Kevin Zegers talks MORTAL INSTRUMENTS, Titanic: Blood and Steel with THR

Kevin Zegers (Alec Lightwood) spoke with The Hollywood Reporter about his latest project Titanic: Blood and Steel, which a 12-part miniseries that debuts on Encore Monday night, as well as briefly mentioned THE MORTAL INSTRUMENTS.

The Hollywood Reporter: What attracted you to this role?

Kevin Zegers: I’ve never really done TV before. I’ve done a couple of TV shows, but I’ve always sort of been interested in having the amount of time to do certainly something of this length — 12 hours long — and having time to develop a character. I’ve never really had that before. Usually you have to create a character arc that lasts an hour and a half, so slowly developing a character over 12 hours interested me.

THR: What was it about the character that you were drawn to?

Zegers: I really liked the script in general. Besides the fact that people obviously have an interest in the Titanic, the thing that interested me is that most of the people making it were all the same people who made The Tudors, and that was something I had really enjoyed watching and was very character-driven. Also, the whole [miniseries] is [my character]. I was interested to see how I could hold up just in terms of workload; it’s not every day you get to work five months, six days a week. I was challenged and wanted to see if I was even capable of pulling it off and maintaining consistency with the character. There was obviously a huge amount of character to dig into, and there’s a lot of his personal story you end up finding out about.

THR: Was it hard to master the accent?

Zegers: I have always like doing accents; I find it much easier to get into character for me. It makes it a lot easier to know when I’m working and when I’m not. In [The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones, a movie Zegers is currently shooting with Jonathan Rhys Meyers and Lena Headey], I’m doing an accent as well. I worked with a voice coach five years ago in Belfast, and we used the same voice coach [for Titanic: Blood and Steel]. For me, it’s something that helps to create a character.

THR: How is the Mortal Instruments shoot going?

Zegers: We’re a few months into it. Titanic has been airing here in Canada [where the movie is filming], so people are getting to see it and give their feedback, and everyone seems to be liking it. It’s been a good 18 months for me. I’m really proud of Titanic; it sort of has nothing to do with the sinking of the ship. it’s more about the era of when the ship is being built and the politics of Belfast at the time. If people like period drama, I think they are going to like this show.

Head over to THR for the complete interview