HAVEN Star Emily Rose on Stephen King, Love Triangles and Kicking Butt

Syfy debuts its newest series, HAVEN, tonight (July 9) and it’s definitely worth checking out.

Emily Rose plays Agent Audrey Parker, who is sent to Haven, Maine on a case where things aren’t exactly as they seem– and that includes her own mysterious past.

GIVE ME MY REMOTE recently chatted with Rose and got her take on playing a tough chick, crazy weather, and impressing Stephen King…

One of my favorite things about the HAVEN pilot was how kick-ass Audrey is. Are you enjoying playing that aspect of her?
Emily Rose: I mean, I think I’ve always wanted to play somebody that packs some heat. The stuff I’ve gotten to do as Audrey: shoot a rifle, jump on top of a car, you know, things like that. [After] watching Jennifer Garner in ALIAS for so long– of course as a girl, a strong girl who likes to be sassy occasionally– Audrey was a natural fit. I loved her from the get-go.

Audrey also gets kicked around a fair deal in the pilot. Will the supernatural elements of Haven continue to get the best of her?
ER: Yeah, I think that’s the great thing about the story is Audrey sort of finds herself getting batted around by these supernatural things that are happening in Haven. I can speak honestly here about the weather [you see on the show]– that’s reality. I deal with that on a daily basis: wind and rain and freezing temperatures. It’s always a challenge. They should have an acting school– a class– where they change the temperature in the room every five minutes because to do your scenes with all those changing elements…wind machines and leaves. And I had to do a scene in the pilot for the [big] storm and they were literally throwing clumps of dirt at my face. I was going, “I don’t know how to do this!” But yeah, I think you will see Audrey grappling with the powers in Haven and we’ll try and figure out what to do with them.

The supernatural elements aren’t the only thing the town has going for it– Audrey’s past is rather mysterious and there might be some insight for her in Haven. Is it safe to say you have some more answers about her backstory than viewers will have initially?
ER: Yeah. I think the great thing for the audience to follow is Audrey is a great investigator because she has a central mystery in her own life that she’s not able to solve. And when you have something that pushes your buttons and drives you, it makes you a better person and a lot stronger at what you do. I think a lot of people, maybe if they’re lacking something in their life, in their profession they take that [frustration] out and they’d be really good at it. So for Audrey, the fact that she cannot solve the mystery of her own self is what’s driven her to look into the best investigative area that she can and that’s the FBI. And as she stays in Haven, it’s interesting to see how people in the town sort of recognize her and try and place her from somewhere and give her information. And for me, as an actor, as I’m reading every script, I’m always looking for that. That’s the part that really excites me.

Have you learned anything about her that’s really shocked you or that you didn’t expect when you signed on for this role?
ER: Yeah, but I can’t tell you! It’s coming up. [laughs] [The reveal is] definitely a part of Audrey that makes me excited. I love shows with great reveals and great storytelling and great writing, and HAVEN has all those things.

Great reveals, great storytelling, great writing and you have boys to play with!
ER: I do have some boys to play with! What a fun show. It keeps getting better. [Costars] Eric Balfour and Lucas Bryant, they’re fantastic guys.

I think it’s interesting the way the writers set it up. You have a law enforcement agent that ends up getting sort of entangled with an outlaw. And how does she deal with the relationship and how does he find that intriguing? And then you have a guy, a cop, who can’t feel. [He] physically can’t feel [anything]. And then you have her who emotionally can’t feel. And then you also have the way he does things in his small town and the way he likes to live his life and you have Audrey who comes and blows that open. Those are fun relationships to watch.

Another relationship that I think is fun to watch is between Audrey and the Chief in Haven. Nicholas Campbell is a great comedian/actor and he’s had some great shows in Canada. We’re so honored to be able to have him, and he adds this richness to the show and this weight. And I think the way that she sort of pushes [the Chief’s] buttons is fun to watch play out, too.

Very cool. We do have to talk a little bit about Stephen King. He wrote the novella, “The Colorado Kid,” which HAVEN is loosely based off of and there are rumors he might be writing a script. Any truth to that?
ER: We haven’t gotten any confirmation that he will be writing an episode, but some of my fondest memories [of the show] are from when they were calling and talking about the auditions and whether or not [I had] the part, and they were like, “We have to send your tape to Stephen King.” And I was like, “Is this my life right now?” And when he had to actually watch the pilot and he sent back that he loved it. It’s always great when we’re working in a world that is inspired by someone else, to have them to sign off and give approval is really validating. And I think we can walk confidently forward in that and say HAVEN has gotten that sweet send-off from Stephen King himself.

That’s a pretty big thumbs up.
ER: And I think it will help the fans as well. There’s a great big Stephen King fanbase and I think they all want to know if he approves, and he very much does.

Obviously there are a good deal of science fiction shows on television, but do you think will draw fans to HAVEN?
ER: You know, I personally think in terms of mythology, our show has a really strong undercurrent of mythology. So people who are drawn to mythology shows are going to really enjoy our show. And I know that we have a really sweet little homage to Princess Leia, Han Solo and Luke Skywalker through the three of us and our characters, so I think any true sci-fi fan is going to find something for them in our show.

Will you be tuning in to Syfy Friday, July 9 10 ET/PT for the series premiere of HAVEN?

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