'Being Human' baddie Andrew Gower talks 'Puppy Love' | EW.com

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'Being Human' baddie Andrew Gower talks 'Puppy Love'

Being Human Andrew Gower


Yesterday’s Being Human may have been about Tom getting a girl (and giving her away) or Hal meeting a pretty lady (and then running away). Yet it also set the stage for next week’s game-changing (according to exec producer Toby Whithouse) episode 7 when baddie vamp Cutler divulges his background, his complicated connection to [SPOILER], and why he’s determined to expose the existence of werewolves. These three reveals will have such an impact on the upcoming season 4 finale, that we connected with Cutler himself, 23-year-old Andrew Gower, to dissect last night’s ‘Puppy Love.’

We’re finally going to find out Cutler’s deal. Did the notoriously super-secretive Whithouse let you in on it from the beginning?
I was told that Cutler was a solicitor. But we even had to keep a bit of his backstory a secret from the rest of the cast. I knew that he wasn’t your conventional vampire, and that he was obsessed with bringing vampires into the 21st century. And then later on, I found out the big twist and exactly why he is as he is. It was quite a big surprise for me when I did find out. I was a bit like, “Ooh, that is nice.”

He doesn’t seem to have much angst about being a vampire.
He enjoys the perks. He’s gone from being a human to being a vampire—whether it was his decision, we don’t know yet—but he’s making the most of it and he wants to make them cool.

He also seems to get treated pretty poorly by the other vamps in power, even though there have been several hints that he was made by an Old One.
If you are an Old One, you get automatic respect. Some of the vampires don’t know who made Cutler. Others do, but because his Old One doesn’t seem to be around anymore, they don’t care. Say you had an older brother who is cool, that doesn’t make you cool, too. You just might get to hang out with the cool kids. It’s like that.

Am I wrong to say he appeared a little bit moved by Tom and Allison’s relationship when they visited his office? Does he have any compassion for Tom?
He does. There’s a slight side of him that sees that Tom misses his father, McNair, from last season. And there is something very similar in Cutler’s background—he misses and admires somebody who is no longer there. But predominantly, Cutler is out for his own good.

We also saw his law license on his wall. It was issued in 1947. Is this a hint that he hasn’t been a vampire for that long? And why would he hang something in plain sight that proves that a man who looks to be in his 20s has been practicing law for over 60 years?
Why would he have that on his wall? He’s very proud. You can tell by the way he dresses. He’s very proud of his appearance. I’m sure when he became a solicitor he felt very proud of himself. Also, it’s a nice touch for his office, because we’re saying he’s a solicitor, but he deals predominantly with getting vampires off for crimes they have committed. He can get away with having [a license from] 1947 on his wall with vampires. If the milkman was coming in, he’d be in a bit of trouble. And he’s not old at all. He’s a new vampire, hence his 21st century aspirations.

Damien Molony’s Hal walks and talks old school, because he’s been around for 500 years. How’d you come up with Cutler’s modern ticks?
We looked at Ian Curtis from the band Joy Division. He was a very ultra cool, non-expressive character. Cutler is confident, but people sometimes mask their insecurities with confidence. That’s what Cutler does—or that’s how I played it, as somebody who speaks out and is constantly putting other people’s opinions down. There’s a reason why he’s doing that and that’s what people have got to look forward to in the final episodes.

Can you reveal anything about why he is outing werewolves—especially Tom?
Well, I can tell you there are some great scenes to look forward to between Michael Socha [Tom] and myself. And then, unfortunately, a third person comes into that relationship that Cutler has to play off of. I think Cutler would progress quicker if it weren’t for some people turning up.

Up until last night he seemed to work by manipulating others into evil doing. Then he staked a vampire, himself.
Oh yeah, we are going to see more of that. In ‘Puppy Love,’ he finally got his hands dirty. Cutler doesn’t usually like to get his hands dirty. We made that a thing on set. You’ve seen what happens in episode 2, when I bite somebody for the first time. And you’ve seen in episode 1, when he wanders off [during the big battle] and makes sure he doesn’t get in trouble himself. I never get blood on my clothes. I don’t like to get messy. Cutler likes other people to do the work for him—and manipulation is one of the things he’s very good at. He’s not very good at fisticuffs. Fergus, Hal, and Mitchell, in the last season, are your typical strong vampires. Cutler, if anything, he’s more into his nice clothes and caviar.

As a result, you don’t really get to have your eyes turn the trademark Being Human black or do the big fangy hiss. 
I did the eyes a couple of times in later episodes. The fangs was just once, unfortunately, because they were my favorite. I did mistakenly get to keep some of them by accident. They happened to be in my bag. I’ve not made any use of them just yet.

You do imbibe a lot of blood coming up. What are you really drinking?  
In the first episode, that was a smoothie. But then Damien and myself had a lot of jokes, because in episode 6 or 7, the blood turns to beetroot juice. I’ve never had that much beetroot juice in my life. I don’t mind beetroot on a plate. I don’t mind it with part of a dinner. But it’s not my choice to drink out of a cup.

On the subject of Damien, in the preview for next week’s show, there is a shot of you hugging Hal. Can you give us any hint why?
I don’t think I can.

What if I asked you questions that you can answer with a “yes” or a “no”? Are they friendly? 

Are they antagonistic?

Is Hal going to help Cutler?
These are all “maybe” questions! Whatever happens, it is completely fascinating. Everything is flipped on its head [in the next episode]. Toby Whithouse has written an absolute stormer. I wouldn’t like to spoil that for anybody. You’ll look at both characters—every character, really—and question everything.


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