Elliot Knight talks role in CBS summer drama series ‘American Gothic’

Check out a recap of his interview below and find out the inside scoop on his upcoming project BILLIONAIRE RANSOM.

How much do you love your job as an actor?

Not to sound cheesy but I don’t know what else I would do. It’s the only thing that has ever made sense and found it’s way of happening for me regardless of my own efforts. I enjoyed a lot of things when I was a kid and still do now. I love music and I love sports. I played sports all throughout school. I was always involved in a lot of different things but I am a big believer in karma and destiny. The only thing that made it’s way to actually happen for me was acting. I love it and I love being on set. I love being in rehearsal for things and telling stories. It’s what I feel I am supposed to be doing. I’m having the best time.

What made you decide to pursue an acting career?
Well, it’s funny, there’s a moment where I didn’t actually decide but it was decided for me. I guess that’s what I mean when I’m talking about it finding some way of happening. I was in school and I was choosing my options for A level the last two years of high school. I had to choose between music and drama. My way of deciding or getting help was to speak to my teachers. I went to my music teacher and asked him what do you think of me doing music. He was pretty much like you could do it. He asked, “Do you play any instruments?” I tried to learn a couple but that didn’t work out. He said, “I’m sure we could find something you could do.” Then I chatted with my drama teacher and she said, “Elliot is going to step in and do this.” Even though I didn’t believe it at the time she had so much enthusiasm for me that I would rather work with that teacher rather than the other one. I think that was the main fork in the road choice that was made there. That I would go on after acting and study that. A couple other events happened after that where I ended up wanting to audition for drama schools. I went to a sports college where drama is not something you could do at the school which was very disheartening to hear. One of the biggest exports in the UK is the TV and film industry and yet I grew up in a school where 90% of the teachers didn’t even know that it was a career. Luckily, there was one temporary teacher at the time who knew all about the drama school so she helped me audition. I got in my first year. There were so so many hurdles that normally you don’t overcome or a least the first time they don’t work out that way but they did work out for me. I really do feel like it’s made its own way of happening for me and that’s why I know it’s the right thing for me to do. That’s why I enjoy it so much.

When did you make your way to the US from the UK?
I moved to L.A. in October of 2014, so almost a couple of years ago. I’m very new. I just finished a movie in the UK and I got offered this guest role on “How to Get Away with Murder” after I tested for the pilot earlier that year. I came after a couple days to start filming. I did some scenes and then I was back in the UK for a bit while I was doing a movie in the summer. I didn’t have an apartment anywhere and I spent the last couple years moving around for work and traveling to L.A. for auditions. I didn’t have a base anywhere in the world so I thought again maybe I should take this as a sign. I thought this could be the move or a start somewhere. I flew back to L.A. a month later and found myself an apartment. Then I got the job with ” How to Get Away with murder” and that was that really.

Tell us about your role on “American Gothic”?
I play detective Brady Ross who is married to Tessa Ross. She is the youngest daughter of the Hawthorne family. Which is the same family that Brady is investigating in connection to a series of murders dating back 14 years in Boston. It’s a very interesting role. He pretty much got a finger in every pie so there is a lot to do and a lot to be involved with which for me as an actor is very fun to be actively involved in a lot of stuff.

Do you enjoy acting in film or TV better?
I did three years training for stage in drama school. They don’t really have screen training for the course in the UK, at least, not when I lived in Manchester. I would love to do some more stage because I do think I developed a love for that while I was training. Most of my experience is on TV. I like getting to live with the character for a long amount of time. My first job, for example, I was playing the character for nine months of shooting. For almost a year you get to stay with the same character and really explore them and have a connection to them. The general connection to the character is really special. At the same time even though you may not get as long on film you do get to discover each moment and each aspect of them in further depth. It’s hard for me to say. I really do love TV and it’s a very different to film. I think I’d love to do some more film. Hopefully, I will get to do some of that once the filming for the season is finished.

How do you get out of character after filming?
What I liked about that character is that he wasn’t too far removed from myself. It wasn’t that big of a leap for the whole year. The first character I ever played was in “Sinbad” in this adventure series in the UK. It was just an adventurous kid who was maybe a little bolder than I was at that stage but loved life and loved feeling alive. He didn’t see fear or any obstruction in his path. It was actually a really good character to play and just to have a good perspective on life. You are alive but you should enjoy that while you can. I try to keep that same life philosophy of just enjoying the moments that come my way and not be the one that gets in my own way from making the most of the opportunities that I have. If it was something like Brady for a year then I would have been complaining for six months at this point. He is a very dark and intense guy. He is always trying to figure things out. The mood is a lot different than “Sinbad” so if I had to do this for six months that might have a crazy impact on me. Luckily, it’s just shy of that time so I can snap out of that and get back into Elliot mode.

How did you prepare for your role?
I think it’s fascinating to get into your preparation almost living as that character. I did a lot of researching to past serial killings and BTK’s. I investigated those and watched videos of the trials. I watched his confession when he was found and just noted his personality and his emotional attachment to the crime scene. Looked at a few pictures from crime scenes to see how gruesome it might be. I didn’t want to be shocked by anything when we were filming or by anything I might hear. I met some detectives in Toronto and had a chat with them about what the job entails and the kind of things that they do. I went on a ride along with police in Toronto as well to see what their daily work life was like. That was fascinating! It was really great to learn about what the real job actually entails. It’s very tough, always surprising and demanding. I think it does take some of the strongest kinds of people to do that job well. Brady does do his job well so it’s important that I understand someone that has a very strong moral code and very well ethnically speaking too. Someone who stands for what they believe in and cares for social justice. I just tried to get into that mindset as best as I could and made sure that it fed through to Brady as well.

What is the backstory of your role in Billionaire Ransom?
What I love about the movie is that it doesn’t just focus on the billionaire aspect. In a way, it’s like a teen coming of age intimate drama. For part of the movie, it’s about exploring these characters and exploring youth, especially in today’s world. I find that so interesting as an actor. If you love acting you won’t be disappointed. It explodes into a horrific action movie. It was a lot of fun to make. We shot it on an island in Wales in the UK. The beautiful scenery there and it’s shot so brilliantly. They did a great job of capturing the beauty of the characters and the thrill of the dire need that they find themselves in.

I play Marsac in the film and he represents the U.K. He is a trust fund baby. He is sort of in a bad rich kid camp. They all represent a huge wealth of money. They all become a target for people who want to take that money. It was definitely a different character than I’ve played before. He has a lot more attitude. That was really fun. I enjoyed that.