Evan Williams on The Way Home:

We’re solely two episodes into Hallmark’s new household drama with a fantasy aspect, The Way Home, however we’re already longing for extra.

We had the prospect to meet up with Evan Williams, who performs the grownup model of Elliot Augustine, a long-time household buddy of the Landry household.

Elliot is part of the household’s material and acts as Alice’s tether as she navigates the previous and current of his and her household’s lives.

What are you most having fun with about enjoying Elliot Augustine?

That’s one. I believe Elliot is a very multifaceted character, which at all times fires my creativeness.

What’s actually cool about this character is I get to play one dynamic with Alice, which is form of the mentor, just like the older era in confiding knowledge and route, and on the identical time, a unique dynamic with Kat, who’s Alice’s mom, which is, hopefully, extra of a romantic, a peer attempting to work his manner out of the buddy zone.

So it is good to play that stress between having a lot authority with one individual after which actually struggling to attempt to discover a degree floor with the opposite individual. It’s particularly fascinating when these two dynamics flip, and he is having hassle establishing authority the least bit.

Something I discover actually fascinating about his dynamic with each of them is that he has managed to maintain that secret about Alice for all of these years. How do you suppose he managed to try this?

Well, I believe Elliot is a man who cares. He cares deeply in regards to the Landrys, and likewise I take into consideration actuality. And as quickly as you are coping with something time journey associated, you begin to acknowledge how precarious the space-time continuum is.

And Elliot is a great man, and I do not suppose he desires to tear a gap in actuality and have your complete experiment go up in flames. So I believe he noticed it as crucial to maintain the key so he may maintain the variables beneath management.

Now, I’m attempting to think about younger Elliot, who, after all, you aren’t enjoying, however you’re the elder Elliot. And when Jacob disappeared, do you suppose it dawned on him that possibly he went via the pond?

I imply, that looks as if a seminal second to me the place I can not think about how anyone couldn’t need to attempt to rip that gap if it meant getting a baby again.

Yeah. I believe Elliot is a scientist, and so I’m certain he is examined each potential permutation of what may need occurred. But he is additionally not the sort of man who’s going to run with theories.

He wants to have the ability to show issues. And the truth that the pond is, as we have established, an unreliable mechanism, which means that generally it really works, generally it would not, I believe that there is nothing Elliot may do with any of that info as a result of he needed to maintain it secret.

So no matter his theories are, I’m certain he is acquired years and years of writing about it. You may even inform by the best way he acts when he lastly meets Alice. It’s all occurring. It’s all like he is now on the opposite aspect.

And so possibly a few of the mysteries he is been harboring internally and alone for all these years, he lastly goes to have an opportunity to get some solutions to. So I believe that is actually thrilling for Elliot.

Have you given him some backstory into what it should have been like for these two instances in his life to all of the sudden be in existence?

Yeah, undoubtedly. It’s elementary to having the ability to play a personality like that, to have the ability to fill within the strains. And for me, an important was what have been the years in between.

Right.

And in a manner, he is form of been given a prophecy, and I’m certain within the interceding years, he had a number of alternatives to both attempt to check that prophecy or attempt to reverse it or any variety of issues.

And so I needed to make some selections about what the state of Elliot we see originally of our present is and the way it in comparison with the younger Elliot so fantastically and pointedly performed by younger David Webster, a very proficient Canadian actor who I liked attending to work alongside.

We by no means actually acquired to be in the identical scene collectively, clearly, as a result of that may break the whole lot, however we did get some alternative to place our heads collectively and develop some backstory and mannerisms and issues that we may use to unite our two performances.

I used to be going to ask that as a result of I seen an actual similarity between the time that younger Elliot realizes that he isn’t Alice’s father and the time that you’re reacting to Kat when she places her head in your shoulder. There was an actual longing on each of your faces at the moment.

Well, that is actually gratifying to listen to that it made it via the airwaves and into your eye holes, so thanks for watching.

[laughs] Yes, sure, it did. What’s he feeling now that Kat’s again in his life as he is coping with all of these items from the previous that’s coming collectively? I imply, you’ll be able to see the hope on his face that he nonetheless harbors feeling for her. So yeah, he does need to get out of the buddy zone, as you talked about.

Yeah. Well, I believe Kat and Alice signify to Elliot a possibility to lastly be freed from the prophecy of dwelling inside an outlined actuality, which he is been doing perpetually since he was 16 years previous. So I believe it is thrilling and scary.

And I additionally suppose there’s one thing to any person who resides or figures out methods to stay comfortably inside one modality, to illustrate, as quickly because it’s challenged, or there’s the likelihood that the whole lot may change, impulsively the query turns into, effectively, do I need it to alter? And am I prepared for it to alter?

And so I believe Elliot’s simply working actually arduous to concentrate and, as at all times, see if he may be of service. Because yeah, he loves not solely Kat however this entire household. They’re so central to his whole life in ways in which they do not even know, or most of them do not even know at this level.

So yeah, it is like impulsively, there is a cost, and it feels just like the wattage is amping up for Elliot, and he is studying methods to cope with the brand new present.

So I’m curious, if somebody confirmed you a magical pond after which you would go someplace, would you leap in?

Absolutely. Without hesitation. Well, I imply, the query is when, proper? When would I need to land?

Right. Do you understand if you would need to land?

Well, I imply, it is a robust one. It’s robust to resolve when since you do not need to get in hassle for the issues you understand. So yeah, possibly one thing like 20 years.

Twenty years could be good as a result of it is not to this point again that you will be accused of being a heretic, and you are not going to turn into a snack for a Tyrannosaurus Rex or one thing like that.

So it could be actually fascinating to have the ability to witness your self making necessary decisions. And I additionally suppose it could be actually tough to not need to become involved.

Right. And since we all know that the pond has a thoughts of its personal, I do know the place you’d need to go about 20 years. Where do you suppose it could take you?

Wherever I used to be wanted, in all probability.

That’s one. Yeah. I might think about it could take me someplace actually awkward that I did not actually need to go. Like my punishment for leaping in. [laughs]

Yeah. Or if there was one thing, like possibly in a dream, if there was some expertise that I took to coronary heart and had the chance to witness from the aspect and acknowledge the lesson that I had discovered or the way it modified me.

I got here away with it pondering one factor, however [through the pond] I used to be capable of finding some reflexivity and see it from a unique angle and possibly forgive myself or have some extra empathy.

Because it is arduous to develop up. It’s arduous to be alive. So I believe it is a wish success factor to have the ability to return and study extra, realizing what we now know.

Which leads me to this query, in case you may give Elliot recommendation, each younger and previous, what would it not be?

Oh, hold in there. And additionally, you matter. Your coronary heart issues, and the way you’re feeling issues. I believe Elliot’s a helper, and generally helpers overlook to assist themselves.

And my final query for you is, how would you tease the remainder of the season?

It simply will get a lot extra thrilling and sophisticated and rewarding from right here on out. Now that we have arrange the present, we all know who the characters are and what they need. Prepare for all your expectations to be flipped the wrong way up.

And I believe of us are going to fall in love with these characters much more and hopefully see somewhat little bit of themselves.

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The Way Home airs Sundays at 9/8c on Hallmark Channel.

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