Interview with 'The LA Complex's Steve Byers

Steve Byers is an actor from Scarborough, Ontario in Canada where he got his big break on the hit TV show ‘Falcon Beach’. He has recently been in the movies Total Recall and Immortals, and he is currently on the CW’s ‘The LA Complex’ and SyFy’s ‘Alphas’. Check out our interview with Steve below where we discuss exotic dancers, marriage, hockey, and eating cheeseburgers.

What’s currently on your iPod’s most played list?
“I’m loving anything by ‘Mumford and Sons’ and the new album [Babel] is no exception.”

Does certain music ever help you get into a character’s mindset?
“Absolutely. Especially when I am playing an exotic dancer.”

How are you and your character Gray Sanders from The LA Complex most alike and most different and why?
“We look very much alike…it’s kind of scary really. I would say that we have differing opinions on marriage. As romantic as it may sound, I think it’s best to wait for at least a week before proposing to someone.”

Which character do you most relate to on The LA Complex, why?
“I’ve always felt I was a combination of Jewel [Staite]’s character stirred with a little of Cassie [Steele]’s. I am an actor after all and I self medicate with booze. (Maybe not quite as much as Raquel;))”

If you were to play anyone other than Gray, who would that be and why?
“I would hate to put Jonathan [Patrick Moore] out of a job but I’d take his arc. Lotta fun and happy stuff ;)… unless you mean like play against in a sporting sense… then I would say Joe [Dinicol]’s character. I’d play him in hockey and I’d make him play goalie.”

Switching shows now, what drew you to the role of John Bennett on Alphas?
“The original draw to John was “ring ring…Hello? Hey Steve, do you want to read for a new role on Alphas on Wed?”…..”Yup, sure”. After that, the pleasant surprise was that the guy had a lot going on emotionally and it was a pleasure to do. We don’t have a lot of control in how people perceive us in this business so it is definitely nice to play a guy with something different going on.”

If you were to have an ability like those on the show Alphas, which would you choose and why?
“I haven’t seen the perfect ability yet… I’d love to be an Alpha that could eat like 400 cheeseburgers and then be like..buuurrp… I’ll take 300 more to go and still walk out of the joint looking fine and heart pumping at a healthy clip.

In some roles, you’ve had action whereas others are focused more on the drama. What are your favourite kind of scenes to film?
“I’d love to do something that combined the two. My favourite would be to re-enact the scene from Ghost where [Patrick] Swayze and Demi Moore get all kinds of dramatic “action” with the potter’s wheel. Clay everywhere…and I mean everywhere.”