Canadian Adam Korson Stars in 'Seed' on CityTV
By Anne Brodie Feb 4, 2013, 15:31 GMT
Toronto born actor, Adam Korson, stars in a juicy new sitcom that boldly redefines what makes a family.
Toronto born actor, Adam Korson, stars in a juicy new sitcom that boldly redefines what makes a family. Korson, a classically trained theatre vet, turns his attention to episodic TV in a show that jumps outside the safety of conventional mainstream viewing. He plays Harry in "Seed", a witty and warm series around a young man who forgot he’d made donations at the local sperm bank and is suddenly confronted by his offspring. The show premieres Monday Feb 4 at 8:30 p.m. ET/PT on Citytv.At first, he wants to run and hide and never look back like the fatherhood-averse, underachieving man-child he is. And he is a selfish if charming bounder who can generally manipulate himself out of any sticky situation. But then he begins re-evaluating things. We spoke with Korson in Toronto.
Monsters and Critics: You seem so relaxed and natural in the role of Harry. Is he like you?
Adam Korson: When I read Harry the first time I understood him very quickly. It was a rare find. There wasn’t a lot of work in him. There is a lot of Harry in me and me in Harry. He’s a guy with so many layers, and I love that, but he’s got heart. It’s lovely to see.
He did this stupid thing but he didn’t mean to do it. He manipulates things, and you want to strangle him but you want to hug him. He’s the kind of guy who when he cares about you, he puts you before himself. There is resistance in the beginning, he meets the kids and he doesn’t want them. He tries to ship them away but he became entangled in their lives and begins to care for them and then he can’t walk away. He finds a new family.
Monsters and Critics: The show celebrates new kinds of families. Do you think it might change some people’s minds about what constitutes a family?
Adam Korson: The show is very relevant. One, talking about new families, and two, specifically regarding sperm donation. That is extremely relevant. It’s in the news and you hear a lot about it. People want families, either they can’t biologically or are in a relationship that doesn’t allow that so they go to a sperm bank. People will respond to it. But some people will be resistant to it and won’t understand and that’s the way it is.
Monsters and Critics: Harry and the other characters are so engaging, they should be able to overcome resistance.
Adam Korson: I agree. That will be the “in” but it will bring topical and relevant a lot of people don’t know about it. It will be another thing to know. I didn’t know that was an option and maybe I‘ll donate sperm. Since the show I’ve asked myself if I would donate , yeah, I’d love to help people but on the other hand, I’d know I had a child out there and I would want to be a part of it. So would I be able to separate that? I don’t know, I still don’t know. For Harry it was an afterthought. Someone dared him or he wanted some extra money.
Monsters and Critics: You have a grasp of Harry that another actor might not have achieved. What was your connection to him?
Adam Korson: It was allowing myself to get into his head and understanding he was more than he seems on the surface, that he is an intelligent guy. Why did he turn down Princeton to become a musician? He wanted to become a musician, an artist. He made the decision that he wanted to live his life a certain way you have to have the balls to say “Screw you, life; I’m going to make my own path”. It’s understanding all these reasons and getting into his psyche. In television you can’t have a main character be someone people hate. You can’t. There has to be likeability. Knowing that and what makes him likeable. If he is manipulating people why is he doing that?
Monsters and Critics: The end justifies the means?
Adam Korson: He’s using his charm to get something but he doesn’t do it to do harm, he’s truly apologetic is someone takes it that way. That’s the human, I like to believe people don’t mean to do harm, that they are good. I truly believe people are good. It’s harder to like some people than others. What I love about Harry is that he is layered and humanistic. He’s real. That’s how I see myself. I have definitely gotten myself into situations but I’ve never wanted to do harm to anyone. We all screw up and that’s also what’s relatable.
Monsters and Critics: He has his work cut out for him! Sperm donation is usually treated as a joke in pop culture, but its serious stuff.
Adam Korson: People don’t talk about it that much. My hope is that this opens the eyes of people who might donate either sperm or eggs.
Monsters and Critics: I hear you’ve written a lot of scripts?
Adam Korson: Yes, a lot. Right now I’m working on this really cool project Awkward Moments and Misunderstandings, a series of 30 second shorts that are just the awkward moments. We bought a domain, ThatsJustAwkward.com. People can submit their moments and then we’ll pull in actual award moments from real life. I write some dark stuff too, some dramas. Some really dark stuff. My mum prefers me to do comedy, she’s happy now.
Monsters and Critics: You’re as driven as Harry is unambitious.
Adam Korson: I’m very ambitious I’m very driven, you tell me I can’t do something, I’m going to show you. I do believe you can do anything you want if you put your mind to it, the time and you really work hard at something, you can do it. Absolutely.
*Korson’s impressive C.V. includes 2 Broke Girls, Normal, Emily Owens MD, the Protector, Breakfast with Scot, the Contract. Dan Woolf in Patrick Marber’s Closer, Jean Paul Marat in Marat/Sade An Adaptation, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, Isaac Adams in The God of Isaac, and Adam Lipshitz in the L.A. production of Jewtopia.
Monsters and Critics: You seem so relaxed and natural in the role of Harry. Is he like you?
Adam Korson: When I read Harry the first time I understood him very quickly. It was a rare find. There wasn’t a lot of work in him. There is a lot of Harry in me and me in Harry. He’s a guy with so many layers, and I love that, but he’s got heart. It’s lovely to see.
He did this stupid thing but he didn’t mean to do it. He manipulates things, and you want to strangle him but you want to hug him. He’s the kind of guy who when he cares about you, he puts you before himself. There is resistance in the beginning, he meets the kids and he doesn’t want them. He tries to ship them away but he became entangled in their lives and begins to care for them and then he can’t walk away. He finds a new family.
Monsters and Critics: The show celebrates new kinds of families. Do you think it might change some people’s minds about what constitutes a family?
Adam Korson: The show is very relevant. One, talking about new families, and two, specifically regarding sperm donation. That is extremely relevant. It’s in the news and you hear a lot about it. People want families, either they can’t biologically or are in a relationship that doesn’t allow that so they go to a sperm bank. People will respond to it. But some people will be resistant to it and won’t understand and that’s the way it is.
Monsters and Critics: Harry and the other characters are so engaging, they should be able to overcome resistance.
Adam Korson: I agree. That will be the “in” but it will bring topical and relevant a lot of people don’t know about it. It will be another thing to know. I didn’t know that was an option and maybe I‘ll donate sperm. Since the show I’ve asked myself if I would donate , yeah, I’d love to help people but on the other hand, I’d know I had a child out there and I would want to be a part of it. So would I be able to separate that? I don’t know, I still don’t know. For Harry it was an afterthought. Someone dared him or he wanted some extra money.
Monsters and Critics: You have a grasp of Harry that another actor might not have achieved. What was your connection to him?
Adam Korson: It was allowing myself to get into his head and understanding he was more than he seems on the surface, that he is an intelligent guy. Why did he turn down Princeton to become a musician? He wanted to become a musician, an artist. He made the decision that he wanted to live his life a certain way you have to have the balls to say “Screw you, life; I’m going to make my own path”. It’s understanding all these reasons and getting into his psyche. In television you can’t have a main character be someone people hate. You can’t. There has to be likeability. Knowing that and what makes him likeable. If he is manipulating people why is he doing that?
Monsters and Critics: The end justifies the means?
Adam Korson: He’s using his charm to get something but he doesn’t do it to do harm, he’s truly apologetic is someone takes it that way. That’s the human, I like to believe people don’t mean to do harm, that they are good. I truly believe people are good. It’s harder to like some people than others. What I love about Harry is that he is layered and humanistic. He’s real. That’s how I see myself. I have definitely gotten myself into situations but I’ve never wanted to do harm to anyone. We all screw up and that’s also what’s relatable.
Monsters and Critics: He has his work cut out for him! Sperm donation is usually treated as a joke in pop culture, but its serious stuff.
Adam Korson: People don’t talk about it that much. My hope is that this opens the eyes of people who might donate either sperm or eggs.
Monsters and Critics: I hear you’ve written a lot of scripts?
Adam Korson: Yes, a lot. Right now I’m working on this really cool project Awkward Moments and Misunderstandings, a series of 30 second shorts that are just the awkward moments. We bought a domain, ThatsJustAwkward.com. People can submit their moments and then we’ll pull in actual award moments from real life. I write some dark stuff too, some dramas. Some really dark stuff. My mum prefers me to do comedy, she’s happy now.
Monsters and Critics: You’re as driven as Harry is unambitious.
Adam Korson: I’m very ambitious I’m very driven, you tell me I can’t do something, I’m going to show you. I do believe you can do anything you want if you put your mind to it, the time and you really work hard at something, you can do it. Absolutely.
*Korson’s impressive C.V. includes 2 Broke Girls, Normal, Emily Owens MD, the Protector, Breakfast with Scot, the Contract. Dan Woolf in Patrick Marber’s Closer, Jean Paul Marat in Marat/Sade An Adaptation, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, Isaac Adams in The God of Isaac, and Adam Lipshitz in the L.A. production of Jewtopia.
0
No comments:
Post a Comment