Time for some absolute candor.
Evan Evagora is a Melburnian actor who has recently graced our television screens as Elnor in Paramount’s Star Trek Picard. He’s set to return to TV screens — and PC monitors — today as part of The Quarry‘s massive roster of talent, starring alongside a giant list of up-and-comers and icons alike.
To celebrate his role in Supermassive’s latest horror tale, the actor kindly agreed to sit down with Stevivor to talk about The Quarry, horror, the acting process and his own take on what happens to Elnor post season two of Star Trek Picard. (So spoilers for that, obviously, though we don’t ruin a single thing with The Quarry.)
You can watch or listen to our interview below; a full transcript follows.
Steve Wright, Stevivor: Evan, thanks so much for this; most appreciated. I just wanted to start off talking about video games and horror and seeing if you’re a fan of of one, or both, or none.
Evan Evagora: I’m a fan of both. In terms of horror, I watch pretty much one horror movie a week. I recently just watched the new Scream — the one that came out very recently. Loved that, loved the whole concept; who doesn’t like a teen-based horror movie?
In terms of video games, I grew up playing Call of Duty and Grand Theft Auto; I was really big on Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater. Just before we started this production, all of my friends were telling me that I needed to play Until Dawn. I was so, so gutted that I didn’t play it earlier ’cause all I wanted to do is play every different ending it in and see all these crazy outcomes.
Stevivor: And now you’re basically in Until Dawn, but the the next iteration. What drew you to The Quarry? Was it that supernatural horror slant, or that you get to be in an 80s-style slasher movie?
Evagora: I think it was a bit of everything. It was this kind of teen horror — I mean, it is video game, but it plays out like a movie. I had heard of Until Dawn before I even started playing it.
Director Will Byles was just amazing to work with, and he’s got this really amazing reputation. Because it’s a different medium and a different type of filming — the whole process itself – I thought it’d be a different kind of challenge for me as an actor. And it was – it was an amazing experience.
Stevivor: I’m imagining you on La Serena in Star Trek Picard — you’ve got fake years on and you’re pretending to dodge phaser blasts, but I’m imagining The Quarry experience is more like your colleague Annie Wersching as the Borg Queen – kitted up with dots everywhere and rigged up, reacting to nothing. What are the similarities and the differences between the two?
Evagora: It is a lot of reacting to nothing; you have to use your imagination. But I’d say compared to Picard, The Quarry was that on steroids.
You’re in this blank room with all this floored lining that’s everywhere, and then you’ve got these TV screens. You’re in essentially a scuba suit, known as a mocap suit, and you’ve got all these dots on your face, and a camera is right in your face to be able to gauge, all of your reactions and facial expressions. The only way you can see anything is on these monitors, which is really cool when you see yourself as a character and you see that you’re in the woods or in this building, or outside.
It required a lot of imagination, but it was so much it was very freeing and fun at the same time.
Stevivor: Is it a different experience seeing yourself as Elnor — that’s you, that’s physically you — as compared to seeing like a a digital copy of yourself? How does that hit home?
Evagora: I’d say it’s pretty similar, although I freaked out a little bit more — from excitement, I have to add — when I saw myself as a video game character. Because although I am Elnor with the elf ears and the eyebrows, the rendition of me in the game is really, really spot on; like scarily accurate.
Stevivor: Did you get to make any like requests? Like, ‘I’d like my left bicep just a little bit bigger’?
Evagora: If anything, to maybe a little bit taller. Or skinnier.
The character’s very slim; when they do the body scans, everything is exactly into proportion of who you are. But if I could I’d probably maybe ask for some like Harry Potter-esque glasses. That’s probably the only thing I’d have altered with my look.
Stevivor: I’m assuming this was done in the midst of COVID protocols, so did you get to act with your fellow camp counselors and bounce off each other? Or was it self-contained?
Evagora: It was kind of self-contained.
Initially, we started the whole process, I believe, in early 2020 and then obviously the world stopped. Then coming back into it, there was a lot of COVID restrictions.
We actually were acting more in groups — we didn’t really do any of the large group scenes together; we were always acting with three or four of us. Which was great, because we got to know each other a little bit better.
Me, not being a native Los Angelean or Los Angelalite — however, you want to call it – I didn’t know many people. I actually made a few friends from the set; one of my best mates, Zach Tinker, he’s also in the video game. It was just like a great, personal, more intimate experience.
Stevivor: Now you’re in a super massive SuperMassive alumni of big-name people: Rami Malek, Shawn Ashmore, Ashley Tisdale was in the last one. Is this like a different kind of credit for you? Is this just an acting credit or is it a video game acting credit? How is that all weighted? Is this important because of all those big names?
Evagora: I don’t think it’s important because of those big names. I think the story really speaks for itself and that’s what attracts names like that. It’s great stories on a different platform; this might not necessarily, if it was just a movie, be as amazing.
But the fact that you have so many options in this game, and there’s so many outcomes — 186 different ways that this could end up — it’s pretty much choosing your own movie and that’s the idea that’s a draw card for this — it’s a bit of a hybrid; a bit of a video game, a bit of a movie, it’s that awesome in-between.
Stevivor: Does that make it hard for you as an actor? You’re filming 18 possibilities in a scene rather than just a scene. How do you do that?
Evagora: We have a little monitor, normally, on set with the script and the scene and then the different outcomes. So, we’ll just film that outcome and then it’ll be ‘cut!’ If the director likes it, we move on and we do the next outcome. Cut, move on, and so on and so forth.
It was such a condensed amount of time, but I think it really helped me grow as an actor, just because there wasn’t that time to explore. It was just really back your decision, because that’s all you can really do an actor: make choices.
So, that was that was my favorite take, I’d say, from filming.
Stevivor: It really is a choose-your-own-adventure kind of style, so do you have a sense of of the character of Nick in your own mind? Is he a certain set of characteristics or is he an open book?
Evagora: For me, I guess because I was in his skin for so long, I have an idea of what I’d like Nick to be; what characteristics I’d like to input. I probably will do that during the Director’s Chair mode when creating his characteristics.
He really is kind of an open book; there is him at a base, and then the actions that whoever’s playing chooses will pretty much determine who he is, what he does and whether he lives or dies.
Stevivor: You’ve been surrounded by legends of late. Sir Patrick Stewart is on a different level for me; I’m a huge Star Trek fan.
Evagora: Me too.
Stevivor: But, you know — David Arquette, Ted Raimi, Grace Zabriskie. I think you probably would have had the most interaction with David Arquette, just ’cause of the way that you’re paired in scenes. Did you get to hang out with those iconic actors and learn anything from them?
Evagora: Yeah, and the great thing about it is every actor who’s of that calibre has their own process. It’s just great to see their process, and their method and how they implement their choices.
I also hung out a fair bit with Ethan Suplee and he was an absolute gentleman; someone who’s just very dedicated and very serious once they say action. But as soon as they say cut he’s just so kind and you know, talkative.
Stevivor: I don’t want to take up too much of your time but I can’t not ask a little bit of Star Trek stuff. It sucks that you’re not in season three of Picard; I think people really liked Elnor, so that’s unfortunate.
The good news is, of course, that he’s in a good place. We’re leaving him as a cadet on the Excelsior. I’m curious as to where you think Elnor is going to be in your own head canon and, of course, curious if you’d return to Star Trek if asked.
Evagora: If asked, you know, never say never.
It’d have to be — I’d say, just like Patrick coming back for Picard — under the right circumstances and the right story.
People [will] probably get mad at me saying this, but I don’t actually see him staying in Starfleet. I think it’s just him adopting one institution for another and he’s still trying to find who he is and his own path in his own journey.
So, where he’d end up I don’t know, but I have a feeling it wouldn’t be in Starfleet forever.
Stevivor: Well, thank you for your absolute candor. Evan Evagora, thank you so much for your time; truly appreciated. It always nice to see someone from Melbourne just doing amazing.
Evagora: Represent!
Many thanks to Evan for his time.
The Quarry is available now on Windows PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series S, Xbox Series X, PS4 and PS5. We reviewed the game here, calling it Supermassive’s best yet.
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The Quarry10 June 2022PC PS4 PS5 Xbox One Xbox Series S & X
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