Perhaps the most popular recurring guest star on The CW’s Nikita has been Devon Sawa‘s character of Owen, who made appearances in four episodes last season and is now scheduled to return to the show with Friday’s episode.
Will Owen be a little more stable than he was the last time we saw him on the show? What’s it like for Sawa to play James Bond? Who is he going to interact with? These questions and more were answered as Mr. Sawa took time to speak with KSiteTV earlier this week…
Please do not reproduce this interview onto other websites; instead, just link to KSiteTV! Thanks! Questions to Mr. Sawa are posted in bold; his answers are not.
What can you tell us about this week’s Nikita episode, “Falling Ash?”
Can’t tell you anything! It’s gonna be a real short interview. I’m just kidding. What can I tease?
There’s going to be a huge change in the end. That’s the first thing I’ll say.
The episode is jam packed with action. It’s well paced. It keeps going really quick. It’s a really good episode, and at the very end, things change again. They don’t necessarily change, but Owen goes off in his own direction, and it’s a really cool direction.
At this point, how is Owen’s approach to getting things done different from Nikita’s?
You know what? It’s not very different. That’s the whole thing with Nikita and Owen. That’s why they get each other. It’s because they’ve gone through and they’ve experienced the same kind of thing, and they kind of approach things the same way. They’re highly trained assassins, but they’ve got feeling, and they care, and they have emotions.
So would you say they’re kind of like kindred spirits?
Yes. Absolutely.
Does Owen have conflict with Michael upon his return?
They’re becoming very “bromantic” in this next episode. The walls are coming down. They’re starting to “friendly up.”
It is cool. I don’t think Owen has anything against Michael, and vice versa. They were just kind of weary in the beginning.
Do you know if at any point we’ll see any flashbacks to Owen’s time as a cleaner?
There’s a small – I call it a teaser flashback in this episode, where you get to see Owen for a heartbeat, the way he used to be. I would love to explore more of his backstory, because he used to be the Rowan kind of guy. He even probably was a little bit darker. Just emotionless. He used to be emotionless, and just an assassin. And then he fell in love, and that’s what happens.
Did it feel any different to shoot the show in its second year as opposed to the first, where the show is now established?
There is a different feeling on set. I think that because we’ve moved to the Friday timeslot, I think that everybody kind of feels like we can now be a little bit more action-y; a little bit more grown up. It’s got a cool vibe going on.
Nikita and The Vampire Diaries are two different shows. Vampire Diaries is a great show, and Secret Circle fits [well] with it, you know what I mean? And this fits with Supernatural. You’ve got a lot of the same fans, but then there are some fans on Friday night that are different. This is a better fit, and I think you feel that on set; that people were ready to kick ass another year in this new time slot.
Have you filmed more episodes beyond this one?
No, but I’m going back in a few weeks to do a couple more.
In the preview clip for this episode, there was a scene that also involved Birkhoff. What is Owen’s interaction with him like?
I don’t think he knows what to make of him. They’re just two different guys, you know what I mean? Owen’s more of a shoot first and ask questions later, and Birkhoff is the computer guy, and so there’s going to be a lot of good scenes with them, because they’re so different.
Will Owen be interacting with Alex at all?
Not in this episode.
Is there any reference to Owen taking the regimen in this episode coming up?
He still has the regimen. He’s running out of it again. That’s the whole problem. In this episode, you won’t see him like the last episode you saw him, where he’s crazy and he’s losing his mind, and he’s neurotic and what not. In this episode, he’s still cool and calm, but he knows that he’s very low on the supply, and that’s his thing. He’s got to find the regimen, he’s got to find a way to chemically detox, and then, after that, it’s all about Percy. That’s what Owen’s got on his mind.
In the promotional photos for the episode everyone is wearing tuxedos and all that. Was it fun to dress up like James Bond?
I can’t lie; it was good throwing on a tux and walking into a ballroom. You definitely have the James Bond feel. And the ladies – Maggie and Lyndsy – looked phenomenal. And me and Shane, we were doing all right. It was a good day.
Does Owen get to kick ass again this week?
He fires a pretty bad-ass gun in this episode, but as far as hand-to-hand combat, that’s all Michael in this episode.
Is there any chance for romance in Owen’s future?
I’m hoping. You know. I don’t know; I don’t think so. There’s definitely no romance going on with Nikita; but you never know. I think Owen could be a hopeless romantic. Why not?
Has there been any more talk about bringing you in as a series regular?
I think at this point, Craig [Silverstein] likes it the way it is, as do I. Owen pops up every once in a while and does these cool episodes and then disappears. It kind of gives him a mystique. But if I ever got the call saying “we’re thinking about bringing Owen on full time,” I would definitely be into that. We’ll see. Right now I get to go and do a few episodes, and then I come back, and I’ve done two movies in between episodes, so I get the chance to do that, too.
Can you tell me about the movies that you have coming up?
Absolutely. One movie just premiered at the Toronto Film Festival, and that one, the lead was Nick Stahl, co-starring me and Mia Kirshner, and that’s called 388 Arletta Avenue. And then another one that I did, that was a favorite of mine, is called The Philly Kid. It’s for Joel Silver’s company. That’s coming out next year. It shot in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and I had so much fun shooting in it. It stars Wes Chatham, and I think it’s going to be a cool little film.
If somebody’s on the fence about watching, why should they tune in on Friday?
First of all, who goes out before 10:00 on Friday anyway? Come on. So while you’re getting ready, throw on the TV, watch Nikita, watch Supernatural. Find a drinking game to incorporate with it. I don’t know. It’s fun. It’s more of an adult night, and you’ll see that with the action sequences we’re doing this year.
I love Nikita. I think it’s a cool show.
Do you have any more words for your many fans who are hopefully reading this?
I’m so happy that I’m getting such great responses to Owen, and the show’s getting such a great response. I hope people keep tuning in and enjoying it. And the fans who have been around since the beginning of my career… I’ve got nothing but love.
Catch Devon Sawa on a new episode of Nikita airing Friday, September 30 on The CW! See a gallery of images from the episode
