#facejacker

Take a deep breath and enjoy this sexiest dude alive...Kayvan Fucking Novak (aka Nandor The Relentless) ladies and gentlemen

The trailer for the ‘What We Do In The Shadows’ spin-off series is here! It’s not a remake, it’s set in the same universe as the film and Wellington Paranormal, with Taika Waititi and Jermaine Clement returning to write the show and stars The IT Crowd’s Matt Berry and Facejacker / Phonejacker’s Kayvan Novak.

http://www.mynewplaidpants.com/2017/03/good-morning-gratuitous-kayvan-novak.html?m=1

Actor’s improv background pays off in comedy's flexible scripts

LOS ANGELES — Kayvan Novak was drawn to a career in acting because of the escapist element. He loves to be able to get lost in a character so deeply that it’s difficult to recognize himself

He’s made such an acting escape with the new FX comedy “What We Do in the Shadows.” Think of the series as “Modern Family” meets “The Munsters

Novak plays Nandor the Relentless, the self-appointed leader of a small group of vampires living under one roof. There was a time when Nandor was a great warrior and conqueror from the Ottoman Empire, but these days, he’s more concerned with the ins and outs of a Staten Island city council meeting. A camera crew is on hand to document how the group gets back to the task of dominating the New World while dealing with everyday life.

“This role felt so immersive to put in the fangs, get the hair, the cape, the clothes, the sets,” Novak says. “Everything felt like just a beautiful escape for me, which is what I look for in a part.”

An additional plus is that series creator Jemaine Clement (“Flight of the Conchords”) gave Novak a script that was just a guideline, leaving him a massive amount of room to improvise. That fits perfectly with the work he has done in the past, as Novak co-created the British prank call show “Fonejacker” and the spinoff series “Facejacker.” Novak also has a history of voice work with such projects as “Danger Mouse,” “Thunderbirds Are Go” and “The Pirates! Band of Misfits.”

Clement’s idea was to write distinct characters but to leave a lot of improvising so the actors take their roles and make them more distinct. Some of the improv work Novak did when he auditioned for the role was added to the scripts for the 10-episode order. Novak called the process of writing, improvising and writing some more a constant evolution for the script.

“My background is mainly improvisational comedy,” Novak says. “Working on the pilot was a steep learning curve because of the pace at which they would come up with new ideas and suggest new ideas. It was a matter of implementing what they thought of on the spot and putting it into your character in a seamless way.”

He’s not alone. Along with Novak’s role as leader of the blood-sucking pack, there’s the dapper British vampire Laszlo (Matt Berry), plus seductress Nadja (Natasia Demetriou). They are joined by Guillermo (Harvey Guillén), Nandor’s servant/protector during the daylight hours, and Colin Robinson (Mark Proksch), an energy vampire.

There’s one thing about his role that confuses Novak.

“I’m not sure how he actually became the leader of this clan, because none of the clan actually listens to a word he says, which is kind of upsetting for me because I kind of take that personally. I want to be the commander and in control and everyone just ignores me. I don’t know how old he is. I think he’s at least 400 years old,” Novak says.

Novak found all the inspiration he needed to play the vampire role in the script, wardrobe, sets and fangs. The British actor has never been a fan of the vampire genre, calling ’80s American television shows such as “The A-Team,” “Nightrider” and “CHiPs” more of an influence on him as an actor.

And, Novak was influenced by the source material. The new FX offering is loosely based on the 2014 film co-written and co-directed by Clement and Taika Waititi of the same name.

“I only really wanted to become a vampire because I thought it would be a very cool thing to be and a very funny thing to be after I saw the original film. I was a big fan of the film,” Novak says. “When I heard they were doing this, it was one of those auditions that I really, really, really wanted the part.

“I wanted the role so much, I figured I was never going to get it. Once I got it, and to have had the most amazing time filming the series, it’s a dream come true.”

https://www.columbian.com/news/2019/apr/05/kayvan-novak-takes-a-bite-out-of-shadows-role/