September 30, 2025 • 50 mins
This week, Tommy is joined by actors (and power couple) Joseph Morgan and Persia White! Joseph shot to fame with his iconic portrayal of the devilish villain, Klaus Mikaelson in The Vampire Diaries which led to the creation of his very own spin-off series, The Originals, because the world needed more of his epic character. Persia shot to fame after the world fell in love with her character, Lynn, in the 8-season hit series, Girlfriends, which followed the lives of four black women and told such powerful and groundbreaking stories. Today, Joseph opens up about what he is most proud of in bringing Klaus to life, what scene of his he would show to someone who has never watched TVD/The Originals, what he really thinks about that Caroline and Klaus relationship, if he ever finds himself slipping back into Klaus all these years later, if he is ready to revisit this character and much more. Persia opens up about celebrating the 25th anniversary of Girlfriends, if she would revisit her beloved role in a new project, why she got ridiculed and attacked in her personal life for being someone on and off screen that stood up for what she believed in, a storyline she would have loved to play, and much more. And together, they dive into their epic love story and both share something that they have never said before.
Subscribe, rate, and leave a written review for this episode if you enjoyed this conversation!
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Hey, guys, welcome to I've never said this before with
me Tommy di Dario. Oh guys, today Today is a
very exciting episode because I have not one, but two
very gifted artists on my show, and after spending some
time with them, it is safe to say they are
a couple goals. They are thoughtful and funny and charming
and introspective and ah man, I feel like the world
(00:22):
needs a little more Joseph Morgan and Persia White in
it now. Joseph Shata fame with his iconic portrayal of
the devilish villain Klaus in The Vampire Diaries, which then
led to the creation of his very own spinoff series,
The Originals, because the world needed more of this epic character.
Persia Shota fame after the world fell in love with
her character Lynn in eight seasons of the hit series Girlfriends,
(00:44):
which followed the lives of four black women and told
such powerful and groundbreaking stories. So today we are celebrating
two people who I've had made such an impact in
pop culture history. They really have, all while learning a
little bit more about these very special humans. And I
want to give a quick and very big shout out
to Tommy Bahama, my personal sponsor for today's episode. I
(01:04):
have been living in their new Bora Kade Chino pants.
You guys, they are so comfortable. The fit is absolutely insane.
So my dud's out there. You're gonna want to live
in these for the rest of the year. And my ladies,
if you grab them for your man, your brother, your bestie,
you will be their hero. So go to Tommy Buhammad
dot com, check out the Bora k Chino pants and
thank me later. All right, let's see if today we
(01:27):
can get Persia and Joseph to say something that they
have never said before. Two for one today. I am
so excited to have you both in studio. How are you,
my friends?
Speaker 2 (01:42):
Very good?
Speaker 3 (01:43):
Yeah, thank you for having us. We appreciate it.
Speaker 1 (01:45):
Very exciting, we were saying. We met twenty twenty on Instagram.
Speaker 4 (01:49):
We did when everything was remote. Yes, but now we've
made it to the same room. Finally, finally circle has completed.
Speaker 1 (01:57):
The best things are worth the way they say, right, well,
I'm so happy to have you both here. I feel
like this palpable energy in this room right now. There's
like this I can't describe it, I can't put it
into words, but I feel something here. I feel like,
oh it's witchcraft. Oh, very on theme for Halloween coming up.
Speaker 2 (02:17):
Yes, no, it's just a little TVD shout out.
Speaker 5 (02:21):
You guys have good energy, I do feel.
Speaker 3 (02:23):
Oh, thank you so much.
Speaker 1 (02:24):
Yeah, i'mslfe to have you. We have so much to
talk about and celebrate, Persia. You have a lot going
on with a twenty fifth anniversary of a project. We're
going to dive into. Joseph, you have such an epic
body of work. The two of you are a couple
goals for so many people. So we're gonna have a
lot of fun today and dive into all sorts of things. First,
before we do that, welcome to New York officially.
Speaker 3 (02:46):
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (02:46):
As an East Coast Ambassador, born and raised in New
Jersey and here since two thousand and five. I'm excited
to have you.
Speaker 2 (02:54):
You're enjoying New York, loving it?
Speaker 4 (02:57):
Yeah, we absolutely love it. I mean, the novelty hasn't
or not at all. You know, it's just so kind
of exciting. I feel, you know, like you're talking about
feeling that energy in this room. I feel that in
this city. You know, you feel like you're part of something.
I feel like We're constantly soaking up the stimulation from
all the people, from all the art, the culture, the music,
(03:19):
the theater, the theater.
Speaker 2 (03:21):
Yes, yeah, I love the people. I really love the
people of New York I always have. It's special, it's beautiful,
it's really it's my heart. I love it. And I
was actually born in Philadelphia. There's a misconception. I don't
know how, like wiki in the world gets things wrong, right,
People put that I was born in Miami. I'm not.
(03:41):
I was born in Philadelphia. So I feel the East Coast.
You know, this is where I would have ended up
if it wasn't for a lot of life turns. But yeah,
I love it here.
Speaker 1 (03:52):
Well, you were meant to be here in this moment
in time, right, So it's great to have you here.
I love welcoming new friends to the city. I guess
to begin, my god, I feel like between the two
of you, there's so much talent in this room. I'm
gonna burst. But let's start with.
Speaker 2 (04:08):
You.
Speaker 5 (04:08):
Joseph.
Speaker 3 (04:10):
Okay, okay, it has.
Speaker 1 (04:12):
Been about over a decade since the original's premiered.
Speaker 4 (04:16):
It's been yes, that's right. I think it was twelve years.
Theres twelve years.
Speaker 1 (04:21):
Yeah, yeah, twelve years, and then the Empire Diarist was
over a decade and a half, I mean over fifteen years.
Speaker 5 (04:28):
So that's wild man.
Speaker 1 (04:30):
What you built doing that is just quite impressive, building
a character that is so huge in pop culture history
that people still love to this day, that people are
streaming and restreaming and discovering again. So when you think
back to that period of your life, what are you
the most proud of with that role?
Speaker 3 (04:47):
Oh?
Speaker 4 (04:47):
Man, I guess, well, I guess what I'm most proud
of is the connection that we built with the fans.
You know, because I came into Vampire Diaries as a
villain and it was going to be one season, I think,
(05:08):
and so I had a good idea of how I
wanted to play it. But the more I kind of
got into the role, the more I found opportunities for
vulnerability and to open him up and to try and
kind of bring people onside. And not only because my
job as an actor is to sort of understand, if
not agree with the motives of my character, you know,
so I can portray him, and I felt I found
(05:31):
an opportunity to let other people in and help them understand.
And then when we started the originals. It became all
about Klaus's family, right and looking out for family they
always and forever the Vow family overall. You know, we
can be awful to each other, but woeatide anyone who
comes and stands against us. You know, we have each
other's backs. That's what the Vow meant. And then you
(05:55):
know that transitioned and grew and evolved into this sort
of family that was even bigger than the show that
Persia and I developed, especially during Lockdown, you know, communicating
with the fans, doing these kind of shows and performances
and these engagement events and then engaging with them in
all different sort of ways. We found we founded this
(06:17):
kind of family that looked out for each other and
with a with a focus on you know, anti bullying,
on the idea that we'll all support each other.
Speaker 3 (06:28):
To get through this. And people needed it at that time.
We needed it at that time.
Speaker 4 (06:31):
You know, it was a dark time, and so it was.
I think I'm most proud of that of the connections forged.
And that's why it meant so much, I believe to
a lot of people, and why it means so much
to us.
Speaker 1 (06:46):
I want you to think about this from when we
talk about girlfriends as well, So think about this question too.
But if you can collectively think of all your work
as Claus, and if you were speaking to somebody who
has never seen the show, never seen your performance, and
you could sit them down and watch one scene of yours,
what would you show them?
Speaker 3 (07:06):
Ah? Oh, man, I don't know's that's a hard one.
Speaker 2 (07:15):
You know so many episodes.
Speaker 4 (07:18):
There's so many episodes, you know. The funny thing as
well is I watch episode I'll catch a moment of
the Vampire Diaries now and not remember that doing the
scene at all, like this is new to me. But
every scene of the originals I remember being there on
set and specifically what was happening. So it's a weird thing.
I guess I would probably show them, Okay, I would
(07:45):
show them the scene from episode one, season eight where
Klaus he's betrayed by his sister and his best friend
or his ado did San Marcel and he does this
big speech to all these vampires who were gathered in
the courtyard to fight him, and he said, look, whoever
(08:06):
gets to pick up this coin can live, and the
rest of you will die. And none of them pick
up the coin. So then he has this huge fight
with all of them, and in the end, you know,
Marcel Bensoniine picks up the coin. And I think i'd
show that because I believe it shows a lot of
different sides of Klaus. It shows his hurt at his betrayal,
It shows the grand standing, the theatrics of the character,
which I love to play, and then you know some
(08:29):
of the the action, you know, the the fighting and
the power of him and the sort of epic scale
of the show. I'd show that, and I kept the
coin from that. I have that as a souvenir.
Speaker 1 (08:43):
Yeah, that's really cool. That's a solid choice. That's a
solid choice.
Speaker 5 (08:47):
I think that what.
Speaker 1 (08:49):
Resonates with so many people with both of your performances
is they were shows that had something to say, even
in your world where you think it's just kind of
natural and like, how does that relate to humanity?
Speaker 5 (09:02):
It does.
Speaker 1 (09:03):
And your show Girlfriends was so trailblazing and it meant
so much to so many people, And I think that's
always cool when you can be part of something that
moves the conversation in pop culture and in history. And
of course, I mean to this day, I still think
the Klaus Caroline relationship is one of the most talked
(09:24):
about relationships in pop culture.
Speaker 5 (09:26):
To this day.
Speaker 1 (09:26):
People still talk about it and I can't scroll Instagram
weekly without seeing a meme or a video or an
opinion about it. I mean, what did you think about
that relationship and why do you think it was so
talked about it and so popular?
Speaker 3 (09:40):
You know, I think it was really.
Speaker 4 (09:44):
The beginning of seeing that other side of Klaus, the vulnerabilities,
and it came in a bit when they introduced his
parents as well, that anger towards his parents and that
kind of hatred there, and then a softer side of him.
So you had this guy who was really this you know,
villain who did unspeakable things, this this really damaged character
(10:06):
who did horrible, horrible things to his enemies, but then
he had this kind of passion about those he cared about,
and that came through as well in the Originals with
his daughter Hope. I think they really like capitalized on
that and and and we went further down that road.
But I think that idea that people had that there
could be this person out there who cared for them
(10:29):
and had and was gentle and kind to them and
emotional and passionate about them and yet would do these
terrible things to protect them if needed. I think that
was something that is appealing to people, you know, perhaps
people who've felt on the outside and who felt like
(10:52):
who felt vulnerable themselves. The idea of having this protector, I.
Speaker 1 (10:56):
Think, yeah, no, I would agree with that for sure.
There's so many people who still that they were angering.
Speaker 4 (11:02):
Yeah, but like he was never going to have a
happy ending, you know, I think and for me as
an actor, like certainly filming the show, you know, whilst
we were filming it, I wanted the drama and the conflict.
I didn't feel like, oh, now he's in a relationship
for this season.
Speaker 3 (11:20):
It feels like.
Speaker 4 (11:21):
A little boring as an actor, Like, you know, all
due respect to the people who you know, who were
invested in different relationships and ships and so on in
the show, it's like, I feel like, you want the
challenge and the conflict and the drama.
Speaker 3 (11:39):
I want the drama.
Speaker 4 (11:41):
Yeah, you know, so I feel like the reason people
wanted that so much is because we didn't give it
to them, and we created this drama and this friction
and the same with his siblings, the way you always
wanted them to root for each other and to team
up and to be together, and yet they were always
there was always these struggles and these fights and these complications,
because that's life, right.
Speaker 1 (12:01):
Yeah it is, I say you smiling hard over that.
Speaker 2 (12:03):
I am, because I also think it's interesting because during
that time we were falling in love.
Speaker 3 (12:10):
Oh that was when we met all of.
Speaker 2 (12:12):
Those lines together in real life, like we were. I
feel very much a part of that. Ironically, people then
sometimes want the fiction to be reality, but I feel
invested emotionally because of being there and being part of it.
And we were so falling in love and painting every
night and together every night. And I remember when you've
shot some of the scenes, you came home and we
(12:33):
would talk about how great it was and just this
new dynamic to this guy that was a villain and
that he has a heart and how special that is.
But in real life we were having this incredible, explosive Yeah.
Speaker 3 (12:48):
No, that's right.
Speaker 4 (12:48):
So there's this relationship absolutely. So there's this one scene
where he where Caroline is dying. What we don't talk about,
by the way, is he was the cause of her diet,
that he was the cause of her dying. But you know,
he comes in and he's going to offer his blood
(13:09):
to cure and he talks about how, you know, there's
a whole world out there for you, you know, great art
and music and a whole you know, countries to visit
and things to explore. And this was right when Persia
and I met, and this whole world was kind of
opening up for me, and I'd found this person who,
you know, first of all, we both paint, so, like
she said, we'd have these kind of nights and until
(13:30):
the early hours of the morning painting in my loft
in Atlanta and creating all this art together and talking
about the things that inspired us, and it felt like
these whole worlds were opening up and so being able
to quite easily draw upon that and channel that into
those performances, you know, especially because we were running the line,
so I was literally saying these lines to her. You know,
(13:52):
I feel like maybe there's sparks of that in there
that people latched onto, And I think that's why people
have ultimately come to be so supportive of us and
understanding of our relationship and wanting to kind of invest
in it and know more about it, because there is, though,
those sparks that are undeniably sort of magnetic.
Speaker 1 (14:14):
I describe it as when I met my husband, I
describe it as fire went through my body, like I
just knew. I knew I didn't want someone. I wasn't looking,
but it was just like feeling of fire taking over
my body, and I was like, shit, I can't ignore this.
Speaker 5 (14:33):
Shits.
Speaker 1 (14:33):
And we're celebrating ten years married in April, so love
should always be celebrated, right, So I totally feel that
that's so interesting that you were running those lines and
kind of invested equally in that character and that relationship
because you felt like a part of that.
Speaker 5 (14:49):
That's really cool.
Speaker 2 (14:50):
Whatever he was doing, Like you said, there's this fire,
there's this passion, and you're excited and full of love
and vibrants and all of that has sort of pulls through.
I've heard of this with musicians as well, like everything
that's going on in your life behind the scenes is
part of the scene, underneath the energy of whatever's happening,
(15:11):
and it comes out and so yeah, I felt invested
in connected. Of course, it's just the whole journey. I
love everything that Joseph does because we were.
Speaker 4 (15:21):
She was a massive part of it, you know, through
the whole thing. Of course, like obviously running the lines,
we did that, you know, every night we'd.
Speaker 3 (15:29):
Be running to be she had more pleasure sacrifice a lot.
Speaker 4 (15:35):
She came to Atlanta and she would run all these
lines with me and we talk about the character and
we'd we'd sometimes like we'd tweak out the dialogue and
then I talked to the writers and we'd we'd really
kind of work the whole thing, you know what I mean.
I mean, she was the one like when when the
Originals offer came that was like, you have to do this,
this is a good idea. And then when I was
getting fed up with being on the Originals because as
(15:55):
every actor who's been on a long running show starts
to feel like maybe there's something else I should be doing,
she said, you know, having been on the show for
eight and a half years, probably just said this is
it'll be over in the blink of an eye, and
this is something that really connects with people, and you
should really try and enjoy it while it's happening. And
so that was those were really important words for me,
(16:16):
you know, from someone I deeply respected and loved to
kind of reinvest myself in it, you know, and it.
Speaker 2 (16:23):
Was great because he brought all this You brought all
this influence to your fellow cast, which were always telling
me because I was like, like I said, I was
the on set, a help for Joseph in a million
different ways, but you know, I was just there. I
was always there, and people would come over and tell
me their opinion of Joseph a lot and be like,
you know, he inspires the group. What's great is the
(16:44):
person at the top of the call sheet means so
much on a show. You sort of set the tone,
and there was this dedication to the craft. And of
course Joseph always came knowing all his lines didn't matter
if his schedule was so tight. He would come home
sometimes be three am and be like, we've to run
these scenes because it's tomorrow at first up and it's
huge amounts of dialogue and so you know. But people
(17:07):
loved the tone that he set, and I got to
hear about it a lot, and it was so exciting
because as a fellow actor, I swore I'd never date
another actor. Kind of like you said, you felt that fire.
I was like, I'll never date an actor again. I
will never be I want someone not in the industry
in that way, and then you meet someone that's fire
(17:28):
and love and you go, Okay, well this is happening
because I can't deny it. It's unreliable. Yeah, it's an
undeniable connection. But the beauty was him being different in
that way of like stepping up to a different level
where you're setting a good tone and you're really being
collaborative and your your whole show is affected by it.
(17:51):
You know. I've seen it go down in other shows
I've visited. I was lucky enough to be on a
show where it was a good tone, and I've done
in other sets and you go, oh, but it starts
at the top, you know, and that trickles into everybody
and things fall into really you know stories you hear
where people are quite unhappy, and it was exciting seeing
(18:12):
someone set the tone like that.
Speaker 1 (18:20):
It's such an important role for you and for pop
culture and equally for you, you know, because you were
such a part of it. I love hearing stories like
that because it takes it takes a lot of special
people to produce something like what you produced in that
performance and in that show, and it takes the support
of an amazing partner that hopefully everyone's lucky to have
(18:43):
to reach their own wildest dreams. So that's that's really
cool being the constant line runner and always going through
the scripts on your own. Is there a line that
you do remember that you really liked to fiss throughout
the years or you forget them all? Oh my god,
do you still say any of them? Like do you
yourself like, oh, that wasn't me, that was clou.
Speaker 2 (19:04):
Do I line in here and there? Probably every chance
I get? Yeah, we know that we joke though a lot,
because we joke all the time. We were just the
other day going, this is like a scene. This is
us just just bantering, just playing, and then He'll do
something and say, like a line, and then I'll joke
and like, yeah, counterline.
Speaker 4 (19:25):
Because we're mucking around, you know what I mean. Like
we honestly, one of the things that I loved about
Persia from the beginning was she's just so funny. So
I'm laughing a lot of the day, which is wonderful
to have that amount of laughter in your life. And
so we muck around in the kitchen when we're cooking
and different things and sort of singing stupid little songs
and sort of like doing impressions and stuff. And she
said to me the other day, if this was in
(19:46):
a scene, if this was on the script, you'd say
it was too much, like.
Speaker 3 (19:49):
Oh, that's not realistic. They wouldn't do that, you know,
but oh.
Speaker 2 (19:53):
This would never happen ever, say this like we just
said it. Yeah, so you probably sneak lines it.
Speaker 4 (19:59):
I probably he do. He's he's still living there somewhere
and deep in my subconscious I.
Speaker 5 (20:04):
Think it comes out from time to time.
Speaker 3 (20:06):
From time to time, we're.
Speaker 5 (20:07):
Not the most horrific parts of him.
Speaker 4 (20:09):
He's all down there over the years.
Speaker 2 (20:16):
But yeah, there's a lot of fire in there. I
was joking, go, well, I could have been with someone
very complacent and nice and calm, and you want it
comes with it, the territory.
Speaker 5 (20:28):
That's right, Yes it does, Yes it does.
Speaker 1 (20:30):
And you you also worked on the show, of course,
you played Bonnie's mom. Was that fun to dip your
feet into that world a little bit?
Speaker 2 (20:36):
Well? The beauty was, you know, being with the people.
I really loved the crew. The crew was really beautiful.
They're my two favorite. I know it sounds silly, but
when you're an actor who really affects us is the
people around us so much. It isn't just the other
actors that's like five people out of two hundred. So
(20:59):
you have your face for experiences that are outside of
just the acting, that are the people. And that was
one of my favorite people experiences other than like Canada.
I really loved Atlanta and so we had a great time,
and I was so already immediately. I met Joseph the
day I got there, so it wasn't like that thing
started instantly, So it was exciting every time I got
(21:21):
to come back to do the work and be with
Kat and then also see Joseph. And so it got
to the point where I was there so much that
they were like, we don't even need to fly her
in for this one. She's here. I'm like, oh, Jilly,
tell them I'm still here, like you know. But it
was really nice just being a part of the energy
(21:41):
of the crew. They took it so patient. There was
a lot of patience and sincerity, which I loved because
it was a genre show, and I'd been on a
genre show before where a lot of people are just
sort of slagging it off and like oh yeah, whereas
this wasn't like that. It was like everything is we
(22:02):
go over the scene and whispers and we talk and
the directors and there was like an energy there that
was really calm, and I want to call it like
a patience and beauty to it that I loved. I
loved it. Yeah, it was.
Speaker 3 (22:16):
Really definitely.
Speaker 4 (22:19):
An effort from the beginning to ground everything, to make
sure that the characters were sincere and were real and
even though it was genre, you know, to make it
they're going through real issues. And I can remember one
of the first things they told me when I got
to set was don't play a vampire. I don't try
and play it like it's he's a vampire, you know.
And so I think that's one of the reasons it
(22:40):
had such great success, because you know, I always think
as a director or a showrunner or a creator, one
of the greatest skills you can have is a consistency
of tone. And they really got the tone right, and
they stuck to it throughout, you know what I mean.
They were consistent with it, and that's why people connected,
even though they were these supernatural beings people invested in connected.
Speaker 1 (23:02):
So to put a pin on this part of the conversation,
Part one is for you. Part two is for you
for this question. I want your answer to You know,
a lot of people want to see Klaus again. Would
you want to see Klaus again?
Speaker 2 (23:16):
Ah?
Speaker 4 (23:16):
Man, you know, I mean if the if it was
the right story, I could see it happening. I think
I'm a time in my life where there's been enough
distance and I dipped in for a second at the
end of Legacies, you know, to do that little bit.
(23:38):
I think if the story was there, then I'd be
open to it. Yeah, because he was such a huge
part of my life.
Speaker 3 (23:50):
So yeah, I never say never.
Speaker 5 (23:52):
How would you feel about that?
Speaker 2 (23:54):
Oh? Wow? I mean I just met with the girls
for the twenty fifth and it was just so wonderful.
I think it would be lovely because the character of
Lynn was more twenty twenty five than when she was
the show was on. She was more of this era,
and I think she'd be very much an advocate for
(24:16):
a lot of the things going on now. Things I
got in trouble for for being an advocate for gay rights,
things that I got heat for are absolutely on fire,
on point now, like things you.
Speaker 1 (24:29):
Got heat for in your personal life.
Speaker 2 (24:31):
My personal life, for letting my character speak up for
people I in my personal life got ridicule and attacked,
yes very much for being way too open sexually and
primarily dealing with LGBQ and open minded US in general.
A lot of she just saw life is very free thinking,
(24:53):
and that wasn't really for conservative sitcom. Was it was not.
You know, you have shows like Ephoria and it's like, oh, okay,
you know, but back then that was unheard of. And
so yeah, it's pretty exciting to see where she would
be now, what kind of ally should be, where she'd
be in life, and who she'd be championing. I think
(25:14):
it would be exciting to take someone that was more
of this era than of that era and let them
live these stories because it would be really fascinating.
Speaker 1 (25:22):
Yeah, she was very much ahead of her time, and
I can't believe it's the twenty fifth anniversary, yeah, of
that show. I mean it was just it meant so
much to so many people.
Speaker 2 (25:35):
You feel that well, hear and meet them. I mean,
I hear the words and I meet the people, and
that's what's been so inspired. That's the only reason that
would be really fun to do that character again is
because I've met so many girls actually, particularly this year,
and men so many people that have said, wow, you
brought up a conversation that I was afraid to talk
(25:56):
to my mom about, Like you are the first person
where we could speak about these things and the Vampire Dires.
We did it in genre, so a lot of it
was I feel like symbolic. You know, it parallels towards
you know, religious differences or different differences between groups. But
there it was literal and that was you know, hot
(26:17):
topic a lot, and our Churrenna got a lot of
She also got a lot of pressure to not do
some of the storylines that she did, and I just
feel like, ah, it was so it's so exciting to
live that long ago. It's finally, it's finally okay. I
was just telling Joseph the other day. I was like,
it's like, it's finally okay. The things I believed in
(26:39):
for twenty five years and get an awful ridicule four
and attacked for And I was like, I'm being attacked
for being an ally by the way, and I was like, fine,
that attacked me, But now it's absolutely not just acceptable.
It's unacceptable to not be free thinking in a lot
of areas of the world. And yet we also going
(27:00):
backwards and forwards at the same time. So I feel
like it's even more relevant to stand up for these
I want to say open minded perspectives and have that
voice in the room in a show and not close
things off. So it's pretty exciting, which is you know,
like I said, what we what we really champion in
(27:22):
real life?
Speaker 1 (27:23):
I think what you're saying is we need girlfriends right
now in the day Aage again. And I think you're
here today to announce that it's coming back in some
way form because I see you all over talking about it.
Speaker 5 (27:35):
It's twenty five years, I mean, so anything to share.
Speaker 2 (27:38):
Vampire girlfriends, Yeah, girlfriends.
Speaker 3 (27:43):
We decided to merge the two. Well, it's all been
leading to this to tell.
Speaker 1 (27:49):
You it would be better than half the stuff out there.
Speaker 5 (27:51):
So I would watch it. I would definitely watch it.
Speaker 2 (27:53):
Oh my god, could you imagine all the girlfriends are
vampires and they're like, no, what do they look so
good after all these times?
Speaker 1 (27:59):
Watch you see in Deadline an article come out, new
show concept coming out?
Speaker 5 (28:04):
Oh no, it would be it would be good.
Speaker 2 (28:06):
Well, we have a production company, it'll be on them.
We'll put it on the maybe list.
Speaker 1 (28:12):
We go yeah for each of your respective shows. Was
there a storyline you really wanted to hit that you
didn't get to hit?
Speaker 3 (28:22):
Yeah, yeah, definitely for me.
Speaker 4 (28:24):
You know, the cool thing about the originals, right is
they were a thousand years old, So we flashed back
to all these different eras, and there was talk for
a minute of flashing back to the sixties and they
were going to do it.
Speaker 3 (28:36):
We even had a wig picked out for me, like.
Speaker 4 (28:38):
This Jim Morrison kind of wig and a whole look
for Klaus, and I was so excited about going and
doing that storyline, but then that just kind of fell
to the wayside and we never got to explore it.
So I would love to see, you know, what was
happening in the sixties for the Michaelson's. I'd love to
go explore that.
Speaker 5 (28:54):
That would be fine.
Speaker 2 (28:54):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, really exciting. That would be really fun
to see. I think you though when you went with
you and Daniel were in the past, that was a
lot of wigs.
Speaker 3 (29:05):
Yeah, like that.
Speaker 4 (29:06):
Mine was it was like shorter and wavy, like kind
of like Jim Morrison from The Doors. I mean, I
went through a lot of wigs on that show. You know,
we bounced about eras a lot, but.
Speaker 2 (29:15):
So it's kind of about a boyish like the wig.
No your hair. Yeah, it was like kind of.
Speaker 3 (29:20):
Like his like kind of like like like her rocks,
like Jim Morrison kind.
Speaker 2 (29:24):
Of like this. I just think of you as a
Kirk Cobain.
Speaker 3 (29:27):
Yeah, that's what you want.
Speaker 1 (29:29):
She's like, can we go stop at abercadab and buy
that wig because I want you to wear that tonight.
Speaker 3 (29:33):
She wear.
Speaker 4 (29:36):
Blonde wig the other week and she had it on
and she was like trying to make me do Cobaine
impressions and she's filming it, and this is what she
does when she films it. She could just just just
for us, this is just for us, you know, and
tries to convince me like it's never gonna go for.
Speaker 2 (29:51):
I never put anything. I sometimes just want it for me.
For the archives.
Speaker 4 (29:58):
I'm terrified of all the just for videos. I've been
accumulating that that's.
Speaker 2 (30:04):
What people are really going to want to see.
Speaker 1 (30:06):
The documentary just coming to Amazon Prime next year.
Speaker 4 (30:11):
We're building a whole slate here, a whole production coming slate.
This is happening Girlfriend Vampire Girlfriends just for us, the documentary.
Speaker 1 (30:18):
What else are we going to come up with I
can't wait, I can't wait, and what about you?
Speaker 5 (30:21):
Was there? Storyline?
Speaker 2 (30:22):
Storyline? I mean I really wanted her to get more
politically active, like to be more of an activist, because
they were shying away back then from activism. But now
that's absolutely okay, and that's I feel like the path
she might have gone down. But yeah, more activism because
they were on the direction of possibly because we didn't
(30:42):
you know, we got cut early. It was like exploring
her having success. And she's been the one that's been
mooching off her friends for the last like eight years,
so it was going to be kind of fun to
see her have success. Yeah, in music and in life.
Speaker 1 (30:57):
That would be really cool, all right, You never know,
never know, a lot of ideas are floating around today.
For sure, you both have had such amazing careers and
such success that people dream of in your world, right,
And sometimes it's hard to remember that and keep that
perspective because you know, the grind of life and it
just happens and you go, go, go go girl. Do
(31:18):
you feel proud of what you both have accomplished individually
and together, and how would you describe this chapter of
your lives that you're in right now.
Speaker 4 (31:28):
I mean, yeah, I'm immensely proud of what of the
work that I've done and that we've done together. It's
amazing because because we've built up this connection with the fans,
you know, we do get reminded of how much that
work has meant to people, which is incredibly rewarding and humbling.
(31:50):
To be honest with you, it's weird when you're filming it,
you're in a bubble, you know, and you don't realize
the impact it's having because you're just running. You're just
you know, running, and especially on network television, you know,
it's twenty two episodes a year and eight day episodes.
You're filming nine and a half months out of the year.
It's it's just NonStop. But yeah, I do have moments
(32:14):
of reflection now, definitely over what that meant to people,
especially like when I went back to do the Little
Legacies cameo at the end of that show. I watched
some of the fan videos that have been put together,
of which there are many, and these these kind of
montages people have put together of their favorite moments and
(32:38):
you know, put to music and all sorts of things,
and you realize what an impact it's had on people's
lives and all the tattoos that were asked to write
out for people to have tattooed and things like that.
It's incredible, the yeah, that the power the show has had,
and so yeah, I'm incredibly proud of that. I think
it's I don't know, I don't have words for it really,
(33:04):
because it's to be a part of something which has
had such an impact on people.
Speaker 3 (33:10):
Yeah, it's amazing. I mean, what do you think?
Speaker 2 (33:13):
We were just saying, how incredibly gracious and an enormous
amount of gratitude we feel. I feel more this year
in our lives. We just were talking about this the
other day and we were saying, God, it feels so
good because we try and keep our heads on straight.
(33:34):
I know that the world is complicated. Not everybody. There's
people I love that lose it. You know, it's hard.
There's a lot of stress, anxiety, a lot of suffering,
a lot of pain, and we meet a lot of
people in pain. At these conventions. We get the honor
of connecting with the people. And prior to that, I
(33:54):
didn't really other than on the street, and we both
used to kind of run from people and be afraid
of it. You just don't know what to do with it.
You're like, I don't know what you want from me,
and I don't know what you're expecting, and it's just
too much pressure, really. And so because we've had so
much contact and the honor of the twenty five year anniversary,
(34:18):
there's just so many beautiful people I've met over the
years that say, you actually had a profound impact on
my life. Which we get in this hoping that we'll
just simply do well, make ourselves and maybe a family
member too proud, but you get into it and you're
actually affecting people's lives. I feel more grateful than I've
(34:38):
ever been in my entire life because we're taking all
of that. And then we also have a production company
where we're now taking the voices of the people who've
talked to us and the passion and the love that
we've received, and we're going to put it into products
that we try and create and make and put that
back out into the universe. But I think it's probably
the most like incredible thing to have people come up
(35:03):
to you and tell you the impact and know that
you did something good, because not everybody gets to do
that you know.
Speaker 4 (35:11):
Yeah, through through telling stories, you know, and that's what
we's that's what this chapter of our life is about now.
Like as you said, with this production company that we started,
you know, we from the beginning, we from the moment
we met, we were kind of telling stories to each
other and developing little things. We shot a couple of
short films with the Cruise from the Vampire Diaries and
then from the Originals, and you know, we were always
(35:32):
kind of developing these stories and these ideas and the
music videos that we show up with Persia, all of
these things. But now just taking that to the next level,
and you know, just continuing to bring stories to these
people who who mean so much to us and who's
you know, our stories have meant so much too. It's
(35:54):
really it's something we take very.
Speaker 2 (35:57):
Seriously and never thought Klausen Lynn would team, but I
can see it. It's happened that I like that we
meet double I call them like the two world crossover fans.
It's the best. Wait, you knew Lynn and you new
clubs and you're going, oh wait, okay, that that's kind
of outrageous, but Lynn is very accepting.
Speaker 4 (36:20):
It turns out she's incredibly open minded, very forgiving.
Speaker 1 (36:25):
Yes, oh my god, well that's amazing. There seems to
be some things in the works and more coming from
you guys down the line.
Speaker 5 (36:38):
Huh yeah.
Speaker 4 (36:39):
Absolutely, we're working really hard. You know, we are quite
driven and spend most of our time that we have,
you know, pushing one thing forward or another.
Speaker 2 (36:49):
So you have a lot of writing lately, and we
collaborate and we've always been collaborating though. But it's exciting
to do it knowing what the fans want to a degree,
like it's your own creative and your own excited, enthusiastic,
passionate energies connected. But also it's exciting to know the
(37:11):
kind of things that really connect to us and the people.
You know, I love being bold and risky and open
minded and inclusive and daring, and Joseph scares people.
Speaker 4 (37:26):
Yeah, I think also, you know, everything that we're developing,
there's a common thread with it, which is this the
idea of family and an imperfect family.
Speaker 3 (37:36):
You know, a family that.
Speaker 4 (37:39):
Needs to stick together or that it's to a certain
degree is forced to stick together and.
Speaker 3 (37:44):
Has each other.
Speaker 4 (37:45):
But also none of these are kind of perfect family relationships.
It comes with all of the trauma and the dynamics
of a real life family.
Speaker 2 (37:53):
And bullying is a big thing. And as from social
we've learned a lot, even with our fans, A girl
actually ended up committing suicide and it was season.
Speaker 4 (38:02):
Two, that was when I first joined Vampire Diaries. I
remember hearing about that and it was like a thirteen
year old girl and it was just through bullying over
the ships you know on the show, and it's so
crazy and so it can be so toxic that the
social media bullying. And that's again why we made an effort,
especially during the pandemic, to connect with the fans and
(38:24):
to promote this sort of safe space where that was
the you know, the core of it all.
Speaker 2 (38:30):
And then a lot of themes with characters sort of
the underdog and overcoming obstacles. It's I think even if
you look at Klaus's backstory, he was bullied, you know,
and that theme of overcoming everything and being your stronger
self is and of course, you know, I love the
themes of that between Lynn and being an activist, just
(38:50):
really the underdog overcoming the world could be against you,
but you overcome all of it with heart and passion.
Speaker 1 (38:59):
Yeah, it sounds like, you guys are working on some
good things, things that the world needs. So I'm excited
to see what's to come. That sounds really really cool.
You two, I could talk to you for four more hours.
Speaker 5 (39:09):
This is.
Speaker 2 (39:12):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (39:13):
I am so enjoying this conversation. I wrap up every
episode with the same question, which was born because I
cover a lot of red carpet premieres and sit down junkets.
But you both know very well from doing them, and
you know, it's so quick. It's two minutes on a carpet,
four minutes out of junket. It's not the most real
(39:33):
conversation you can have with somebody. It's you know, very
much SoundBite driven and the same question being asked because
every outlet needs it right. So that's how this show
was born. I was kind of seeing a little something
in the eyes of people that I was speaking to, like, oh,
I just like wish I could say a little something
more like I don't want to say this again. And
that's the concept for the show, is to bring people
(39:55):
on and ask this question, to give them a space
to say something they've never really had a change has
to say before. Whatever that means to the individual that
they want to say. So that question is, what is
something that each of you has never said before that
you want to share today.
Speaker 2 (40:11):
We've talked about this really quick.
Speaker 3 (40:14):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (40:14):
Is it the heavy version, meaning the deep stuff? Or
are you light or do you have a preference for
the light deep or a taste of each.
Speaker 5 (40:22):
I leave that up to my guests.
Speaker 3 (40:25):
Oh wow, okay, okay.
Speaker 2 (40:30):
Which one are you gonna go with?
Speaker 1 (40:33):
I will Most people tend to go more deep. They
don't get a chance to do that, they feel awkward
doing it in other platforms.
Speaker 5 (40:43):
But that's not to say that has to be the one.
So it's up to you.
Speaker 2 (40:46):
It's good to know that. No, we wanted to know
because we were worried that my mediate impulse was deep,
and then I thought, is that too deep? Are they
wanting something light and we're gonna go dark and serious
or are we going to keep it fluffy? But okay,
it's up to us, and it's an opportunity to say something.
Speaker 3 (41:04):
That yeah, yeah, okay, okay, okay.
Speaker 4 (41:11):
So there probably elements of this have been touched on,
but I don't think I've kind of come at it
as a whole. So I moved when I was young
to Wales, from England, so I was in a place
with a different accent and with kids that I didn't
(41:32):
know who'd all started school before me. So there was
definitely an aspect of being an outsider, and I found
it really hard to make any friends. There was actually
quite a lot of animosity in school, and I got
quite a lot of bullying. I remember my best friend
at the time would only be my best friend in secret,
like to everyone else, he said he didn't like me
(41:53):
because that was the that was the thing, right, So
at ten years old, I maybe no, maybe it was
even younger, eight or nine, I convinced everybody in my
class that I was a vampire. And I think it
was partly inspired by you know, I was inspired by
reading all these vampire novels and stuff even as a kid,
(42:14):
and I was thinking about it recently because you know,
there was a lot of the bullying that kind of
continued throughout most of school, Like I can't remember all
the kids singing about me in the class and all
with the teacher there until finally stopped them. And it
was mostly emotional and verbal, but sometimes physical as well.
(42:40):
And I think that my thinking behind telling everyone that
I was a vampire was because I was already being
treated as this outsider and this outcast, and so the
idea of making that a powerful reason, you know, making
that in my even in my own imagination, to convince
(43:01):
myself at times of that that the reason why I'm
different and I'm being shunned in this way or being
cast out is because I've got this kind of dark,
powerful secret, and that helped me get through school. It
sounds crazy maybe saying it out loud, but it helped
me get through feeling that like, no, I'm I'm special
(43:21):
and different and for these sort of powerful reasons, and
that they that's why I've been I've been cast out
in this way. And so I think that is what
I put into the character of Claus, is those feelings
from being like a young kid like that and being
treated like that really until I left school and went
(43:42):
to a performing arts college where.
Speaker 3 (43:44):
I found my tribe.
Speaker 4 (43:46):
But yeah, so I think that maybe is what helped
other people connect with the character as well. Is all
of these people in the world who feel like outsiders
and feel like outcasts, feel like they're not accepted, seeing
character who has genuinely been through been down that road
(44:07):
and been through those experiences and is so strong and
will stand up to anyone and will stand up for
people in those circumstances, and so close for me was
the sort of person that I wanted on my side.
He was the person I wanted to be, or I
wanted to in my corner at least. And maybe I
(44:30):
feel like upon reflection, that that's why people connected is
because so there was genuine experiences from my life sort
of well channeled into that, probably quite cathartic as well
to do that.
Speaker 1 (44:43):
Yeah, that's really cool. Thank you for sharing that. I
think it's something so many of us do. We all
have our own coping mechanisms right to get through whatever
we perceive as a difficult time in our lives. And
it's interesting that that ended up helping you create something
that became so meaningful to so many people. That's that's
the universe giving you a little wink saying I got you. Yeah,
(45:03):
I got you.
Speaker 5 (45:04):
So that's that's really cool. Thank you for that. Yeah,
and my dear.
Speaker 2 (45:10):
May have I haven't gotten into this whole story ever.
I've mentioned it to friends, but i'ven't done it in
an interview. I didn't ever meet my real father. I've
never met my real father, and I didn't know that
my stepfather wasn't my father. Growing up, I moved from
(45:33):
the Bahamas. I grew up in the Bahamas, but I
moved and I was seven because my stepfather was paralyzed
in a car accident and he was in a wheelchair
for the rest of his life. And when I moved
to America, I just thought that that was I grew
up believing that was my father, but he was very
distant because of the handicap. He wasn't part of our life.
(45:55):
And when I was twenty one, I had this feeling,
this this premonition, and it was really just a spiritual thing.
And I came to my mother and I said, I
know he's biologically my father, but I don't feel like
he's my father. There's something missing, and there's a link,
something's off. And she was like, well, how would you
feel if he wasn't your father? And I was thinking
(46:16):
she was just being theoretical, and I was like, I'd
probably feel free because it would make sense. And so
she said, well, I've never told you this. She started
crying and she was like, I didn't want you to
hate me. Promise you won't hate me, and I was like,
I'm the most open minded person in the world. You know,
I won't hate you. And she said, he's not your father,
and so we went to find my real father and
(46:37):
he had just died, so I didn't ever get to
meet my real father. But it was like a very
huge cathotic relief knowing that I had felt this feeling
like something was off. I remember even looking for adoption
papers in my mom's papers when I was at search
because people'd always say, are you adopted? But they were
(46:59):
asking me because because my brothers and sisters are all white,
I'm the only mixed one. My mom was with two
different marriages, and so it was all because of that,
and I was like, but I just feel like this foreigner.
I feel like this outsider. And that was the real link,
was that he wasn't my actual father, and it was
(47:19):
even all the way down to the scent. I was like,
there's something off. I feel like this person's a stranger.
But I'm supposed to be like Daddy when I see him,
which was only for visiting, you know, jump on his lap.
And I would be like, I feel like I'm doing this,
like I'm playing a role. I'm supposed to be, so
sometimes I think that's what makes me relate to the
(47:40):
outsiders as well. In the outcasts and even like types
of roles that have cultivated were people who are in
situations where they're not organically from And even Lynn was adopted,
and so I really relate to adopted people even though
I wasn't adopted. So growing up being mixed race in
(48:00):
an all white family had huge challenges and going from
you know, different communities to my home life and being
between different worlds so to speak, and at the end
of the day just taught me to like absolutely love
and understand and accept these these barriers and these lines
(48:22):
that we put up or imaginary they're built. It's not
actual reality, and people all want the same thing. We
all want love and but to cross between the different
worlds and tell everybody to be kind to each other
has always been kind of my job.
Speaker 1 (48:38):
Yeah yeah, yeah, Well that's first of all, thank you
for sharing that as well. That's a very personal thing
to share. And I think what's so cool about both
your stories is, while very different stories, it's about trusting
a little voice inside of yourself to go through something
to help you feel better In the long run right
to put this persona on to get through what you
were going through, to trust that voice, to feel free
(48:59):
or knowing that truth. And I think we all have it,
and some call it intuition.
Speaker 4 (49:04):
Right.
Speaker 1 (49:04):
If you tap into that a little bit, it's amazing
what can come and what you can feel as a result.
So I think that's really really cool man. Like I said,
I enjoyed this so much. I really, I really think
that aside from having a great time with this conversation,
one of my favorite parts was watching the two of
you look at each other when the other one was speaking,
(49:25):
because you both just look at each other with such
admiration and awe when the other one has the mic.
And that's really cool to see because I am a
sucker for love and I think it's a beautiful thing.
And I just thank you too. Are are great spirits
and I'm really happy you came on.
Speaker 3 (49:38):
Oh, thank you so much. Thank you for having us.
Speaker 2 (49:41):
We really appreciate it. It's it's really beautiful to be here.
And this was this was like, it's so nice to
be in a space where it's a bit thought thought
provoking and organic. And since you're in a world that
you know, we all want to be entertained and have fun.
But I really love this stuff. That's that's sincere and deep.
Speaker 5 (49:58):
So thank you, thank you, thank you.
Speaker 1 (50:00):
Both come back anytime, and you have a lot of
developing to do, so get to it.
Speaker 2 (50:03):
Yes, sir, thank you, thank you.
Speaker 1 (50:07):
I've never said this before. Is hosted by me Tommy Diderio.
This podcast is executive produced
Hey, guys, welcome to I've never said this before with
me Tommy di Dario. Oh guys, today Today is a
very exciting episode because I have not one, but two
very gifted artists on my show, and after spending some
time with them, it is safe to say they are
a couple goals. They are thoughtful and funny and charming
and introspective and ah man, I feel like the world
(00:22):
needs a little more Joseph Morgan and Persia White in
it now. Joseph Shata fame with his iconic portrayal of
the devilish villain Klaus in The Vampire Diaries, which then
led to the creation of his very own spinoff series,
The Originals, because the world needed more of this epic character.
Persia Shota fame after the world fell in love with
her character Lynn in eight seasons of the hit series Girlfriends,
(00:44):
which followed the lives of four black women and told
such powerful and groundbreaking stories. So today we are celebrating
two people who I've had made such an impact in
pop culture history. They really have, all while learning a
little bit more about these very special humans. And I
want to give a quick and very big shout out
to Tommy Bahama, my personal sponsor for today's episode. I
(01:04):
have been living in their new Bora Kade Chino pants.
You guys, they are so comfortable. The fit is absolutely insane.
So my dud's out there. You're gonna want to live
in these for the rest of the year. And my ladies,
if you grab them for your man, your brother, your bestie,
you will be their hero. So go to Tommy Buhammad
dot com, check out the Bora k Chino pants and
thank me later. All right, let's see if today we
(01:27):
can get Persia and Joseph to say something that they
have never said before. Two for one today. I am
so excited to have you both in studio. How are you,
my friends?
Speaker 2 (01:42):
Very good?
Speaker 3 (01:43):
Yeah, thank you for having us. We appreciate it.
Speaker 1 (01:45):
Very exciting, we were saying. We met twenty twenty on Instagram.
Speaker 4 (01:49):
We did when everything was remote. Yes, but now we've
made it to the same room. Finally, finally circle has completed.
Speaker 1 (01:57):
The best things are worth the way they say, right, well,
I'm so happy to have you both here. I feel
like this palpable energy in this room right now. There's
like this I can't describe it, I can't put it
into words, but I feel something here. I feel like,
oh it's witchcraft. Oh, very on theme for Halloween coming up.
Speaker 2 (02:17):
Yes, no, it's just a little TVD shout out.
Speaker 5 (02:21):
You guys have good energy, I do feel.
Speaker 3 (02:23):
Oh, thank you so much.
Speaker 1 (02:24):
Yeah, i'mslfe to have you. We have so much to
talk about and celebrate, Persia. You have a lot going
on with a twenty fifth anniversary of a project. We're
going to dive into. Joseph, you have such an epic
body of work. The two of you are a couple
goals for so many people. So we're gonna have a
lot of fun today and dive into all sorts of things. First,
before we do that, welcome to New York officially.
Speaker 3 (02:46):
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (02:46):
As an East Coast Ambassador, born and raised in New
Jersey and here since two thousand and five. I'm excited
to have you.
Speaker 2 (02:54):
You're enjoying New York, loving it?
Speaker 4 (02:57):
Yeah, we absolutely love it. I mean, the novelty hasn't
or not at all. You know, it's just so kind
of exciting. I feel, you know, like you're talking about
feeling that energy in this room. I feel that in
this city. You know, you feel like you're part of something.
I feel like We're constantly soaking up the stimulation from
all the people, from all the art, the culture, the music,
(03:19):
the theater, the theater.
Speaker 2 (03:21):
Yes, yeah, I love the people. I really love the
people of New York I always have. It's special, it's beautiful,
it's really it's my heart. I love it. And I
was actually born in Philadelphia. There's a misconception. I don't
know how, like wiki in the world gets things wrong, right,
People put that I was born in Miami. I'm not.
(03:41):
I was born in Philadelphia. So I feel the East Coast.
You know, this is where I would have ended up
if it wasn't for a lot of life turns. But yeah,
I love it here.
Speaker 1 (03:52):
Well, you were meant to be here in this moment
in time, right, So it's great to have you here.
I love welcoming new friends to the city. I guess
to begin, my god, I feel like between the two
of you, there's so much talent in this room. I'm
gonna burst. But let's start with.
Speaker 2 (04:08):
You.
Speaker 5 (04:08):
Joseph.
Speaker 3 (04:10):
Okay, okay, it has.
Speaker 1 (04:12):
Been about over a decade since the original's premiered.
Speaker 4 (04:16):
It's been yes, that's right. I think it was twelve years.
Theres twelve years.
Speaker 1 (04:21):
Yeah, yeah, twelve years, and then the Empire Diarist was
over a decade and a half, I mean over fifteen years.
Speaker 5 (04:28):
So that's wild man.
Speaker 1 (04:30):
What you built doing that is just quite impressive, building
a character that is so huge in pop culture history
that people still love to this day, that people are
streaming and restreaming and discovering again. So when you think
back to that period of your life, what are you
the most proud of with that role?
Speaker 3 (04:47):
Oh?
Speaker 4 (04:47):
Man, I guess, well, I guess what I'm most proud
of is the connection that we built with the fans.
You know, because I came into Vampire Diaries as a
villain and it was going to be one season, I think,
(05:08):
and so I had a good idea of how I
wanted to play it. But the more I kind of
got into the role, the more I found opportunities for
vulnerability and to open him up and to try and
kind of bring people onside. And not only because my
job as an actor is to sort of understand, if
not agree with the motives of my character, you know,
so I can portray him, and I felt I found
(05:31):
an opportunity to let other people in and help them understand.
And then when we started the originals. It became all
about Klaus's family, right and looking out for family they
always and forever the Vow family overall. You know, we
can be awful to each other, but woeatide anyone who
comes and stands against us. You know, we have each
other's backs. That's what the Vow meant. And then you
(05:55):
know that transitioned and grew and evolved into this sort
of family that was even bigger than the show that
Persia and I developed, especially during Lockdown, you know, communicating
with the fans, doing these kind of shows and performances
and these engagement events and then engaging with them in
all different sort of ways. We found we founded this
(06:17):
kind of family that looked out for each other and
with a with a focus on you know, anti bullying,
on the idea that we'll all support each other.
Speaker 3 (06:28):
To get through this. And people needed it at that time.
We needed it at that time.
Speaker 4 (06:31):
You know, it was a dark time, and so it was.
I think I'm most proud of that of the connections forged.
And that's why it meant so much, I believe to
a lot of people, and why it means so much
to us.
Speaker 1 (06:46):
I want you to think about this from when we
talk about girlfriends as well, So think about this question too.
But if you can collectively think of all your work
as Claus, and if you were speaking to somebody who
has never seen the show, never seen your performance, and
you could sit them down and watch one scene of yours,
what would you show them?
Speaker 3 (07:06):
Ah? Oh, man, I don't know's that's a hard one.
Speaker 2 (07:15):
You know so many episodes.
Speaker 4 (07:18):
There's so many episodes, you know. The funny thing as
well is I watch episode I'll catch a moment of
the Vampire Diaries now and not remember that doing the
scene at all, like this is new to me. But
every scene of the originals I remember being there on
set and specifically what was happening. So it's a weird thing.
I guess I would probably show them, Okay, I would
(07:45):
show them the scene from episode one, season eight where
Klaus he's betrayed by his sister and his best friend
or his ado did San Marcel and he does this
big speech to all these vampires who were gathered in
the courtyard to fight him, and he said, look, whoever
(08:06):
gets to pick up this coin can live, and the
rest of you will die. And none of them pick
up the coin. So then he has this huge fight
with all of them, and in the end, you know,
Marcel Bensoniine picks up the coin. And I think i'd
show that because I believe it shows a lot of
different sides of Klaus. It shows his hurt at his betrayal,
It shows the grand standing, the theatrics of the character,
which I love to play, and then you know some
(08:29):
of the the action, you know, the the fighting and
the power of him and the sort of epic scale
of the show. I'd show that, and I kept the
coin from that. I have that as a souvenir.
Speaker 1 (08:43):
Yeah, that's really cool. That's a solid choice. That's a
solid choice.
Speaker 5 (08:47):
I think that what.
Speaker 1 (08:49):
Resonates with so many people with both of your performances
is they were shows that had something to say, even
in your world where you think it's just kind of
natural and like, how does that relate to humanity?
Speaker 5 (09:02):
It does.
Speaker 1 (09:03):
And your show Girlfriends was so trailblazing and it meant
so much to so many people, And I think that's
always cool when you can be part of something that
moves the conversation in pop culture and in history. And
of course, I mean to this day, I still think
the Klaus Caroline relationship is one of the most talked
(09:24):
about relationships in pop culture.
Speaker 5 (09:26):
To this day.
Speaker 1 (09:26):
People still talk about it and I can't scroll Instagram
weekly without seeing a meme or a video or an
opinion about it. I mean, what did you think about
that relationship and why do you think it was so
talked about it and so popular?
Speaker 3 (09:40):
You know, I think it was really.
Speaker 4 (09:44):
The beginning of seeing that other side of Klaus, the vulnerabilities,
and it came in a bit when they introduced his
parents as well, that anger towards his parents and that
kind of hatred there, and then a softer side of him.
So you had this guy who was really this you know,
villain who did unspeakable things, this this really damaged character
(10:06):
who did horrible, horrible things to his enemies, but then
he had this kind of passion about those he cared about,
and that came through as well in the Originals with
his daughter Hope. I think they really like capitalized on
that and and and we went further down that road.
But I think that idea that people had that there
could be this person out there who cared for them
(10:29):
and had and was gentle and kind to them and
emotional and passionate about them and yet would do these
terrible things to protect them if needed. I think that
was something that is appealing to people, you know, perhaps
people who've felt on the outside and who felt like
(10:52):
who felt vulnerable themselves. The idea of having this protector, I.
Speaker 1 (10:56):
Think, yeah, no, I would agree with that for sure.
There's so many people who still that they were angering.
Speaker 4 (11:02):
Yeah, but like he was never going to have a
happy ending, you know, I think and for me as
an actor, like certainly filming the show, you know, whilst
we were filming it, I wanted the drama and the conflict.
I didn't feel like, oh, now he's in a relationship
for this season.
Speaker 3 (11:20):
It feels like.
Speaker 4 (11:21):
A little boring as an actor, Like, you know, all
due respect to the people who you know, who were
invested in different relationships and ships and so on in
the show, it's like, I feel like, you want the
challenge and the conflict and the drama.
Speaker 3 (11:39):
I want the drama.
Speaker 4 (11:41):
Yeah, you know, so I feel like the reason people
wanted that so much is because we didn't give it
to them, and we created this drama and this friction
and the same with his siblings, the way you always
wanted them to root for each other and to team
up and to be together, and yet they were always
there was always these struggles and these fights and these complications,
because that's life, right.
Speaker 1 (12:01):
Yeah it is, I say you smiling hard over that.
Speaker 2 (12:03):
I am, because I also think it's interesting because during
that time we were falling in love.
Speaker 3 (12:10):
Oh that was when we met all of.
Speaker 2 (12:12):
Those lines together in real life, like we were. I
feel very much a part of that. Ironically, people then
sometimes want the fiction to be reality, but I feel
invested emotionally because of being there and being part of it.
And we were so falling in love and painting every
night and together every night. And I remember when you've
shot some of the scenes, you came home and we
(12:33):
would talk about how great it was and just this
new dynamic to this guy that was a villain and
that he has a heart and how special that is.
But in real life we were having this incredible, explosive Yeah.
Speaker 3 (12:48):
No, that's right.
Speaker 4 (12:48):
So there's this relationship absolutely. So there's this one scene
where he where Caroline is dying. What we don't talk about,
by the way, is he was the cause of her diet,
that he was the cause of her dying. But you know,
he comes in and he's going to offer his blood
(13:09):
to cure and he talks about how, you know, there's
a whole world out there for you, you know, great art
and music and a whole you know, countries to visit
and things to explore. And this was right when Persia
and I met, and this whole world was kind of
opening up for me, and I'd found this person who,
you know, first of all, we both paint, so, like
she said, we'd have these kind of nights and until
(13:30):
the early hours of the morning painting in my loft
in Atlanta and creating all this art together and talking
about the things that inspired us, and it felt like
these whole worlds were opening up and so being able
to quite easily draw upon that and channel that into
those performances, you know, especially because we were running the line,
so I was literally saying these lines to her. You know,
(13:52):
I feel like maybe there's sparks of that in there
that people latched onto, And I think that's why people
have ultimately come to be so supportive of us and
understanding of our relationship and wanting to kind of invest
in it and know more about it, because there is, though,
those sparks that are undeniably sort of magnetic.
Speaker 1 (14:14):
I describe it as when I met my husband, I
describe it as fire went through my body, like I
just knew. I knew I didn't want someone. I wasn't looking,
but it was just like feeling of fire taking over
my body, and I was like, shit, I can't ignore this.
Speaker 5 (14:33):
Shits.
Speaker 1 (14:33):
And we're celebrating ten years married in April, so love
should always be celebrated, right, So I totally feel that
that's so interesting that you were running those lines and
kind of invested equally in that character and that relationship
because you felt like a part of that.
Speaker 5 (14:49):
That's really cool.
Speaker 2 (14:50):
Whatever he was doing, Like you said, there's this fire,
there's this passion, and you're excited and full of love
and vibrants and all of that has sort of pulls through.
I've heard of this with musicians as well, like everything
that's going on in your life behind the scenes is
part of the scene, underneath the energy of whatever's happening,
(15:11):
and it comes out and so yeah, I felt invested
in connected. Of course, it's just the whole journey. I
love everything that Joseph does because we were.
Speaker 4 (15:21):
She was a massive part of it, you know, through
the whole thing. Of course, like obviously running the lines,
we did that, you know, every night we'd.
Speaker 3 (15:29):
Be running to be she had more pleasure sacrifice a lot.
Speaker 4 (15:35):
She came to Atlanta and she would run all these
lines with me and we talk about the character and
we'd we'd sometimes like we'd tweak out the dialogue and
then I talked to the writers and we'd we'd really
kind of work the whole thing, you know what I mean.
I mean, she was the one like when when the
Originals offer came that was like, you have to do this,
this is a good idea. And then when I was
getting fed up with being on the Originals because as
(15:55):
every actor who's been on a long running show starts
to feel like maybe there's something else I should be doing,
she said, you know, having been on the show for
eight and a half years, probably just said this is
it'll be over in the blink of an eye, and
this is something that really connects with people, and you
should really try and enjoy it while it's happening. And
so that was those were really important words for me,
(16:16):
you know, from someone I deeply respected and loved to
kind of reinvest myself in it, you know, and it.
Speaker 2 (16:23):
Was great because he brought all this You brought all
this influence to your fellow cast, which were always telling
me because I was like, like I said, I was
the on set, a help for Joseph in a million
different ways, but you know, I was just there. I
was always there, and people would come over and tell
me their opinion of Joseph a lot and be like,
you know, he inspires the group. What's great is the
(16:44):
person at the top of the call sheet means so
much on a show. You sort of set the tone,
and there was this dedication to the craft. And of
course Joseph always came knowing all his lines didn't matter
if his schedule was so tight. He would come home
sometimes be three am and be like, we've to run
these scenes because it's tomorrow at first up and it's
huge amounts of dialogue and so you know. But people
(17:07):
loved the tone that he set, and I got to
hear about it a lot, and it was so exciting
because as a fellow actor, I swore I'd never date
another actor. Kind of like you said, you felt that fire.
I was like, I'll never date an actor again. I
will never be I want someone not in the industry
in that way, and then you meet someone that's fire
(17:28):
and love and you go, Okay, well this is happening
because I can't deny it. It's unreliable. Yeah, it's an
undeniable connection. But the beauty was him being different in
that way of like stepping up to a different level
where you're setting a good tone and you're really being
collaborative and your your whole show is affected by it.
(17:51):
You know. I've seen it go down in other shows
I've visited. I was lucky enough to be on a
show where it was a good tone, and I've done
in other sets and you go, oh, but it starts
at the top, you know, and that trickles into everybody
and things fall into really you know stories you hear
where people are quite unhappy, and it was exciting seeing
(18:12):
someone set the tone like that.
Speaker 1 (18:20):
It's such an important role for you and for pop
culture and equally for you, you know, because you were
such a part of it. I love hearing stories like
that because it takes it takes a lot of special
people to produce something like what you produced in that
performance and in that show, and it takes the support
of an amazing partner that hopefully everyone's lucky to have
(18:43):
to reach their own wildest dreams. So that's that's really
cool being the constant line runner and always going through
the scripts on your own. Is there a line that
you do remember that you really liked to fiss throughout
the years or you forget them all? Oh my god,
do you still say any of them? Like do you
yourself like, oh, that wasn't me, that was clou.
Speaker 2 (19:04):
Do I line in here and there? Probably every chance
I get? Yeah, we know that we joke though a lot,
because we joke all the time. We were just the
other day going, this is like a scene. This is
us just just bantering, just playing, and then He'll do
something and say, like a line, and then I'll joke
and like, yeah, counterline.
Speaker 4 (19:25):
Because we're mucking around, you know what I mean. Like
we honestly, one of the things that I loved about
Persia from the beginning was she's just so funny. So
I'm laughing a lot of the day, which is wonderful
to have that amount of laughter in your life. And
so we muck around in the kitchen when we're cooking
and different things and sort of singing stupid little songs
and sort of like doing impressions and stuff. And she
said to me the other day, if this was in
(19:46):
a scene, if this was on the script, you'd say
it was too much, like.
Speaker 3 (19:49):
Oh, that's not realistic. They wouldn't do that, you know,
but oh.
Speaker 2 (19:53):
This would never happen ever, say this like we just
said it. Yeah, so you probably sneak lines it.
Speaker 4 (19:59):
I probably he do. He's he's still living there somewhere
and deep in my subconscious I.
Speaker 5 (20:04):
Think it comes out from time to time.
Speaker 3 (20:06):
From time to time, we're.
Speaker 5 (20:07):
Not the most horrific parts of him.
Speaker 4 (20:09):
He's all down there over the years.
Speaker 2 (20:16):
But yeah, there's a lot of fire in there. I
was joking, go, well, I could have been with someone
very complacent and nice and calm, and you want it
comes with it, the territory.
Speaker 5 (20:28):
That's right, Yes it does, Yes it does.
Speaker 1 (20:30):
And you you also worked on the show, of course,
you played Bonnie's mom. Was that fun to dip your
feet into that world a little bit?
Speaker 2 (20:36):
Well? The beauty was, you know, being with the people.
I really loved the crew. The crew was really beautiful.
They're my two favorite. I know it sounds silly, but
when you're an actor who really affects us is the
people around us so much. It isn't just the other
actors that's like five people out of two hundred. So
(20:59):
you have your face for experiences that are outside of
just the acting, that are the people. And that was
one of my favorite people experiences other than like Canada.
I really loved Atlanta and so we had a great time,
and I was so already immediately. I met Joseph the
day I got there, so it wasn't like that thing
started instantly, So it was exciting every time I got
(21:21):
to come back to do the work and be with
Kat and then also see Joseph. And so it got
to the point where I was there so much that
they were like, we don't even need to fly her
in for this one. She's here. I'm like, oh, Jilly,
tell them I'm still here, like you know. But it
was really nice just being a part of the energy
(21:41):
of the crew. They took it so patient. There was
a lot of patience and sincerity, which I loved because
it was a genre show, and I'd been on a
genre show before where a lot of people are just
sort of slagging it off and like oh yeah, whereas
this wasn't like that. It was like everything is we
(22:02):
go over the scene and whispers and we talk and
the directors and there was like an energy there that
was really calm, and I want to call it like
a patience and beauty to it that I loved. I
loved it. Yeah, it was.
Speaker 3 (22:16):
Really definitely.
Speaker 4 (22:19):
An effort from the beginning to ground everything, to make
sure that the characters were sincere and were real and
even though it was genre, you know, to make it
they're going through real issues. And I can remember one
of the first things they told me when I got
to set was don't play a vampire. I don't try
and play it like it's he's a vampire, you know.
And so I think that's one of the reasons it
(22:40):
had such great success, because you know, I always think
as a director or a showrunner or a creator, one
of the greatest skills you can have is a consistency
of tone. And they really got the tone right, and
they stuck to it throughout, you know what I mean.
They were consistent with it, and that's why people connected,
even though they were these supernatural beings people invested in connected.
Speaker 1 (23:02):
So to put a pin on this part of the conversation,
Part one is for you. Part two is for you
for this question. I want your answer to You know,
a lot of people want to see Klaus again. Would
you want to see Klaus again?
Speaker 2 (23:16):
Ah?
Speaker 4 (23:16):
Man, you know, I mean if the if it was
the right story, I could see it happening. I think
I'm a time in my life where there's been enough
distance and I dipped in for a second at the
end of Legacies, you know, to do that little bit.
(23:38):
I think if the story was there, then I'd be
open to it. Yeah, because he was such a huge
part of my life.
Speaker 3 (23:50):
So yeah, I never say never.
Speaker 5 (23:52):
How would you feel about that?
Speaker 2 (23:54):
Oh? Wow? I mean I just met with the girls
for the twenty fifth and it was just so wonderful.
I think it would be lovely because the character of
Lynn was more twenty twenty five than when she was
the show was on. She was more of this era,
and I think she'd be very much an advocate for
(24:16):
a lot of the things going on now. Things I
got in trouble for for being an advocate for gay rights,
things that I got heat for are absolutely on fire,
on point now, like things you.
Speaker 1 (24:29):
Got heat for in your personal life.
Speaker 2 (24:31):
My personal life, for letting my character speak up for
people I in my personal life got ridicule and attacked,
yes very much for being way too open sexually and
primarily dealing with LGBQ and open minded US in general.
A lot of she just saw life is very free thinking,
(24:53):
and that wasn't really for conservative sitcom. Was it was not.
You know, you have shows like Ephoria and it's like, oh, okay,
you know, but back then that was unheard of. And
so yeah, it's pretty exciting to see where she would
be now, what kind of ally should be, where she'd
be in life, and who she'd be championing. I think
(25:14):
it would be exciting to take someone that was more
of this era than of that era and let them
live these stories because it would be really fascinating.
Speaker 1 (25:22):
Yeah, she was very much ahead of her time, and
I can't believe it's the twenty fifth anniversary, yeah, of
that show. I mean it was just it meant so
much to so many people.
Speaker 2 (25:35):
You feel that well, hear and meet them. I mean,
I hear the words and I meet the people, and
that's what's been so inspired. That's the only reason that
would be really fun to do that character again is
because I've met so many girls actually, particularly this year,
and men so many people that have said, wow, you
brought up a conversation that I was afraid to talk
(25:56):
to my mom about, Like you are the first person
where we could speak about these things and the Vampire Dires.
We did it in genre, so a lot of it
was I feel like symbolic. You know, it parallels towards
you know, religious differences or different differences between groups. But
there it was literal and that was you know, hot
(26:17):
topic a lot, and our Churrenna got a lot of
She also got a lot of pressure to not do
some of the storylines that she did, and I just
feel like, ah, it was so it's so exciting to
live that long ago. It's finally, it's finally okay. I
was just telling Joseph the other day. I was like,
it's like, it's finally okay. The things I believed in
(26:39):
for twenty five years and get an awful ridicule four
and attacked for And I was like, I'm being attacked
for being an ally by the way, and I was like, fine,
that attacked me, But now it's absolutely not just acceptable.
It's unacceptable to not be free thinking in a lot
of areas of the world. And yet we also going
(27:00):
backwards and forwards at the same time. So I feel
like it's even more relevant to stand up for these
I want to say open minded perspectives and have that
voice in the room in a show and not close
things off. So it's pretty exciting, which is you know,
like I said, what we what we really champion in
(27:22):
real life?
Speaker 1 (27:23):
I think what you're saying is we need girlfriends right
now in the day Aage again. And I think you're
here today to announce that it's coming back in some
way form because I see you all over talking about it.
Speaker 5 (27:35):
It's twenty five years, I mean, so anything to share.
Speaker 2 (27:38):
Vampire girlfriends, Yeah, girlfriends.
Speaker 3 (27:43):
We decided to merge the two. Well, it's all been
leading to this to tell.
Speaker 1 (27:49):
You it would be better than half the stuff out there.
Speaker 5 (27:51):
So I would watch it. I would definitely watch it.
Speaker 2 (27:53):
Oh my god, could you imagine all the girlfriends are
vampires and they're like, no, what do they look so
good after all these times?
Speaker 1 (27:59):
Watch you see in Deadline an article come out, new
show concept coming out?
Speaker 5 (28:04):
Oh no, it would be it would be good.
Speaker 2 (28:06):
Well, we have a production company, it'll be on them.
We'll put it on the maybe list.
Speaker 1 (28:12):
We go yeah for each of your respective shows. Was
there a storyline you really wanted to hit that you
didn't get to hit?
Speaker 3 (28:22):
Yeah, yeah, definitely for me.
Speaker 4 (28:24):
You know, the cool thing about the originals, right is
they were a thousand years old, So we flashed back
to all these different eras, and there was talk for
a minute of flashing back to the sixties and they
were going to do it.
Speaker 3 (28:36):
We even had a wig picked out for me, like.
Speaker 4 (28:38):
This Jim Morrison kind of wig and a whole look
for Klaus, and I was so excited about going and
doing that storyline, but then that just kind of fell
to the wayside and we never got to explore it.
So I would love to see, you know, what was
happening in the sixties for the Michaelson's. I'd love to
go explore that.
Speaker 5 (28:54):
That would be fine.
Speaker 2 (28:54):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, really exciting. That would be really fun
to see. I think you though when you went with
you and Daniel were in the past, that was a
lot of wigs.
Speaker 3 (29:05):
Yeah, like that.
Speaker 4 (29:06):
Mine was it was like shorter and wavy, like kind
of like Jim Morrison from The Doors. I mean, I
went through a lot of wigs on that show. You know,
we bounced about eras a lot, but.
Speaker 2 (29:15):
So it's kind of about a boyish like the wig.
No your hair. Yeah, it was like kind of.
Speaker 3 (29:20):
Like his like kind of like like like her rocks,
like Jim Morrison kind.
Speaker 2 (29:24):
Of like this. I just think of you as a
Kirk Cobain.
Speaker 3 (29:27):
Yeah, that's what you want.
Speaker 1 (29:29):
She's like, can we go stop at abercadab and buy
that wig because I want you to wear that tonight.
Speaker 3 (29:33):
She wear.
Speaker 4 (29:36):
Blonde wig the other week and she had it on
and she was like trying to make me do Cobaine
impressions and she's filming it, and this is what she
does when she films it. She could just just just
for us, this is just for us, you know, and
tries to convince me like it's never gonna go for.
Speaker 2 (29:51):
I never put anything. I sometimes just want it for me.
For the archives.
Speaker 4 (29:58):
I'm terrified of all the just for videos. I've been
accumulating that that's.
Speaker 2 (30:04):
What people are really going to want to see.
Speaker 1 (30:06):
The documentary just coming to Amazon Prime next year.
Speaker 4 (30:11):
We're building a whole slate here, a whole production coming slate.
This is happening Girlfriend Vampire Girlfriends just for us, the documentary.
Speaker 1 (30:18):
What else are we going to come up with I
can't wait, I can't wait, and what about you?
Speaker 5 (30:21):
Was there? Storyline?
Speaker 2 (30:22):
Storyline? I mean I really wanted her to get more
politically active, like to be more of an activist, because
they were shying away back then from activism. But now
that's absolutely okay, and that's I feel like the path
she might have gone down. But yeah, more activism because
they were on the direction of possibly because we didn't
(30:42):
you know, we got cut early. It was like exploring
her having success. And she's been the one that's been
mooching off her friends for the last like eight years,
so it was going to be kind of fun to
see her have success. Yeah, in music and in life.
Speaker 1 (30:57):
That would be really cool, all right, You never know,
never know, a lot of ideas are floating around today.
For sure, you both have had such amazing careers and
such success that people dream of in your world, right,
And sometimes it's hard to remember that and keep that
perspective because you know, the grind of life and it
just happens and you go, go, go go girl. Do
(31:18):
you feel proud of what you both have accomplished individually
and together, and how would you describe this chapter of
your lives that you're in right now.
Speaker 4 (31:28):
I mean, yeah, I'm immensely proud of what of the
work that I've done and that we've done together. It's
amazing because because we've built up this connection with the fans,
you know, we do get reminded of how much that
work has meant to people, which is incredibly rewarding and humbling.
(31:50):
To be honest with you, it's weird when you're filming it,
you're in a bubble, you know, and you don't realize
the impact it's having because you're just running. You're just
you know, running, and especially on network television, you know,
it's twenty two episodes a year and eight day episodes.
You're filming nine and a half months out of the year.
It's it's just NonStop. But yeah, I do have moments
(32:14):
of reflection now, definitely over what that meant to people,
especially like when I went back to do the Little
Legacies cameo at the end of that show. I watched
some of the fan videos that have been put together,
of which there are many, and these these kind of
montages people have put together of their favorite moments and
(32:38):
you know, put to music and all sorts of things,
and you realize what an impact it's had on people's
lives and all the tattoos that were asked to write
out for people to have tattooed and things like that.
It's incredible, the yeah, that the power the show has had,
and so yeah, I'm incredibly proud of that. I think
it's I don't know, I don't have words for it really,
(33:04):
because it's to be a part of something which has
had such an impact on people.
Speaker 3 (33:10):
Yeah, it's amazing. I mean, what do you think?
Speaker 2 (33:13):
We were just saying, how incredibly gracious and an enormous
amount of gratitude we feel. I feel more this year
in our lives. We just were talking about this the
other day and we were saying, God, it feels so
good because we try and keep our heads on straight.
(33:34):
I know that the world is complicated. Not everybody. There's
people I love that lose it. You know, it's hard.
There's a lot of stress, anxiety, a lot of suffering,
a lot of pain, and we meet a lot of
people in pain. At these conventions. We get the honor
of connecting with the people. And prior to that, I
(33:54):
didn't really other than on the street, and we both
used to kind of run from people and be afraid
of it. You just don't know what to do with it.
You're like, I don't know what you want from me,
and I don't know what you're expecting, and it's just
too much pressure, really. And so because we've had so
much contact and the honor of the twenty five year anniversary,
(34:18):
there's just so many beautiful people I've met over the
years that say, you actually had a profound impact on
my life. Which we get in this hoping that we'll
just simply do well, make ourselves and maybe a family
member too proud, but you get into it and you're
actually affecting people's lives. I feel more grateful than I've
(34:38):
ever been in my entire life because we're taking all
of that. And then we also have a production company
where we're now taking the voices of the people who've
talked to us and the passion and the love that
we've received, and we're going to put it into products
that we try and create and make and put that
back out into the universe. But I think it's probably
the most like incredible thing to have people come up
(35:03):
to you and tell you the impact and know that
you did something good, because not everybody gets to do
that you know.
Speaker 4 (35:11):
Yeah, through through telling stories, you know, and that's what
we's that's what this chapter of our life is about now.
Like as you said, with this production company that we started,
you know, we from the beginning, we from the moment
we met, we were kind of telling stories to each
other and developing little things. We shot a couple of
short films with the Cruise from the Vampire Diaries and
then from the Originals, and you know, we were always
(35:32):
kind of developing these stories and these ideas and the
music videos that we show up with Persia, all of
these things. But now just taking that to the next level,
and you know, just continuing to bring stories to these
people who who mean so much to us and who's
you know, our stories have meant so much too. It's
(35:54):
really it's something we take very.
Speaker 2 (35:57):
Seriously and never thought Klausen Lynn would team, but I
can see it. It's happened that I like that we
meet double I call them like the two world crossover fans.
It's the best. Wait, you knew Lynn and you new
clubs and you're going, oh wait, okay, that that's kind
of outrageous, but Lynn is very accepting.
Speaker 4 (36:20):
It turns out she's incredibly open minded, very forgiving.
Speaker 1 (36:25):
Yes, oh my god, well that's amazing. There seems to
be some things in the works and more coming from
you guys down the line.
Speaker 5 (36:38):
Huh yeah.
Speaker 4 (36:39):
Absolutely, we're working really hard. You know, we are quite
driven and spend most of our time that we have,
you know, pushing one thing forward or another.
Speaker 2 (36:49):
So you have a lot of writing lately, and we
collaborate and we've always been collaborating though. But it's exciting
to do it knowing what the fans want to a degree,
like it's your own creative and your own excited, enthusiastic,
passionate energies connected. But also it's exciting to know the
(37:11):
kind of things that really connect to us and the people.
You know, I love being bold and risky and open
minded and inclusive and daring, and Joseph scares people.
Speaker 4 (37:26):
Yeah, I think also, you know, everything that we're developing,
there's a common thread with it, which is this the
idea of family and an imperfect family.
Speaker 3 (37:36):
You know, a family that.
Speaker 4 (37:39):
Needs to stick together or that it's to a certain
degree is forced to stick together and.
Speaker 3 (37:44):
Has each other.
Speaker 4 (37:45):
But also none of these are kind of perfect family relationships.
It comes with all of the trauma and the dynamics
of a real life family.
Speaker 2 (37:53):
And bullying is a big thing. And as from social
we've learned a lot, even with our fans, A girl
actually ended up committing suicide and it was season.
Speaker 4 (38:02):
Two, that was when I first joined Vampire Diaries. I
remember hearing about that and it was like a thirteen
year old girl and it was just through bullying over
the ships you know on the show, and it's so
crazy and so it can be so toxic that the
social media bullying. And that's again why we made an effort,
especially during the pandemic, to connect with the fans and
(38:24):
to promote this sort of safe space where that was
the you know, the core of it all.
Speaker 2 (38:30):
And then a lot of themes with characters sort of
the underdog and overcoming obstacles. It's I think even if
you look at Klaus's backstory, he was bullied, you know,
and that theme of overcoming everything and being your stronger
self is and of course, you know, I love the
themes of that between Lynn and being an activist, just
(38:50):
really the underdog overcoming the world could be against you,
but you overcome all of it with heart and passion.
Speaker 1 (38:59):
Yeah, it sounds like, you guys are working on some
good things, things that the world needs. So I'm excited
to see what's to come. That sounds really really cool.
You two, I could talk to you for four more hours.
Speaker 5 (39:09):
This is.
Speaker 2 (39:12):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (39:13):
I am so enjoying this conversation. I wrap up every
episode with the same question, which was born because I
cover a lot of red carpet premieres and sit down junkets.
But you both know very well from doing them, and
you know, it's so quick. It's two minutes on a carpet,
four minutes out of junket. It's not the most real
(39:33):
conversation you can have with somebody. It's you know, very
much SoundBite driven and the same question being asked because
every outlet needs it right. So that's how this show
was born. I was kind of seeing a little something
in the eyes of people that I was speaking to, like, oh,
I just like wish I could say a little something
more like I don't want to say this again. And
that's the concept for the show, is to bring people
(39:55):
on and ask this question, to give them a space
to say something they've never really had a change has
to say before. Whatever that means to the individual that
they want to say. So that question is, what is
something that each of you has never said before that
you want to share today.
Speaker 2 (40:11):
We've talked about this really quick.
Speaker 3 (40:14):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (40:14):
Is it the heavy version, meaning the deep stuff? Or
are you light or do you have a preference for
the light deep or a taste of each.
Speaker 5 (40:22):
I leave that up to my guests.
Speaker 3 (40:25):
Oh wow, okay, okay.
Speaker 2 (40:30):
Which one are you gonna go with?
Speaker 1 (40:33):
I will Most people tend to go more deep. They
don't get a chance to do that, they feel awkward
doing it in other platforms.
Speaker 5 (40:43):
But that's not to say that has to be the one.
So it's up to you.
Speaker 2 (40:46):
It's good to know that. No, we wanted to know
because we were worried that my mediate impulse was deep,
and then I thought, is that too deep? Are they
wanting something light and we're gonna go dark and serious
or are we going to keep it fluffy? But okay,
it's up to us, and it's an opportunity to say something.
Speaker 3 (41:04):
That yeah, yeah, okay, okay, okay.
Speaker 4 (41:11):
So there probably elements of this have been touched on,
but I don't think I've kind of come at it
as a whole. So I moved when I was young
to Wales, from England, so I was in a place
with a different accent and with kids that I didn't
(41:32):
know who'd all started school before me. So there was
definitely an aspect of being an outsider, and I found
it really hard to make any friends. There was actually
quite a lot of animosity in school, and I got
quite a lot of bullying. I remember my best friend
at the time would only be my best friend in secret,
like to everyone else, he said he didn't like me
(41:53):
because that was the that was the thing, right, So
at ten years old, I maybe no, maybe it was
even younger, eight or nine, I convinced everybody in my
class that I was a vampire. And I think it
was partly inspired by you know, I was inspired by
reading all these vampire novels and stuff even as a kid,
(42:14):
and I was thinking about it recently because you know,
there was a lot of the bullying that kind of
continued throughout most of school, Like I can't remember all
the kids singing about me in the class and all
with the teacher there until finally stopped them. And it
was mostly emotional and verbal, but sometimes physical as well.
(42:40):
And I think that my thinking behind telling everyone that
I was a vampire was because I was already being
treated as this outsider and this outcast, and so the
idea of making that a powerful reason, you know, making
that in my even in my own imagination, to convince
(43:01):
myself at times of that that the reason why I'm
different and I'm being shunned in this way or being
cast out is because I've got this kind of dark,
powerful secret, and that helped me get through school. It
sounds crazy maybe saying it out loud, but it helped
me get through feeling that like, no, I'm I'm special
(43:21):
and different and for these sort of powerful reasons, and
that they that's why I've been I've been cast out
in this way. And so I think that is what
I put into the character of Claus, is those feelings
from being like a young kid like that and being
treated like that really until I left school and went
(43:42):
to a performing arts college where.
Speaker 3 (43:44):
I found my tribe.
Speaker 4 (43:46):
But yeah, so I think that maybe is what helped
other people connect with the character as well. Is all
of these people in the world who feel like outsiders
and feel like outcasts, feel like they're not accepted, seeing
character who has genuinely been through been down that road
(44:07):
and been through those experiences and is so strong and
will stand up to anyone and will stand up for
people in those circumstances, and so close for me was
the sort of person that I wanted on my side.
He was the person I wanted to be, or I
wanted to in my corner at least. And maybe I
(44:30):
feel like upon reflection, that that's why people connected is
because so there was genuine experiences from my life sort
of well channeled into that, probably quite cathartic as well
to do that.
Speaker 1 (44:43):
Yeah, that's really cool. Thank you for sharing that. I
think it's something so many of us do. We all
have our own coping mechanisms right to get through whatever
we perceive as a difficult time in our lives. And
it's interesting that that ended up helping you create something
that became so meaningful to so many people. That's that's
the universe giving you a little wink saying I got you. Yeah,
(45:03):
I got you.
Speaker 5 (45:04):
So that's that's really cool. Thank you for that. Yeah,
and my dear.
Speaker 2 (45:10):
May have I haven't gotten into this whole story ever.
I've mentioned it to friends, but i'ven't done it in
an interview. I didn't ever meet my real father. I've
never met my real father, and I didn't know that
my stepfather wasn't my father. Growing up, I moved from
(45:33):
the Bahamas. I grew up in the Bahamas, but I
moved and I was seven because my stepfather was paralyzed
in a car accident and he was in a wheelchair
for the rest of his life. And when I moved
to America, I just thought that that was I grew
up believing that was my father, but he was very
distant because of the handicap. He wasn't part of our life.
(45:55):
And when I was twenty one, I had this feeling,
this this premonition, and it was really just a spiritual thing.
And I came to my mother and I said, I
know he's biologically my father, but I don't feel like
he's my father. There's something missing, and there's a link,
something's off. And she was like, well, how would you
feel if he wasn't your father? And I was thinking
(46:16):
she was just being theoretical, and I was like, I'd
probably feel free because it would make sense. And so
she said, well, I've never told you this. She started
crying and she was like, I didn't want you to
hate me. Promise you won't hate me, and I was like,
I'm the most open minded person in the world. You know,
I won't hate you. And she said, he's not your father,
and so we went to find my real father and
(46:37):
he had just died, so I didn't ever get to
meet my real father. But it was like a very
huge cathotic relief knowing that I had felt this feeling
like something was off. I remember even looking for adoption
papers in my mom's papers when I was at search
because people'd always say, are you adopted? But they were
(46:59):
asking me because because my brothers and sisters are all white,
I'm the only mixed one. My mom was with two
different marriages, and so it was all because of that,
and I was like, but I just feel like this foreigner.
I feel like this outsider. And that was the real link,
was that he wasn't my actual father, and it was
(47:19):
even all the way down to the scent. I was like,
there's something off. I feel like this person's a stranger.
But I'm supposed to be like Daddy when I see him,
which was only for visiting, you know, jump on his lap.
And I would be like, I feel like I'm doing this,
like I'm playing a role. I'm supposed to be, so
sometimes I think that's what makes me relate to the
(47:40):
outsiders as well. In the outcasts and even like types
of roles that have cultivated were people who are in
situations where they're not organically from And even Lynn was adopted,
and so I really relate to adopted people even though
I wasn't adopted. So growing up being mixed race in
(48:00):
an all white family had huge challenges and going from
you know, different communities to my home life and being
between different worlds so to speak, and at the end
of the day just taught me to like absolutely love
and understand and accept these these barriers and these lines
(48:22):
that we put up or imaginary they're built. It's not
actual reality, and people all want the same thing. We
all want love and but to cross between the different
worlds and tell everybody to be kind to each other
has always been kind of my job.
Speaker 1 (48:38):
Yeah yeah, yeah, Well that's first of all, thank you
for sharing that as well. That's a very personal thing
to share. And I think what's so cool about both
your stories is, while very different stories, it's about trusting
a little voice inside of yourself to go through something
to help you feel better In the long run right
to put this persona on to get through what you
were going through, to trust that voice, to feel free
(48:59):
or knowing that truth. And I think we all have it,
and some call it intuition.
Speaker 4 (49:04):
Right.
Speaker 1 (49:04):
If you tap into that a little bit, it's amazing
what can come and what you can feel as a result.
So I think that's really really cool man. Like I said,
I enjoyed this so much. I really, I really think
that aside from having a great time with this conversation,
one of my favorite parts was watching the two of
you look at each other when the other one was speaking,
(49:25):
because you both just look at each other with such
admiration and awe when the other one has the mic.
And that's really cool to see because I am a
sucker for love and I think it's a beautiful thing.
And I just thank you too. Are are great spirits
and I'm really happy you came on.
Speaker 3 (49:38):
Oh, thank you so much. Thank you for having us.
Speaker 2 (49:41):
We really appreciate it. It's it's really beautiful to be here.
And this was this was like, it's so nice to
be in a space where it's a bit thought thought
provoking and organic. And since you're in a world that
you know, we all want to be entertained and have fun.
But I really love this stuff. That's that's sincere and deep.
Speaker 5 (49:58):
So thank you, thank you, thank you.
Speaker 1 (50:00):
Both come back anytime, and you have a lot of
developing to do, so get to it.
Speaker 2 (50:03):
Yes, sir, thank you, thank you.
Speaker 1 (50:07):
I've never said this before. Is hosted by me Tommy Diderio.
This podcast is executive produced
Elvis Duran and the Morning Show ON DEMAND News
Popular Podcasts
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
The Joe Rogan Experience
The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.