Mark Sheppard has become known for his larger-than-life characters across Supernatural, Battlestar Galactica, Doom Patrol and so many more, but how naturally do those intimidating roles come to him?
“Well, I hope [they’re] not similar to myself; I don’t kill heaps of people, but there’s definitely a trail of dead in my career,” he joked to Supanova TV host Bec.
A larger portion of that trail can be attributed to Crowley, his character on Supernatural.
“I have been lucky enough to have roles in shows that have fanbases, and if you think about the way fandoms have changed, where it used to be the lowest of the lows, and it was all just funny people dressed up in costumes, but that’s not exactly the case,” he said.
“I think it’s a wonderful thing to see that we’ve now become mainstream. I always hated the word fandom, ’cause the word fan comes from fanatic and that’s always had a negative connotation, and with Supernatural we quickly migrated from fandom to family because it felt more familiar.
“Supernatural, in a lot of ways, deals with mental health issues and issues that we are all dealing with today, and it unites people in a positive way with the amount of money that has been raised, not just by us, but people coming in behind us and supporting causes that we care about.
“It gives a voice to something and it’s amazing to see so many groups of people coming together over something they enjoy and raising millions of dollars for causes that other people won’t touch.
“I love doing what I do, and I love the work that I do, and I have a lot of great friends who are writers and producers, and that’s probably why I work and some things are written for me and actually created for me so it can be a bit of a burden in some ways, because you have to get it right.
“It’s fascinating to take a character in a fantasy-type situation and have that hit home with people to the point where they are moved to do things and change things or try to, and it’s amazing.
“We are helping people because we are giving them reasons to stick together.
“I think the reason why Supernatural is so popular is because of the themes more than anything else, and they’re so positive, like family, and the idea of not being alone, sticking together and fighting anything.
“In this day and age, it’s a very dangerous and scary world but it’s nice to see that it is changing, and people are starting to take responsibility and offering a hand.
“It is really great to be a part of it, even if it’s a small part; it’s something that people can latch onto because they love it or enjoy it and they see part of themselves in it.
“I think of a lot of reasons as to why a lot of spin-offs for Supernatural didn’t work is because people cared about the Winchesters and lived vicariously through my character and Misha [Collins’], in support of the Winchesters and I enjoyed seeing the power that that has.
“And people who are in such personal difficulty nowadays, who use a show to and its themes, to do really good work and help one another is a beautiful thing.”
Keep an eye out for the full Supanova TV episode!
Lead image: Mark Sheppard at Supanova 2019 – Adelaide. Photo by Steven Yee.
