Shot almost entirely in front of a green screen, with minimal set pieces, Sanctuary returns to SyFy for it’s second season.  Sacntuary covers the adventures of Helen Magnus (Amanda Tapping) and Will Zimmerman (Robin Dunne) who run the safe heaven for abnormals, people and creatures who are different, and maybe more than human.

The 2^nd season picks up with the cliffhanger from season 1 with Asley Magnus in the hands of and perhaps helping the Cabal in their efforts to destroy the Sanctuary. Amanda and Will recently sat down with MediaBlvd to talk about what we can expect for season 2.

MediaBlvd>   How is the dynamic and relationships between the characters going to change in Season 2?

Amanda>       I think because it's our second season you're going to see a lot of changes in terms of the interpersonal relationships. I think Season 1 was very much about introducing everybody - introducing the Sanctuary itself, the creatures, what everyone does and where they come from. And so now Season 2 is just - now we get to play within those parameters. And obviously we start our season with a massive - we ended Season 1 with a massive cliffhanger and start with this very highly intense two-part episode.  And not to tease anything up but it, you know, it looks like things are changing at the Sanctuary. Season - Episode 3 will be very much about trying to rectify that situation and I don’t know how much we’re allowed to say. There are changes and we are bringing in new characters. You'll see a lot more of Henry this year than you did last year. We’re bringing in a wonderful new character named Kate Freelander. The relationship between and Druitt and Magnus changes and most importantly the relationship between Magnus and Will becomes, I think, so much deeper and so much more intense.

Robin Dunne>           I think it's because like, you know, everything is really falling apart around us. There's going to be, you know, more of blunt relationship more of like a brutal honesty between all of the characters particularly Magnus and Will because really, you know, kind of our lives depend on it. We can’t, like, we can’t afford to be anything but, you know, brutally honest with each other. And I think there's going to be, you know, definite strains in the relationship over this season. But because of those strains, I think all the relationships will get stronger, you know, because of that.

MediaBlvd>   Amanda you’ve done it for awhile now but about working on the green screen and not really having a set. Does that affect a lot the way you act?

Amanda>       I actually think it makes the work a little more honest in a strange way. I think that you get so used to having stuff around you and things to play with and, you know, you hear the expression actor’s chewing scenery, we actually can’t do that on our show.  This is initially frustrating but I think what ends up happening is it becomes --and Robin and I have talked about this -- it becomes about the words and the moment and the actual true, honest interaction between these two characters. You can’t - there's nothing else to play with so it really does become a little more honest in some ways. A minimalist theater.

Robin Dunne>           Yeah I was just going to say you’ve used the analogy of that it's kind of like theater and it really is. I mean because there's no set there most of time or a lot of the time anyway, you know, we do - we just have each other to rely on. But also, the benefits that we get, I mean, this show because of the amount of green screen we use, we can go anywhere, we can do anything and the possibilities are limitless. So to have that luxury, you know, any small difficulties is - we have working with the green screen are well worth it when you see the final product.

MediaBlvd>   Can both of you kind of tell us how you got the parts in the show to begin with?

Amanda>       We both actually were handed these parts.  I of course know Martin and Damian from Stargate. I've know Martin for 13, 14 years now and Damian for about 7 or 8 years. And Damian had written a script back in 2001 as a spec script and pulled it out, dusted it off and handed it to Martin and said “What do you think of this? Do you think would make a good series, or we should do something with this.” And Martin said “You have to give this to Amanda.” And so, they drove it over to my house and I read the script and fell absolutely madly in love with it and with Helen and the three of us sat down. And when it came to casting the part of Will there was no choice, it - Martin talked about this wonderful young actor named Robin Dunne and how great he was as a person and how wonderful he was as an actor. Robin and Martin worked together on a film, you can tell them about that Robin. And basically we looked him up on IMDB, he’s super cute is what I said. We must cast him.

Robin Dunne>           I'd worked with Martin about 10 years ago on a movie we shot in Romania that shall not be named. But, you know, I’d kept in touch with Marty over the years and he - yeah he just - same kind of thing. He called me up and said “Look we’re doing this thing, can I send you the script?” I read it and was blown away by it. And...

Amanda>       And he said I promise you it's not anything like Teenage Space Vampires.

Robin Dunne>           Yes, or the movie that should not be named, as I said. So yeah I came over to Vancouver and I think the chemistry was instantaneous, I just felt immediately at home and, you know, meeting Amanda and meeting Damian Kindler and the whole crew it just felt like yeah this is - like this is the job that I want to do and the feeling has really sustained over the entire time. And it's just been such a great job to have and a lot of fun and, you know, a challenge at the same time.

MediaBlvd>   Some of these abnormals have some cool powers like invisibility and teleportation. So I've got to ask if you guys could, you know, chose some kind of special power what would it be?

Robin Dunne>           Invisible.

Amanda>       Yeah invisible would be fun.

Robin Dunne>           Invisible would be cool.

Amanda>       Yeah but you’d be creepy if you were invisible Robin, to be honest.

Robin Dunne>           I would just do creepy weird things.

Amanda>       He would do creepy weird things.

Robin Dunne>           For you.

Amanda>       I'd like to teleport, I think that would be fun. I'd like to be able without any of the bad, you know, physiological side effects. But I think it would be great to grab my family and just boom we’re in Fiji.

MediaBlvd>   Save on airfare.

Amanda>       Yeah. Totally would, and time it would be great being as busy as we are to just teleport from the sets home without having to deal with traffic.

Robin Dunne>           It'd be cool to be able to stop time too, you know. Like just stop time, take a rest, everyone else is frozen, you can move. You know, it'd be nice and quiet.

Amanda>       Take a nap.

Robin Dunne>           Take a nap, yeah.

Amanda>       I'd like the abnormal ability of napping, that’d be good.

MediaBlvd>   You  touched on it a little bit before about watching the special effects that they use. Do you often watch, yourself acting in the show? Do you watch the episodes when they're done and is that hard for you to do?

Amanda>       I'm so incredibly self critical that I - for me now as a producer on the show to have to watch episodes, like have to be in on it, and have to be there for the sound mixes and the color corrects and all the, you know, stuff that happens after you’ve actually filmed it. Torturous for me, so now I found a - I think I found a balance in my head anyway where I can step back and ignore myself on camera and actually watch the show as opposed to being in it. Because I think what happens with a lot of actors and it's a dangerous thing is you become self aware. You know, that’s a bad angle for me or oh I didn’t like the way I did that. And then you start censoring yourself as you're acting. And then the process becomes muddy because you're more concerned with what you look like or how that’s coming across. And I think it's a dangerous thing, you know. I've never enjoyed watching myself of camera and I know that going into it. So now I just have to step back a producer, as a director and just okay, pretend it's somebody else.  But he’s not nearly as good looking as I am. I'm just kidding.

Robin Dunne>           Amanda again, you’ve put - you’ve said the loud part - the quiet part loud again.

Amanda>       I don’t know who that woman on Sanctuary is but she’s not nearly as cute as me. I'm terrible.

MediaBlvd>:  What about you Robin?

Robin Dunne>           I'm not much of a watcher either. I agree with Amanda if I see stuff that’s, you know, I focus on but I don’t like and then again, you do start to alter your performance because you're, you know, you're trying not to do something that you saw that you didn’t like. And again, that can be dangerous. I mean I see a lot of the show and I watch particularly when there's big shots where, you know, Anthem, our visual effects team have put in some cool stuff in replacing the green screen. I certainly love to see all that kind of stuff. But, you know, I am a bit strange about watching myself. I don’t like it. And so I don’t do it too much. I'm not - I mean I will see the finished product but I'm not one of those actors who’s watching dailies every day and really, you know, seeing every single frame of my performance. Because I just find - I mean I admire actors who can do that and pick out stuff and use it to their benefit. But I find that it can be - it just gets - it's just detrimental to me, I just get into my head too much. So I try not to do it very much.

MediaBlvd>   Is there something that happened this season, some funny moment that maybe we’ll see on the blooper reel?

Robin Dunne>           Oh god. Yeah, you know the thing about our blooper reels that is unfortunate and maybe I'm - I shouldn’t be saying these things. But it's unfortunate because some - a lot of the stuff that happens that should be on the blooper reel we could never really put on because they're - they might be a little bit too...

Amanda>       Racy.

Robin Dunne>           What's the word? Racy that’s the word I'm looking for, racy.

Amanda>       On other channels, yes. We’re a very polite cast...

Robin Dunne>           Just a little bit.

Amanda>       ...but we’re also a very naughty cast.

Robin Dunne>           Yes, there is a - I think definitely there needs to be a leak uncensored blooper reel that, you know, hits YouTube or something. But I think we still do manage to have a few of them. I mean all day long we’re laughing and having a great time and, you know...

Amanda>       You try and not laugh on camera it’s ridiculous.

Robin Dunne>           There is someone on the phone who’s not me who is a insane giggler, who like from morning to night. I’ll let you guess who that is. Her first name starts with Amanda.

MediaBlvd>   Yeah I kind of figured that.

Robin Dunne>           Yes. So yeah, no we do have a great time. And I lot of that stuff, you know, hopefully ends up somewhere seeing - someone seeing it.

MediaBlvd>   Oh sure. But yes I remember the giggling from Gatecon very well.

Amanda>       Yes, I can't help myself; I'm bubbling below the surface all the time.

MediaBlvd>   Oh but it's great.

Amanda>       It's probably a pretty good state of being.

Robin Dunne>           It's just so easy too. Like it's just, you know, to make Amanda giggle is like I mean...

Amanda>       You just crack me up. Which now becomes a blood sport on the show with the other cast. It's like, you know, how quickly can we make Amanda lose it? Easy.

Robin Dunne>           The answer is quickly.

MediaBlvd>   Well it sounds like a lot of fun.

Amanda>       It is, it really is.

MediaBlvd>   Okay, well thank you very much.

Amanda>       Thank you.

Robin Dunne>           Nice talking to you, thank you.