No one can say the Ashmore twins can’t take a beating.
Shawn Ashmore took some major licks as part of the Fox series The Following. Now his older brother (by one minute), Aaron Ashmore gets battered and bruised for the new series Killjoys.
“Mom doesn’t like when we get beat up but that’s what’s out there,” said Aaron Ashmore, who has has been part of several TV series heavy on action, including Warehouse 13, Lost Girl and XIII: The Series.
Now, he’s part of the cast of Killjoys where he plays bounty hunter John Jaqobis. He works with Dutch (Hannah John-Kamen), a leader who can gain your trust or beat you up with the same grace and speed. The other part of the team is D’Avin (Luke Macfarlane), John’s brother and former prisoner. They work in the Quad, a distant solar system on the brink of war.
“The Quad is a world with three moons and each one looks very different. Even the lighting is different on each moon, with one being very blue and gritty to another that is very light and warm. The one thing that’s the same is that there’s a lot of poverty and injustice,” Ashmore said.
It all comes together to make Killjoys part Guardians of the Galaxy and part Firefly with its blend of strong heroes, comedy and action.
It’s not a coincidence Ashmore’s back in another genre series.
“I have done a lot of genre type shows that include action, adventure and violence. I like making those kind of shows because I’ve always been a big fan of the genre,” Ashmore said.
The Canadian actor became a science-fiction geek when he was young, sparked by his love of Star Trek: The Next Generation and reading fantasy books. He was drawn to the layered stories that deal with topics that might be off-limits in more mainstream entertainment.
And there’s one more thing that makes the genre watchable to Ashmore.
“Good stories always have a sense of humour,” Ashmore said.
“It doesn’t feel like the characters are three-dimensional unless there is some comedy. We have tried to bring that to this show.”
And it’s Ashmore who’s bringing it.
John-Kamen is the brains of the group, while Macfarlane’s character is the renegade. Ashmore’s character is the one who is most likely to offer a funny quip in the face of danger.
John-Kamen’s character is another plus for Ashmore. The series was created by Michelle Lovretta, the creative force behind Relic Hunter and Mutant X, two other series with strong female leads.
“It’s really exciting because of the relationship between my character and Hannah’s. There’s not really a romantic interest between the two, but a real bond of friendship,” Ashmore said. “They are just two people doing their job, which I think is really cool and really interesting.”
Killhoys airs Friday at 9 p.m. on Space.
