Grimm - Bree Turner Interview

Grimm's season finale is this Tuesday on NBC 
at 10/9 Central time.

Bree Turner, who plays Rosalee on Grimm, is very thankful for the role and for the "committed, supportive, and protective" fans that have blown her away like nothing else in her career. Calling it a "lightning in a bottle" experience, she shared a few spoilers, her favorite things, what she would like to see in season 3, and in her own words, what it is like to "be on a show I sincerely love with people I sincerely care about."

Spoiler Warning: If you have read previous spoilers, you already know that the season finale of Grimm ends on a cliffhanger with a main character no longer 100% alive. While Turner could not reveal the person, she did reiterate in previous interviews that the zombies were targeting Nick. She added that it was "very scary" to be the person who was no longer living and she doesn't know exactly how the writers are going to resolve the cliffhanger. She also stated that fans of the Rosalee and Monroe relationship would be very happy with the payoff in the finale, which she called, "well worth the wait." Previously, Silas Weir Mitchell, who plays Monroe, hinted that the two would finally have sex. However in a somewhat new spoiler, Turner said that Rosalee "becomes more of an authority in the issue at hand." Instead of bumbling through with a lack of confidence like in her character's beginning, Rosalee is now "one of the most powerful apothecaries" in the Wesen world, which gets her in trouble in the finale. There are a lot of people counting on her and she feels pressured to find answers.  Rosalee is also more physically involved in the finale, which was a lot of fun for Turner. Rosalee knows a little bit about everything which boosts her confidence and gives her more of a sure standing in the group.  (End of spoilers)

In fact, Rosalee's steady growth into a confident, powerful, and talented part of the Grimm Scooby gang is what most surprised and delighted Turner. She feels Rosalee started as the most talented Wesen in her family with the biggest gift but she also felt the most lost and insecure. "Her talent scared her." By joining forces with Nick and Monroe, she has grown into an authority on healing. She also has enjoyed the layers of Rosalee fans have slowly been seeing, especially that her father and brother were leaders on the Wesen Council. She likens it to being Colin Powell's daughter. She is "a major authority in the Wesen world" even if she doesn't take advantage of it. Turner hopes the writers explore the Council and Rosalee's connection to it more in season 3 but she hasn't gotten season 3 plot information yet.

Another aspect Turner enjoys is the relationship between Rosalee and Monroe. She feels it embraces Rosalee's lightness and compassion. When Rosalee first arrived in Portland, she was recovering from addiction and closed off to everyone. She was in a dark place. Turner played the character as damaged and purposely made her standoffish to Nick and Monroe as Rosalee slowly warmed up to the foreign concept of working with a Grimm and getting back into the Wesen world she forsook. Season 2 was more about becoming an established member of the group and allowing herself to be vulnerable again. The relationship with Monroe has allowed her to put her skeletons and demons in the past and be a lighter character. One such lighter fare were the 3 short webisodes NBC released over the winter hiatus starring Rosalee and Monroe. Turner really enjoyed making these frothy shorts but has not been approached about doing any for the summer hiatus. (Fans should start bombarding NBC with petitions for more webisodes now or else it will be a long hiatus this summer.)

Turner credits her friendship with Mitchell for helping the Rosalee and Monroe relationship to become a big hit with fans. She feels so relaxed and comfortable with Mitchell that their scenes feel organic and she believes that comes through to the audience. When they got the finale script and read what was in store for Monroe and Rosalee, they started a giggle fit because they are such great friends. In fact, the romance scenes are her favorite because they are so fun and sweet. She really enjoys working with Mitchell, whom she says is also the leading language authority on Grimm. Whenever they have to say "German Grimm-ish words," she goes to him for pronunciation. The general rule on set is to "say it the way Silas says it." However she warns fans of Rosalee and Monroe to be on guard because nothing stays happy on Grimm for long. Their relationship is moving as "such a beautiful journey" that she feels complications are coming soon. While she doesn't know the writers' plans, Turner hopes that the complications come from her past. She'd like to revisit the drug addiction and Rosalee's past relationships.

Turner is also delighted that Juliette now knows about the Wesen and seems to be embracing Nick's role. She says it was "a breath of fresh air for everyone" when Juliette got her memory back. Turner feels Rosalee will be instrumental in Juliette's new world because she has felt responsible for Juliette's unraveling ever since she gave her the potion, spending time to get everyone on board with helping Juliette cope with the aftermath and learning about the Wesen world. Turner loved Juliette's reaction to seeing them woge the first time and thinks it will be a great friendship to explore. Personally she is also excited to have another female in the group to help balance it.

Originally, Turner had no plans to become an actress. She moved to LA when she was 18 to attend UCLA and started as a pro dancer in movies such as Austin Powers. Through that, she "fell in love with the whole process" of movie and TV production. She credits her previous struggles in the industry for making this point of her life so sweet. When she got the role, she didn't know anything about Grimm and since she had to be on set within 48 hours, she played the role mostly on instinct. The creators and writers knew who Rosalee was in-depth right from the start, which it made things easier. Although she initially thought Rosalee would have more of an attitude on the show, she says that focusing of the lightness of the character was the right choice. One unexpected twist was when Turner got pregnant with her second child. This season has been a "really wild year" both professionally and personally for her. She states that it "is so funny to think that he was in my belly during all those crazy episodes." Her son is definitely a part of the show to her.

When Turner first got the job, she had little experience in the sci-fi genre except for doing a small horror movie. She says sci-fi is different because you "really have to commit to the world you're imagining." Since there is so much CGI on Grimm, what fans see on screen is rarely what the actors see. Her hardest time is having serious scenes when people are wearing little white dots all over their faces. Her favorite Wesen so far was the Mauvais Dentes (saber-toothed tiger Weesen) of the season 2 premiere. She thought that the special effects, make up and CGI for this Wesen was one of the best in the show. As a child she was fond of Clash of the Titans and she still prefers the "animatronic quality of the original" to the recent movie. However, she wasn't really into the sci fi scene. Now since being on Grimm, she is more excited about sci fi than she's ever been. She understands the obsession people have with it and considers herself a "card carrying member" of the sci fi fandom. She specifically mentioned Warehouse 13 and Doctor Who for getting sci fi on her radar again.

Don't forget to tune into the Grimm season 2 finale on Thursday at 10/9 C on NBC. Turner describes it as "feature film quality" in effects and the story. She states that every storyline gets "blown up, exposed, and challenged." So much so that she doesn't know what else they could have put in. Plus she gets to fight zombies now that she's not pregnant and who doesn't want to see Rosalee kick some zombie butt. It sounds like the season finale is a not-to-be-missed episode. Tune in Tuesday at 10/9 C on NBC and don't forget to stop by SpoilerTV afterwards to share your thoughts.

You can find Bree Turner on Facebook,  Pinterest, and Twitter.  You can find information about Grimm on the official website, Facebook, YouTube, Pinterest, Tumblr, and Twitter.

Screencaps and pictures provided from Zap to It, GrimmNBC, NBC, Oregon Live, Side Reel, Collider, and Monsters and Critics.

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