A lot of success has come to the cast and producers of Everwood, a well-loved series that aired from 2002-2006 on The WB. The family drama, created by Greg Berlanti (Arrow, The Mysteries of Laura, Flash), was set in a fictional small town that the Brown family moved to after the death of Mrs. Brown.
The show starred several folks that have become even bigger names in recent years. Chris Pratt, of course, recently finished his run on Parks and Recreation and was also the star of one of 2014’s biggest movie hits, Guardians of the Galaxy, where he played Star-Lord. Emily VanCamp, who played Pratt’s sister, is the lead in ABC’s Revenge and also starred in last year’s Captain America: The Winter Soldier as Sharon Carter. And then there’s Gregory Smith, who served as one of the lead characters, Dov Epstein, on the ABC/Global series Rookie Blue. It was during that time that Smith began directing for television, helming multiple episodes of Rookie Blue, and getting his own comic book connection directing former “Lois Lane” and “Hawkman” Erica Durance and Michael Shanks with an episode of Saving Hope.
Tonight, Smith gets his feet firmly planted in the comic book world as he directed the episode of Arrow that airs at 8PM on The CW. Titled “Nanda Parbat,” the episode promises to be a game-changer for the series, and features some fantastic directing work from Mr. Smith. We spoke with him earlier this week about the experience, and you can find that interview below.
KSITETV’s CRAIG BYRNE: When it was first announced that you’d be directing for Arrow, Stephen Amell in particular seemed to be very excited. Had the two of you worked together before?
GREGORY SMITH: Yes, we had. We worked together maybe 7 or 8 years ago now. We played best friends in a film. [“Closing the Ring”]
How was it different getting to work with him again years later?
I mean, we’re both such different people and in such different places is our lives and careers, but for me, it is a dream come true, any time you get to work with somebody that you have a history with – somebody that you watched grow, that you’re really rooting for. He made me feel so welcome. On one of my first days, he came and found me in the production office, and gave me a big welcome, and even before that, he went on Twitter and gave me a nice big welcome, so I felt like a member of the family, even on that first day, and that was in a large part due to Stephen. He’s really cool.
How is directing a series like Arrow different from directing something like Rookie Blue or Saving Hope?
The biggest difference is that Rookie Blue is a show that I kind of grew up on, and I’ve known everybody for a really, really long time, and we speak the language, and I’m part of the family, and Saving Hope as well… that was a show that used a lot of the same crew and writers as Rookie Blue, so I was more of an insider with those two shows. With Arrow, I was coming in without really knowing… I knew Stephen, I knew Greg Berlanti, and I knew a few other people here and there, but for the most part, I was coming in pretty cold, and learning about the show, about the universe, about the crew and everything all at once… so it was a big challenge, but it was incredibly exciting to come in and do that. It was something I’d never done before.
Had you had the directing bug, even in the Everwood days?
Yeah, that’s where I caught it, and Greg [Berlanti] was a huge early supporter of it. He nurtured that in me back then, and then he took a chance on me now, however long it’s been. It was a nice way to kind of bookend that part of my career.
Are you and your Everwood castmates having a contest to see how many major comic book icons you can each work with?
[Laughs] No. But if we are, I think I’m way down the list.
Did you have a different approach to directing the scenes that happened in Nanda Parbat?
That’s kind of a look that is [already] set on the show. For me, it was more the camera work and the angles and the vibe of the place. But really, my main goal was to come in and tell the story with the look of the show as it’s already been set.
There’s a whole lot more to this interview! Navigate below to read more:
