Recently, Sasha Roiz (who plays Captain Renard) and Claire Coffee (who plays Adalind) from the NBC hit drama Grimm took time to chat with the press about their characters and the season finale.
It’s been a great season for this show and all the characters, but particularly these two characters. First the surprise pregnancy, then a battle with the Royals, and finally having their daughter sent away to protect everyone. Now we have Adalind running around, crazy, trying to figure out how to get her daughter back while Renard tries to stop her from hurting others. What a tangled web.
Check out what these two fantastic actors had to say.
On their relationship development now and in the future
Claire: They really do have kind of a sickeningly codependent relationship. I don’t know that there’s ever really forgiveness or ultimate trust. But it does seem like the playing field is a little bit leveled with what they’ve done to each other.
Sasha: She certainly has a way with Renard. And I think there’s always a possibility of them finding their way back to each other to some extent. But you know, there’s also that baby that bonds them.
Jump with us to read more.
On playing Adalind’s array of emotions this season
Claire: I was telling Jim and David just how grateful [I was]. It’s kind of like going back to theater school where you get…it’s like just a massive exercise in exploring the range of human emotions. Yes, I think over those three episodes, I got to play every single one of them. I just consider myself lucky, and you know, hope that I didn’t drop the ball. I don’t know that any one is easier or harder. I mean, I think you know that anything that requires a lot of emotion, be it rage or pain, is exhausting, you know, after a while just…it’s because [of the] energy level, it’s just taking a lot out of you. So yes, it was definitely an exhausting two weeks.
On why Grimm is so popular
Sasha: I hope because to some extent the characters are intriguing and relatable. And that you know we…I give the writers a lot of credit. I think they come up with some incredibly compelling story lines.
Claire: I think there’s a lot of action each episode, and the ticking clock of the episode itself, and the monster of the week, and figuring out the case of the week.
But at the same time, you have this Royal story line that’s serialized and you follow that through the season, and so I think all those cliffhangers that keep people coming back.
On what the finale holds
Claire: [Adalind is] incredibly motivated to get her baby back. She’s got tunnel vision where that is concerned because I think she just feels a little bit aimless and lost without this child now that she’s learned how to love another human being.
I don’t think she fully understands the ramifications of what she’s about to do, but she feels within her right to do it. And yes, it causes a massive rift in Nick and Juliette’s relationship, and it changes them…maybe forever. We’ll just have to wait and see.
Sasha: I think that she, Adalind, has gone too far this time, and I think by the end of the episode, Renard sees pure rage. And it could get pretty nasty between the two of them. But you know, that’s what I think. Then again, there’s always some twists and turns along the way. But certainly you find him at his wits’ end with her.
On whether or not Eric is really dead
Claire: I haven’t heard it… James Frain had some scheduling conflicts, but I know that the writers did have ideas about what to do with the character and that he certainly wasn’t dead. But I don’t know, I haven’t actually given that too much thought. There’s been so many other things on the table.
Sasha: I can’t tell you with any certainty that he’s alive or dead, but because I think your approach is probably quite a good one; unless you see the body, you probably shouldn’t completely believe it. Then again, that’s all we know up to this point, so we’ll have to wait and see. But yes, it’s Grimm… Anything’s possible.
On their favorite part of working together
Claire: We do have a lot of fun working together. And Sasha’s just such a generous actor to work with. And I’m not saying that just because he’s on the other end of the line. But you know, he makes a point to kind of like, we’ll meet up before and kind of suss out what the situation is because we do find ourselves in some kind of outlandishly emotional places. But I think the most fun, I mean obviously when he is without clothing… That was a pretty fun day on set. I would say, “More funny than fun…for both of us because we’re both wearing various weird flesh-colored underthings. But yes, it’s good that we are such good friends, (I think).
Sasha: Not the most flattering outfits.
Claire: Yes, it’s about the least flattering. If they could show behind the scenes, I would say that it’s the most unflattering that we’ve looked. But the movie magic makes it look so good.
Sasha: It’s funny how the sexiest scenes, behind the scenes, are the least sexy things you’ve ever witnessed.
Claire and I have a lovely friendship on set, and I love working with her. And I think she’s done a tremendous job this season. Her character arc has been enormous, and she’s really stepped up. And so it’s been fun to watch.
And also, their relationship is just so absolutely crazy that it’s really fun to always be challenged with that. Because just when you think it can’t get any crazier, they manage to write something new in. So it always remains a little challenging, every single time we face off.
On Renard’s mysterious wedding ring
Sasha: I know that’s been a question posed by fans for [a while] now, and [it’s] a wonderful question. I wish I had the exact answer for you, but like all things Grimm, we kind of get around to answering all those questions with time. And I suspect that we’ll probably answer that one as well, soon.
For instance, even this season, we answered the question of, “How does Nick see them, and how do they know that he’s a Grimm?” So we get around to answering these little things.
The real story I think is it’s probably a relic from a story line that never got used and had to be scrapped at some point. [When Renard initially] came on the scene, I think [it] was considered [that] maybe [he] had been married or widowed or something, and we never really got around to using that story line, so I think we’ll probably owe you an answer at some point soon.
A huge thank you to these two for taking the time to give us a glance into their lives and characters. Be sure to tune in to NBC at 9/8c tonight to see what the season finale has to offer.
