What We Do in the Shadows, based on Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi, sees vampires Nandor (Kayvan Novak) and Nadja (Harvey Guillen), return to Staten Island only to discover their mansion on the verge of ruin as a result of Baby Colin. Despite their efforts, they find it challenging to raise this creature that was born from the chest cavity of their deceased friend (Mark Proksch) and Guillermo's desire
Berry and Demetriou discussed being a team members in a show where everything is fair game, why wearing two hats at once should be a new fashion trend, how Season 4 is their favorite season, shooting the Night Market, and how much fun they have doing stunts.
Collider: This program is still out of its ever-growing mind, which I love. Does anything you do about it ever surprise you? Are you ever worried that something will be too weird, and that you won't be able to pull it off, or do you just keep with it?
MATT BERRY: Anything we are faced with is okay and fair game, and youve just gotta commit. For me personally, I have to be prepared to deal with anything as if it were the greatest thing you ever saw. Ive just gotta treat it as if it was.
DEMETRIOU OF NATASIA: Were definitely at a point now where there's so much trust and the writers have done such a fantastic job that its just thrilling. You're not over-worried. You're just like, This is exciting. I hope I can be as funny as this, or as good as this idea or this situation that they've created for us.
Natasia, are you planning to pioneer a new fashion trend of people wearing two hats on their heads?
DEMETRIOU: Yeah, why wear one when you can wear two? Laura Montgomery, the costume designer, was like, Why do one? We could do two. And I was like, What about three?
BERRY: It's a fantastic idea.
DEMETRIOU: Ive got a wide head, so that was a fantastic day.
When you first learned about Colin Robinson's fate last season, and then how that would unfold this season, what was your reaction? Were you told Colin Robinson would die, and then you would have baby Colin? What did you know?
BERRY: At the end of the third season, he dies when the hand is put through his head, and then something walks off the bed and slides into a different room, and that's Baby Colin Robinson. You know that Laszlo is on his own in the house because everyone else has buggered off. He has to raise the kid. He doesnt have any choice in that.
DEMETRIOU: Because we shot [Season] 3 in very harsh lockdown measures, we were all taking a lot of measures. We did not communicate with the writers for safety procedures. This isnt you finding out, live on Zoom, in front of the whole cast, that youve been written out the program. Mark was like, Jesus Christ!
I would have never imagined that something would happen. Do you still work with Mark Proksch on the set? Is he still there on set?
BERRY: No, I didnt do any scenes with him.
DEMETRIOU: He did come in and do a couple of the later episodes.
BERRY: Did he? I cant remember any scenes with him. It was just with various kids of different ages, who were fantastic, it has to be said. There was some crazy shit that they had to see and be a part of, and they were fantastic about it.
DEMETRIOU: Mark came and had to do a lot of special effects testing, and that sort of thing. I cant really give much away, but he was back for a bit of Season 4, and we did a few scenes with him.
When it comes to raising Baby Colin, how do things go for Laszlo? Is he taking it seriously? Does he think he's doing a good job at all?
BERRY: I think it's a clever move to hand the job over to Laszlo, since he's the least likely to have any sort of maternal/paternal instinct, but he really didnt have any choice in it. He's had to improvise and guess how to raise a kid. Nadja is not even there to assist him, so it's nice to see him do something practical for the moment.
Natasia, what is it like to do scenes with the Nadja doll? What it's like to sit and hold hands with it, and to have a conversation with it? Is it ever weird?
DEMETRIOU: I feel so bad when someone asks me about the doll, because I am a complete psychopath around it. If Im chatting with Matt, I realize the doll is just sitting there. It's so lifelike. The puppeteers are there the whole time the doll is there, so she's moving the whole time, and it's so lifelike. It's so narcissistic, but I really love it.
I love everything about it. I loved that first scene in the first episode, where you both sit on the couch with the doll, as if everything was just normal. I would absolutely want one of those dolls.
DEMETRIOU: I am aware! Me too. Good day, merch?!
BERRY: Have they done anything else?
What can you say to tease what's to come this season? Do you each have a favorite plot or episode?
BERRY: I do think this is one of the greatest seasons, if not the strongest season. There are so many cool things that you havent seen before. I wont give it away because it would just be boring. It will be a lot more enjoyable to watch it. There's a lot of shit here.
DEMETRIOU: This season is by far my favorite season. All of the seasons have been amazing, but the collective narratives together are just unbelievable. This season, every episode felt like its own little short film, and its own little mini-feature film. It was such ambitious, crazy stuff.
BERRY: I agree with that.
I loved the Night Market episode because I enjoy when these guys can go out in a group and do something weird and weird and fun together. How do you photograph those group moments? Are they fun to do, or are they always chaotic? Do you like it when there is an excuse for all of you guys to be together?
BERRY: It all depends on the weather and whether or not they're outside or inside. Its much more fun, if it'sn't freezing cold, because then you've got a lot more energy. Thats what comedy is about, having some energy.
DEMETRIOU: It was an old, used power facility.
BERRY: It appeared to be fantastic. It resembled something from Star Wars. It was a joy to work on.
DEMETRIOU: When we were all together, I love it when we were all in the fancy room. Thats my favorite because weve all got our little chairs. I've done this for four seasons now, so I love going back to the house's front room and having a chat.
The wraiths resembled Gothic Jawas in Star Wars. Whats it like to do scenes when you're in a room full of scene partners who dont talk, they're completely covered, and they just hold their hands out, waiting for things to happen?
BERRY: It's really strange. It's so serious. It always made me laugh.
DEMETRIOU: The wraiths were dancers because they had to execute these horrific, physical, choreographed moments. Theyre the sweetest, most loving people, but they have all of their faces covered. Quite often, I was yelling at them, but in reality, I just wanted to take care of them all and make sure they were okay.
The Guide's ability to see Laszlo do some therapy is so pleasant. What do you like about Kristen Schaal's contributions to the show?
BERRY: She's a fantastic improviser, and that's a gift for any actor. If youve got someone who's a great improviser, then that's 90% of the work already done. It's just a real joy to work with someone who's a great improviser. Everyone knows how wonderful she is.
Why is it so important to Natasia to open a vampire nightclub?
DEMETRIOU: Why would you want to open a vampiric nightclub? It's dark. There are no windows. You can lure people in with the promise of a certain type of night. They can dance whenever they want. They can sex in the sex room. They can launder money. I'll make a vampire nightclub.
I also discovered that vampires love child novelty acts, which was a new one for me.
BERRY: Because everything happens so fast, you don't have time to absorb everything. It's just another strange situation with a strange setup. That's what's going through your head. Afterward, you think, Okay, so they like that, or They cant do that. You dont think about it at the time because there are so many other things to keep yours on top of.
DEMETRIOU: I thought that the way the authors came up with the fact that vampires love kid novelty acts was a stroke of genius. What a strange, funny phenomenon child performers are, of course. It's brilliant, I love it!
BERRY: It makes sense because it's a Victorian, or even earlier, entertainment method. They'd be more interested in something like that, then they'd in The X-Factor, or whatever's on right now.
The sequence in the first episode, when everyone remained stuck on the floor, was fantastic. What was it like to shoot that?
BERRY: That was wonderful. Not to give anything away, but we did not really go down in the water. We just became in the water. [Natasia] donned a fancy outfit for that.
DEMETRIOU: It was an incredible experience. The water tank scene was the second to the last day of filming. It was a fantastic way to finish the [season] of filming. It was so challenging. That's why the program is so original and unique. You have people like us doing stunts, and in no other world should we be doing stunts.
What We Do in the Shadows airs on FX Tuesday nights and is available to stream on Hulu.