Season 11 of one of the longest running and popular American TV shows will premiere in India. Supernatural, which delves deep into the lives of the Winchester brothers, Dean and Sam, “hunters” who battle angels, demons and witches, have kept viewers hooked for 10 seasons.
Mark Sheppard plays Crowley, the king of Hell. He was introduced in season five. He was a human, Fergus Roderick MacLeod, who becomes a demon after dying. Mark says fans adore Supernatural because “It is a deep exploration of what it is to be human, of what it means to be good and bad.”
As for Crowley, he isn’t only a personification of evil, Mark observes. “He has killed a lot less people than the witches. Crowley’s humanity puts him into a difficult position.” “The fact that it is being aired on AXN in India is a testament to the audience demanding that it be shown. We are honoured they picked us!”
Mark was born in London. When he was 15 he began his career as a musician, recording and touring with Robyn Hitchcock and Television Personalities and played the drums for the album, Light a Big Fire . He ventured into acting later and went onto act primarily in television, in shows such as The X-Files , Battlestar Galactica , Leverage, Firefly, The Practice, Soldier of Fortune, CSI: NY, Chuck and CSI . “I have a talent to tell stories, whether it is music, theatre or acting. Sci-fi shows have fascinating stories to tell.”
Mark says incredible preparation goes into every episode and every season of Supernatural . “You would think there are discussions among the actors and the director. But that is a dubious luxury of time. In eight days, we have to execute 42 shows. It takes an entire team to do this. Everyone is moving towards one direction of doing the best possible job. I am beholden to the amazing men and women in the team.”
Even though there have been special effects in sci-fi series, Mark says at the heart of it lies, “good storytelling.”
Mark is the son of well-known theatre actor William Morgan Sheppard, who has appeared in the Star Trek series and in a few Star Trek films. Father and son have worked together. Mark has acted with his father in Nether World . Morgan Sheppard acted in Room 101 , which was directed by Mark, and even played an older Mark in Doctor Who and NCIS . “We’ve been lucky enough to work with each other several times.”
Supernatural Season 11 “Fresh From The U.S.” will premiere on October 10 at 10 p.m. on AXN.
