-notch and a lot of fun. It's felt really inclusive."
"Before the show launches, it's hard to know what it means exactly," he confesses, "because many actors have come and gone on shows that fizzle out. You just have to keep a level head and hope that yours is one of the one that sticks around and people like it! The CW, I really can't say enough things about everybody there. They've just been 'Class A' professionals and awesome!"
Will "Reign" go on to have the longevity of the likes of "Gossip Girl," or "SuperNatural?" Time will tell. If the subsequent episodes hold our attention like the pilot did, we'll be hoping that history repeats itself every Thursday night.
Catch Torrance as Sebastian in "Reign" - Beginning Thursday, October 17 on The CW!
Follow Torrance on Twitter at www.Twitter.com/TorranceCoombs