Vampire Diaries’ Michael Trevino talks Tyler’s transformation and Jules’ motives

Time for more Vampire Diaries’ goodies! If you’re a fan of the show then you know that the werewolves have been taking over the last few episodes. Thanks to Tyler’s transformation and the addition of the new werewolf in town, Jules, we’ve got loads of wolf-filled entertainment. Unfortunately, the show is currently on a break and we won’t get a new episode until January 27! Such a long wait! All we can do until then is catch up with the show’s cast and hope they reveal some spoilers.

Check out this recent interview EW did with Michael Trevino on what it was like during his transformation and more:

So I know you were advised to watch videos of women giving birth and wolves feeding to prepare for the long haul and then frenzy of Tyler’s transformation. Did you do anything else?
I just watched those videos, really, and then just kind of had to mentally prepare for two days of shooting it. I went into it like a marathon. Don’t exhaust myself too much in the beginning, just time it and pace myself, to be able to perform over and over again.

One of the things I loved was the way Tyler repeatedly grabbed for Caroline’s hand. Was that in the script, or did it happen naturally?
It just felt natural, the way Marcos Siega blocked the scene, to be grabbing for Caroline.

And the moment when you were laying with your head in her lap, shivering. It reminded me of an old dog in pain. Was that what was in your mind?
Now that I think about it, that wasn’t in the script, but I wanted to show a lack of breath, breathing fast, and these contractions during this transformation — how there’s different levels of pain that he’s going through throughout.

So those birthing videos came in handy.
Well, they did. I mean I wasn’t trying to copy the breathing techniques. [Laughs]

How did you feel about the nudity? Let’s just go there.
Let’s just go there. [Laughs] I knew it was going to be asked of me. I knew I was gonna have almost next to nothing on.

Did you wear the sock?
[Laughs] Is that what we’re trying to get at here?

Well, I thought a direct approach was best. [Also, I’ve been covering True Blood for too long.]
[Laughs] I’m gonna leave that to the imagination to wonder if I was completely naked or not. But I sure did look pretty naked though.

Chatting with Candice Accola, I know they didn’t have your favorite chocolate chip cookies on set the day you finished shooting the transformation and were ready to eat them again. How sweet is she that she asked them to make you your own special batch?
[Laughs] Yeah. I was watching what I ate, and that day at lunch, I was gonna try not to eat any chocolate chip cookies, and I went, and they didn’t have any there. So I was like, “Okay, that’s good.” I wasn’t tempted to eat any because they didn’t make any. But then when we wrapped, I was like, “Damn, I wish they had some.” Sure enough, at the end of the day, there was a plate in my dressing room, and it had six cookies on it. They were warm and just made. Candice had done that for me, and I love her for that.

When was the first time you saw the episode with the full special effects?
When it aired live. What I was very surprised with was not only the special effects, but the sound. The sound with the bones cracking, when they put that in in post-production, I was amazed by it. Right when Tyler’s arm’s getting bent backward, I cringed.

Can you tease where we’re headed with Jules? It’s interesting because we’re preconditioned to hate her because she’s threatening our vampires, but if it turns out she’s there to avenge Mason, that doesn’t actually make her bad.
How do I answer this without getting in trouble? Jules has motives. She’s coming to Mystic Falls to look over Tyler. She wants Tyler and she needs him. For what, I can’t say. But she needs Tyler and wants to take him under her wing, but might want to be a lot closer than Mason was with him.

“A lot closer than Mason was with him…”
Yeah. I think we can trust Jules. Whereas with Mason and Katherine, that little relationship wasn’t good.

How soon will Tyler find out that Caroline has been lying to him about her being the only vampire in Mystic Falls?
He’s gonna find out really soon, and that’s just a whole different situation then with Tyler and his feelings toward Caroline once he finds out she lied.

Read the full interview HERE. I highly suggest doing so, it’s much longer and talks about Damon’s sexy bathtub scene and the kiss between Tyler and Caroline.

– Moonlight