Tim Rozon (Doc) and Michael Eklund (Bobo) from Wynonna Earp faced off at a press conference Sunday afternoon at the Marriott. Their cheerful banter started with Eklund admitting that Dragon Con 2017 is his first convention ever. “But you were at Comic-Con,” Rozon said. Eklund replied that he hadn’t been invited, so he’d had to crash it. So what does he think of Dragon Con? “Love it! I like walking around and talking to everyone and looking at the costumes and the energy…. Our show has the most loyal fans that I’ve ever experienced in my career.”
Both actors were getting a kick out of seeing all the people cosplaying as their characters from the show. “It’s pretty awesome,” Rozon said. “The first cosplayer we saw was a Bobo.” He thinks it’s surreal to see people dressing as them.
Rozon listed all the things he’s already checked off his bucket list because of his involvement in the show. Getting to play Doc Holliday, check. Getting to be in a comic book, check. Getting to write a comic book, check. Getting a guest invitation to Comic-Con, check. Signing the comic book with his face in it while people dressed like him waited in line, check. He seems thrilled and grateful for all of it. He said that he would love to portray Bobo, though, which made Eklund laugh.
Strange as it may seem, Eklund confided that he had originally auditioned for the part of Doc Holliday. When he got the call, however, it was for Bobo. He was thrilled all the same.
Eklund praised the writers for his great scenes with Waverly. “One minute I’m taking care of her, and the next minute I want to rip her throat out. It’s so much fun.” Is Bobo going to become an antihero? “Sometimes he’s in a good mood,” he said, “and sometimes he’s not…. He’s on a rollercoaster ride.” Who knows where he’ll end up?
A brief discussion of badness ensued, with Rozon pointing out that Bobo doesn’t think what he’s doing is bad. He thinks Wynonna is the baddie. It all depends on your perspective. Bobo, after all, has what he thinks are good reasons for his actions. (Rozon admitted that he shamelessly stole this insight from Eklund one day, repeating it verbatim when asked the same question Eklund had just so eloquently answered because it was such a good answer.) “I love antiheroes,” Rozon said. “I want more Bobo.”
Doc isn’t exactly a shining example of an unblemished hero, though. When questioned about Doc’s motivations Rozon laughing pointed out, “Everyone underplays the hundred-and-fifty years of solitude. I don’t think they’re giving enough credit to how many years [he’s] suffered.” Would Rozon take the ring in real life or die in the well? “I think pretty much most of us in that situation… would hold onto that ring…. It’s Sophie’s choice.”
Both actors love the fact that their characters are flawed. In fact, Eklund pointed out that all the characters on the show are flawed. Rozon agreed. “Wynonna’s the most flawed, vulnerable hero on TV,” he said. “That’s what makes her amazing. She’s not perfect. She’s just as selfish as us.” He thinks Doc is a bit of a baby when it comes to death, and losing the ring is something he won’t handle well. Perhaps he’ll go on the hunt for a special gun to “even the odds a bit,” Rozon predicted.
The two men obviously enjoy working together, and Rozon praised Eklund’s performances. “You look into his eyes, you’re connected. You can’t not be in the scene. He’s there.” Eklund talked about joining the show late and being embraced so quickly by the rest of the cast. “Yeah, he literally stepped on my head on day one,” Rozon said. (Eklund’s choice was either to spit on Doc’s gun or put his cigarette out on it.) “So he spit on me a bunch of times, then he decided he’d put his cigarette out on me.”
Eklund shrugged. As an actor, “you have to try everything,” he joked.
They all push each other to new heights on set. We’ll just have to wait to see how high they’ll go in the upcoming season.
