AfterElton: So, has there been an adjustment to working in the States?
Kai Owen: Well, apart from the lovely weather and all the food and the hospitality … it’s been lovely, and we’re so lucky and so grateful. Coming here from Wales myself, and three years in Wales shooting the show, when I got the call that we were going to be shooting in Los Angeles, I couldn’t believe it. It’s like I constantly think to myself every day – walking on set, seeing people who are at Warner Bros. – the adjustment has just been mind-blowing, it’s been phenomenal.
AE: Do you keep waiting to see the elephants and the Roman centurions go by?
KO: Oh, totally, totally! I’m expecting the works, I want to see a massive movie set with a guy yelling into a megaphone and some guy on a trapeze, dinosaurs, everything. I’ve done the backstage tour at Universal a few times, and now I’m actually working in Hollywood. It’s crazy, crazy!
AE: This is your second season as a full-on regular. How do you feel like you’ve meshed with the show?
KO: Yeah, [Rhys is] very much … I mean, obviously, the first season, he’s in the dark about Torchwood, the whole institution; second season, he found out. He still would rather Gwen not be involved in it. I think he just wants that idyllic life of being husband with a wife and the perfect kid. But unfortunately, he kind of knows now that there’s no chance of that; the world needs Gwen Cooper as much as Rhys and their daughter need Gwen Cooper. He kind of accepts that now. He also knows that she’s brilliant at her job, that she’s a superwoman and a super-mother. Together, they’re a wonderful team. He’ll always be involved in the stories and involved in Gwen’s troubles or fights or adventures because he will always look out for Gwen.
He also knows that Jack will look out for her as well, so she’s always got these two big men looking out for her safety. I think Rhys is kind of an extra-secret member of the team now, especially because of his driving skills, and he’s such a normal bloke. He doesn’t look like an undercover CIA agent or anything extra-terrestrial. He’s just a run-of-the-mill guy who loves his food and loves his beer and his family, and he’ll do anything Gwen asks him to. If it means helping her out, and bringing a mission to an end as quickly as possible, he’ll help her out, no problem.
AE: Torchwood is coming out of a really dark story line. What kind of place is Rhys in as this one begins?
KO: Coming off a tremendous story like Children of Earth so dark, it finds Rhys in the most perfect place on earth, really – in a lovely cottage in South Wales, overlooking the sea, with a beautiful wife, a beautiful daughter. He kind of wishes that he wasn’t in witness protection, in hiding, because they have to keep a low profile. They can’t go back to the city, so he probably doesn’t see his mates as much.
But when they do get the call to go back, he thinks he’s OK, but when he sees the story unraveling, it’s like wow, it’s happening all over again, and he doesn’t like that at all. And it just goes darker and darker and bigger and bigger. He starts out happy to be out of it, but then before you know it, slap-bang in the middle of it once more.
AE: In going through your Wikipedia page, I learned that your first big role was as a gay roofer on a Welsh TV series.
KO: Yeah, I played a gay character for three years called Kev, on a show called Tipyn O Stad, which means “a bit of a state.” It was kind of a soap opera, set in North Wales, and had all these crazy dysfunctional families who led the most unbelievable lives.
My character Kev was happily going to get married to a character called Peggy, and then on his stag night, he was chained to a lamppost and all his mates left him, and one man came and untied him from the post. His name was Graham, and their eyes met, and something happened to Kev – they walked home together very drunk and wound up making out on Graham’s floor, even though Kev was getting married three days later.
And then he ran out on the wedding; he was just about to say his vows, and Graham was in the congregation, and Kev caught his eyes and left. And started a three-year affair with Graham. One of my first on-screen kisses, in fact, was with a man. In the end I got killed off, unfortunately, but it was good fun.
AE: So now that you’ve been seduced by California, do you think you’ll stay for a while?
KO: I would definitely stay – I mean, why not! Why wouldn’t ya? The fact that we’re out here working is the best part of it, but the people here are so friendly – I’m staying over in West Hollywood – it’s mind-blowing, I’m constantly pinching myself all the time. It’s been the most incredible adventure, and I don’t want it to end, but it’s coming to an end very fast. But I will be back in Los Angeles; I have a manager over here, and I’m open to coming back for some more meetings and, hopefully, to visit the character of Rhys once more.
AE: What’s your experience with Torchwood fans been like?
KO: Torchwood fans, I have to say, are the best fans in the world. The loyalty, and the love and care that they have for the show and the characters, is second to none. They’re the best. I’ve had the pleasure of meeting quite a few at conventions and events over the past few years, and they are crazy but wonderful at the same time. They’re a good bunch. I send my love to all of them.
Read Torchwood miracle day behind the scenes with Eve Myles and Bill Pull man Here
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