Legacies‘ Luke Mitchell on Playing God, Working With Wife Rebecca Breeds and His Long-Awaited Fight With Hope
Cruelty, destruction and perfect hair are all in a day’s work for Luke Mitchell, who’s currently playing one of the biggest, baddest Big Bads that Mystic Falls has ever seen.
Though we’ve caught glimpses of him in flashbacks, Mitchell’s character — a thousand-year-old god who just woke up from the longest nap ever — quite literally crash lands on Legacies this Thursday (The CW, 9/8c). And no tribrid is safe.
“Ken’s not shy, and he’s extremely powerful, so he’s going to come in swinging and he’s going to get what he wants — that’s the bottom line,” Mitchell tells TVLine of Ken’s long-awaited clash with Hope. “Hope is very powerful, but she’s dealing with a god now, someone who can pretty much do whatever he wants. It’s quite a first confrontation, but I will say that Ken is a little taken aback. I think he expects it to be easier, and it doesn’t quite pan out that way. It’s a bit of an ego challenge for him, which evolves into something bigger and deadlier.”
Read on for more of Mitchell’s thoughts on playing Ken, including getting to work (again) with real-life wife Rebecca Breeds:
TVLINE | You’ve played a range of characters in your career, but a god feels like next-level stuff.
Yes, it most definitely is next-level stuff. I’ve played [on supernatural shows] before, but to be someone who’s essentially the most powerful being in the universe is a lot of fun.
TVLINE | With a powerful suit to match. How heavy is that armor?
It’s much lighter than it looks, actually. That was such a fun process for me. I don’t think I’ve ever had so many costume fittings in my life. We also had to do full-body casting so they could build this armor without me being there. They had my likeness to build it around, so it’s literally custom built for me, which is pretty rad. You have to go into a mold, and you feel these chemicals harden around you, which can be a little bit confronting. You have to stay completely still for a long period of time, so it’s not great if you’re claustrophobic.
TVLINE | Speaking of having to remain still, I loved the way Ken was revealed during that tabletop RPG game.
My first three days on set were just long days of standing perfectly still until someone told me to move to a different square and stare down one of the other actors. I’m glad I didn’t crack up laughing. After watching it, it turned out really well, but I felt really silly on the day. It’s one of the more ridiculous scenarios I’ve been involved in as an actor, but it worked really well.
TVLINE | I don’t quite know how to explain it, but something about you being in this world just feels right. Did you ever come close to being on The Vampire Diaries or The Originals?
I think that because I’ve been in the sci-fi world and played supernatural characters, it did feel like coming home a little bit. I played a character on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. who had electrical superpowers, and Ken also has the ability to wield lightning, so it’s not too different from that. I do think that back in the day, around the same year I booked The Tomorrow People, I may have auditioned for one of the roles in the pilot of The Originals. But I never auditioned for The Vampire Diaries.
TVLINE | Still, I’m sure you must have absorbed some awareness of this world when Rebecca was on The Originals.
Yeah, absolutely. She has such a fondness for this world, and for the character [of Aurora], so getting to reprise that role on Legacies was such an exciting prospect. For it to then evolve into me being in Atlanta and getting to come in and play as Ken … I think everything happens for a reason.
TVLINE | And getting to work together now must be so fun, especially with your characters’ unique dynamics.
It’s super fun. I think this is our third time working together professionally. We may have a couple of scenes together, maybe I’ve said too much, but there are a few interactions between our characters. She’s playing a 1,000-year-old vampire and I’m playing an all-powerful god — just slightly different from our real-life relationship. Just a touch.
Your thoughts on Legacies‘ new god in town? Hit PLAY on an exclusive clip from Thursday’s episode below, then drop a comment.
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I am looking forward to him alot, this show while has improved has had such a massive lack of a threat on caliber of a klaus or silas or dahlia, etc, just this big powerful bada** who knocks down a few players and brings the fear of god into people, it took 4 seasons but might finally get it.
Yes, this season is a massive improvement over last season & the Gods could be the threat this show needs to get going.
Also, looking forward to seeing what this guy does with the role of a God. Hopefully, he’s a character that is on the level of Klaus or Silias or the Hollow.
Definitely love this show! And yes I’m secretly hoping they will find a way to bring Klaus back. But will the same actor want to play him? I hope so. Lol. Yes it was awesome to see that clip of the original family. You love & hate them all. Lol. Now that’s good writing, directing & especially the acting is awesome. I couldn’t care less about what future episodes/seasons will be about, I’ll be watching it till the end no matter what. I do like seeing the 80’s stuff, I grew up in that. Lol. And yes the dad can play Indiana Jones very well! I’d love to see him be the new Indie. More 80’s episodes are needed,decade dance. That was actually very cool. The kids did awesome job at it. Impressed with their acting skills.