The Revival series premiere is just around the corner, and it’s time to delve into a supernatural murder mystery. Not only are the dead coming back to life, but there’s a murder victim who needs help solving their own murder. Sheriff Wayne Cypress is one of the people in town dealing with the fallout of Revival Day.
David James Elliot chatted with Precinct TV about the series and why he wanted to do this one. We got into the topics of difficult family relationships and finding inspiration in the world within the supernatural genre.
David James Elliot shares why Wayne in Revival was the next character for him
Precinct TV: What was it about Wayne and this series as a whole that pulled you in?
David James Elliot: The script was really go, and I love the character. I love the gruff, angry, big-hearted buy, and so I was sold after I read it. I wanted to be a part of it.
It also shot in an area I’d never been, so that was fun too. That was all around positive.
PTV: You got to explore then?
DJE: Yeah, we were in Eastern Canada, in the Maritimes, they call it.
PTV: Beautiful part of Canada. I’m just outside Toronto, so I know where you’re talking about.
PTV: What was it specifically about Wayne that drew you in other than the gruffness of his character? Maybe the dynamics with other characters?
DJE: Well, I worked for my father when I was in high school over the summers, and I remember how frustrating that was for him at times. That dynamic was very familiar to me to reenact with Dana. And I have two children, who are 10 years apart, so that was very relatable.
I love the regimen, the way Wayne is set up emotionally. I think he’s always been that kind of environment. I don’t affect any of the story revealed on screen as far as building a past for the character. That’s just supported in what I found. I found him an interesting and fun character who’s suddenly found himself immersed in this crazy world.
That part was fun. I’ve never done sci-fi prior to this, so that was a fun genre to delve into.
Adding the supernatural element to the story in Revival
PTV: That’s the thing, he’s dealing with the dead coming back to life and keeping the dead (and the living) inside and keep other people outside.
DJE: And he’s got to deal with his job, which is to keep his township safe in the insanity that continues to unfold and grow. It just overwhelms him, and it certainly gets out of hand in portions of the story. I also love the way it twists and turns. Every time you think it’s going one way, it takes a left turn and goes in different directions.
There are a lot of great characters that are really well handled by Aaron and Luke, and they had a great template to work from thanks to Tim Seeley and Mike Norton. It was great to see those guys involved, and it was great to meet them and work closely with them.
PTV: Usually, you can take inspiration from life to help with a story, but that’s not the case with zombies.
DJE: No, although I will say that I’ve met some zombies in my life.
PTV: How did you prep for that part of the story?
DJE: You just read the scripts. You look for clues in the story for your character. What does it say about your character? What do other people say about your character? Are there elements that are missing for you to invest? Something I always do is write a history for my characters. I would call Luke and Aaron — I was probably a bit of a pest — but I would call them or stop in the office and go, “ Hey, thinking about this or wondering about this.” They were so receptive and easy to work with.
I love the whole experience. It was really positive for me, and that’s certainly not the statue quo in my long career.
Revival premieres on Thursday, June 12 at 10/9c on Syfy.
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