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Jacob and the Devil

Mania Interviews Lost’s Mark Pellegrino

By Rob Vaux     April 27, 2010


Mark Pellegrino as the island watchman Jacob in LOST(2010).
© ABC/Bob Trate

 

Mark Pellegrino is the definition of the working actor, with a steady diet of television and movie roles dating back over twenty years. His profile has gone up considerably in the genre community with a pair of choice roles: the enigmatic Jacob on Lost and the decidedly less enigmatic Lucifer on Supernatural. In an exclusive interview with Mania, he talked at length about both characters and the challenges required to bring them to life.
 
Question: You’ve been working in television for a long time. Is it different when something big like Lost comes along, or is it just another gig?
 
Mark Pellegrino: It changes things in hindsight, because at the moment, it’s kind of a secret audition. The material they use aren’t the scenes, and the characters you’re auditioning for aren’t the actual characters. You really have no idea what you’re auditioning for, so it is just like any other job. Then you’re there at work and you see the effects of your work, and it ripples out. Then it becomes kind of a big deal, which is the way it’s happened with me
 
Q: So you didn’t know you were auditioning for Lost?
 
MP: I knew it was for Lost, and I knew it was for a guest part that would “possibly” recur. The character’s name, I think, was Jason, and the scene was some little piece that didn’t really connect to the overall story. So I did it, and thought if I got it, I’d be a guest star. Maybe I’ll be recurring, maybe not -- people do have a way of dying on this show -- and it wasn’t until I got there that I found out it was the pivotal, archetypal part of Jacob.
 
Q: How quickly did it take you to integrate with the cast?
 
MP: It’s always a little weird when you go onto a set, especially when you go onto a show that’s been running for a long time. You always feel a little nervous that first day. But this cast and crew have been so nice and so kind. There hasn’t been a missed step or a bad moment yet, to be honest with you. They made me feel at home from the beginning.
 
Q: What were some of the most unexpected challenges to working on Lost?
 
MP: The mosquitoes are a challenge. Working at night in the jungle can sometimes get a little funky, especially when you’re the only person in the cast or crew that the mosquitoes want to dine on. That seems to be my fate. There was one day that was tough. We had to do work on a beach, and it was a pretty calm day starting out, but we had to finish the scene with these enormous waves. I’ve seen big waves before. These waves… ten feet and they just sucked the water out. You couldn’t move and you couldn’t get out of the way. That was the one environmental difficulty we encountered. Oh, and walking barefoot in the jungle, which I had to do a lot. That’s tough.
 
Q: You’re also playing Lucifer on Supernatural, and he’s a very storied character. De Niro’s played him. Pacino’s played him. How do you approach that challenge and make a character like that your own?
 
MP: I hope I do it the same way they would, and try to find the things in the character that I can identify with and make my own. For me, the character has a pretty simple storyline that anybody can relate to: a faithful son who’s betrayed by his father and brothers. God wants him to serve man, he refuses, and so God kicks him out. It’s like being blown over by the family that you love for somebody less worthy. It leaves a bad taste in his mouth and he wants to get even. It’s a revenge story to me. Whatever life Lucifer has is his life; whatever comes out of him stems from his desire for revenge… and from the broken heart that creates that need for revenge.
 
As an actor, no matter what character you’re play, you have to be on his side. I’ve played a number of jerk-offs in my career, and you have to understand what the character is going for. He’s always going for something positive; he has to live with himself in the morning.
 
Q: Is there a need to bring something more than human to the character -- something truly otherworldly? Or does the very human motivation of revenge sustain you in finding the character?
 
MP: It was necessary to make him human from my point of view because feelings like revenge come from wanting something, and because only a being who is capable of life and death can want something. No action matters to an immortal being: you can take poison or nutritious food, walk down the street or jump off a building. It doesn’t matter. So me -- being a living being who can only understand things from the point of view of human values -- I have to make this immortal being struggle in a human way. That’s the only way I can understand it, from a human struggle.
 
Q; Is there a catharsis with Lucifer? A venting of one’s negative emotions?
 
MP: There can be, especially in the last episode that I did. There are some moments when I get to channel that darkness and other moments that are really heartbreaking. That never feels very good, though it often makes for good results.

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COMMENTS AND RESPONSES

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hanso 4/27/2010 3:14:50 AM

Damn it Vaux, why didn't you get a Lost spoiler about Jacob so I could spend the day thinking about it? 

Mark Pellegrino does an awesome job as Jacob & the devil.

ponyboy76 4/27/2010 3:27:43 AM

Good interview. I would have liked to ask how he feels about playing these seemingly 2 polar opposite chracters. If they were on the same show, they would definitely be at odds with each other.

crusadingheart 4/27/2010 5:38:49 AM

GUYS.... THE SMOKE MONSTER COULD GET OFF THE ISLAND WITH OUT THE PLANE.

ALL HE HAS TO DO IS USE THE SPINNING TIME MACHINE BEN USED AND THEN HE WOULD BE TRANSPORTED OFF THE ISLAND AND NEVER BE ALLOWED BACK.....

WHY HAVE WRITERS NOT RECOGNIZED THIS HUGE LOOP HOLE????

joeybaloney 4/27/2010 6:53:04 AM

Why are you yelling?

Hobbs 4/27/2010 7:36:36 AM

How did Rob get selected over Joe to do this Interview?  Seriously, anything Lost should go through Joe since he has been point man for so long. 

millean 4/27/2010 11:17:05 AM

crusadingheart, I believe that one of the "rules" of the island is that Smoke Monster/Smlocke/MiB can't touch the Frozen Donkey Wheel (aka "spinning time machine" thingy).  If you recall, Christian said that he couldn't help Locke turn the wheel, and Smokey admitted that he was Christian.  Now why that is a "rule" and/or if Smokey really was Christian (and he was telling the truth) remains to be seen.  I suspect we will see more about this in the upcoming episodes.

I said all that, and I didn't even have to yell.  :)

millean 4/27/2010 11:19:17 AM

Oh, and how funny would it be if Jacob ends up being Satan on LOST?  Then Supernatural and LOST could be set in the same universe.

I think I need to watch Supernatural (from the beginning).  I've heard tons of you maniacs say great things about it.

krathwardroid 4/27/2010 11:38:56 AM

millean: Yes, Supernatural is worth it. It gets better every episode.

I had a thought: What if the Smoke Monster is not really a monster/villain? You know how Lost twists go. We could be made to think Mr. Smoke is the villain when he's really not. He could have been falsely imprisoned on this island, making Jacob the villain.

krathwardroid 4/27/2010 11:43:18 AM

millean: One more thing... Jacob and Lucifer could not be the same person. In Supernatural, he's just a mortal guy serving as a host for Lucifer. On Lost, he's some strange immortal guy who's been on the island for way longer than Lucifer's host has been alive.

joeybaloney 4/27/2010 12:36:30 PM

Why would Smokey appear as Christian to Locke? That doesn't make sense. Claire and Jack make sense but why Locke? And how could Christian appear to Lepidus & Sun if he was trapped as Locke after Locke’s body returned to the island?

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