Samantha Ferris Dishes on Her Role as Ellen Harvelle as Supernatural Season 2 is Released on DVD
By M R Reed
Published Sep 12, 2007
Samantha Ferris Dishes on Her Role as Ellen Harvelle as Supernatural Season 2 is Released on DVD
Samantha Ferris, who spent time as a television news reporter in the mid 1990's before switching to acting, has often been cast in the strong female roles in many scifi related series, including Stargate: SG-1, Smallville, The 4400 and Battlestar Galactic plus roles in several made for TV movies including Tell Me No Lies, Shattered and Last Chance Café. With credentials like this it was no surprise that producers of Supernatural looked to the talented and versatile Ferris to play the recurring guest role of Ellen Harvelle the owner of 'The Roadhouse' a favorite watering hole for 'hunters' like Sam and Dean Winchester in Supernatural's season 2.
"This was a real chance to get away from the usual stuff that I do," Ferris said. "Due to my strong presence and voice, I usually get the polished, power roles; head FBI, head lawyer, head detective, Chief Surgeon, etc, but this was a nice departure. Still a very powerful role, but in a 'get yer hands dirty' kind of way. Ellen is raw, hard working, hard loving, hard living. As I have called her before she is a 'gun toting, beer drinking, bar owing broad'. Very close to my own personality, actually and thank god, I got to wear jeans and boots instead of high heels and suits."
Supernatural's season two, which aired this past fall/spring on the CW Network on Thursday nights at 9pm centered around Sam and Dean Winchester, played by Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles, two brothers who, as they criss-crossed the American back roads in their black '67 Chevy Impala loaded with weapons to fight and destroy all manner of supernatural threats, were continuing their quest from season one to hunt down the Yellow-eyed demon that killed their mother.
Now with the third season set to start on the CW Network October 4th and with the yellow-eyed demon dead, yet hundreds more demons having been released through a hell gate, the brothers are about to face an all out war. For the third season of Supernatural Ackles and Padalecki will be joined by two new recurring cast members Katie Cassidy and Lauren Cohan as Ruby and Bela and Ackles character of Dean Winchester will also face the consequences of having traded his soul for his brother Sam's life and now only has one year left to live before the demon comes for him to make good on the deal.
The disc set for season two of Supernatural, set to be released on September 11th will included all twenty-two episodes of season two of the hit series including the six episodes which featured Samantha Ferris in the role of Ellen Harvelle: Everybody Loves a Clown, Bloodlust, Simon Said, No Exit, Hunted and the climatic season finale All Hell Breaks Loose: Part 2.
According to Supernatural creator Eric Kripke, as he spoke to members of the press at the 28th Annual Comic Con in San Diego California this past July, the season two disc set will also include two commentaries, a gag reel, a documentary about bringing the season finale from script to screen, some 'Easter eggs' surprise features and a very interesting feature in which they have gathered a group of history and folklore experts to give commentary on the urban legends used in the show.
To celebrate the release of season two of Supernatural season two onto DVD this week, Samantha Ferris offers up some of her own behind the scenes memories of working on Supernatural in the role of Ellen Harvelle. Ferris discusses what she found most challenging and most memorable about the experience of working with the cast and crew and which episode lingered with her long after filming was done.
Samantha Ferris says that when it comes to having the experience of working on the set of Supernatural, the thing that made it most rewarding and enjoyable was the positive and pleasant atmosphere on the set.
"The cast and crew are what makes this show such a wonderful place to work. It starts with the boys Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki who are two of the nicest, most down to earth guys around....I think it's their Texan upbringing. They are respectful, supportive, professional and a hell of a lot of fun to work around...not to mention really amazingly hot! They are not prima donas and don't have time for that."
Ferris says that this attitude trickles down to everyone and makes for a warm and fun set.
"The executive producers Kim Manners, Cyrus Yavneh, Eric Kripke on the show are also fantastic, and that reads well on set. The boys are very close to the crew. So you've got a great combination of care and support of each other, fun (lots of that), joking, camaraderie, laughs, professionalism, all of which makes for good working conditions for anyone coming into the show to be a part of an episode or a story arc."
Another actor that Samantha Ferris worked with on Supernatural that she enjoyed interacting with, but was also a bit challenging in a fun way was Chad Lindberg, who had the recurring role of Ash the eccentric, mullet-haired genius who had dropped out of normal society to reside at 'The Roadhouse' and helped find information on supernatural threats.
"If I had to nail down a single most memorable and challenging moment, it was anytime we had to do a scene with Ash," Ferris says with a laugh.
"His dedication to this character is like nothing I've ever seen before, and made for some of the funniest moments I have ever witnessed on set. To the point, that whenever the camera was on me, and Ash was in the scene, I had to ask Chad to just say the line with no 'Ash' personality because I just couldn't keep a straight face. I mean ever. That was one crazy dude and I miss him a lot."
Continuing on with some behind the scenes glimpses into her work on Supernatural season two, Samantha Ferris offers up an interesting look into the scene from All Hell Breaks Loose: Pt. 2 that lingered with cast and crew long after the days filming was done.
"For the climatic scene in All Hell Breaks Loose: Pt. 2, they turned one of the soundstages into a graveyard...complete with a kajillion truckloads of bark mulch. But they had to make sure the bark mulch was organic so no one got sick from pesticides and well, have you ever smelled organic bark mulch? Try it sometime you will never forget it. Whew! You went home stinking like unexplainable bowels, death, vomit and rotting vegetation, all rolled into one. Good times! Did I mention we shot for a week in there?"
Wow that's certainly something to think about and viewers will have a chance to see this episode with this exclusive behind the scenes information in mind as Supernatural Season 2 is released on DVD in stores and through places like Amazon.com starting this Tuesday, September 11th
Supernatural season 3 starring Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles as Sam and Dean Winchester premieres on Thursday, October 4th at 9PM on the CW Network. Check your local listings for the CW Network channel in your area.
Published Sep 12, 2007
Samantha Ferris Dishes on Her Role as Ellen Harvelle as Supernatural Season 2 is Released on DVD
Samantha Ferris, who spent time as a television news reporter in the mid 1990's before switching to acting, has often been cast in the strong female roles in many scifi related series, including Stargate: SG-1, Smallville, The 4400 and Battlestar Galactic plus roles in several made for TV movies including Tell Me No Lies, Shattered and Last Chance Café. With credentials like this it was no surprise that producers of Supernatural looked to the talented and versatile Ferris to play the recurring guest role of Ellen Harvelle the owner of 'The Roadhouse' a favorite watering hole for 'hunters' like Sam and Dean Winchester in Supernatural's season 2.
"This was a real chance to get away from the usual stuff that I do," Ferris said. "Due to my strong presence and voice, I usually get the polished, power roles; head FBI, head lawyer, head detective, Chief Surgeon, etc, but this was a nice departure. Still a very powerful role, but in a 'get yer hands dirty' kind of way. Ellen is raw, hard working, hard loving, hard living. As I have called her before she is a 'gun toting, beer drinking, bar owing broad'. Very close to my own personality, actually and thank god, I got to wear jeans and boots instead of high heels and suits."
Supernatural's season two, which aired this past fall/spring on the CW Network on Thursday nights at 9pm centered around Sam and Dean Winchester, played by Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles, two brothers who, as they criss-crossed the American back roads in their black '67 Chevy Impala loaded with weapons to fight and destroy all manner of supernatural threats, were continuing their quest from season one to hunt down the Yellow-eyed demon that killed their mother.
Now with the third season set to start on the CW Network October 4th and with the yellow-eyed demon dead, yet hundreds more demons having been released through a hell gate, the brothers are about to face an all out war. For the third season of Supernatural Ackles and Padalecki will be joined by two new recurring cast members Katie Cassidy and Lauren Cohan as Ruby and Bela and Ackles character of Dean Winchester will also face the consequences of having traded his soul for his brother Sam's life and now only has one year left to live before the demon comes for him to make good on the deal.
The disc set for season two of Supernatural, set to be released on September 11th will included all twenty-two episodes of season two of the hit series including the six episodes which featured Samantha Ferris in the role of Ellen Harvelle: Everybody Loves a Clown, Bloodlust, Simon Said, No Exit, Hunted and the climatic season finale All Hell Breaks Loose: Part 2.
According to Supernatural creator Eric Kripke, as he spoke to members of the press at the 28th Annual Comic Con in San Diego California this past July, the season two disc set will also include two commentaries, a gag reel, a documentary about bringing the season finale from script to screen, some 'Easter eggs' surprise features and a very interesting feature in which they have gathered a group of history and folklore experts to give commentary on the urban legends used in the show.
To celebrate the release of season two of Supernatural season two onto DVD this week, Samantha Ferris offers up some of her own behind the scenes memories of working on Supernatural in the role of Ellen Harvelle. Ferris discusses what she found most challenging and most memorable about the experience of working with the cast and crew and which episode lingered with her long after filming was done.
Samantha Ferris says that when it comes to having the experience of working on the set of Supernatural, the thing that made it most rewarding and enjoyable was the positive and pleasant atmosphere on the set.
"The cast and crew are what makes this show such a wonderful place to work. It starts with the boys Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki who are two of the nicest, most down to earth guys around....I think it's their Texan upbringing. They are respectful, supportive, professional and a hell of a lot of fun to work around...not to mention really amazingly hot! They are not prima donas and don't have time for that."
Ferris says that this attitude trickles down to everyone and makes for a warm and fun set.
"The executive producers Kim Manners, Cyrus Yavneh, Eric Kripke on the show are also fantastic, and that reads well on set. The boys are very close to the crew. So you've got a great combination of care and support of each other, fun (lots of that), joking, camaraderie, laughs, professionalism, all of which makes for good working conditions for anyone coming into the show to be a part of an episode or a story arc."
Another actor that Samantha Ferris worked with on Supernatural that she enjoyed interacting with, but was also a bit challenging in a fun way was Chad Lindberg, who had the recurring role of Ash the eccentric, mullet-haired genius who had dropped out of normal society to reside at 'The Roadhouse' and helped find information on supernatural threats.
"If I had to nail down a single most memorable and challenging moment, it was anytime we had to do a scene with Ash," Ferris says with a laugh.
"His dedication to this character is like nothing I've ever seen before, and made for some of the funniest moments I have ever witnessed on set. To the point, that whenever the camera was on me, and Ash was in the scene, I had to ask Chad to just say the line with no 'Ash' personality because I just couldn't keep a straight face. I mean ever. That was one crazy dude and I miss him a lot."
Continuing on with some behind the scenes glimpses into her work on Supernatural season two, Samantha Ferris offers up an interesting look into the scene from All Hell Breaks Loose: Pt. 2 that lingered with cast and crew long after the days filming was done.
"For the climatic scene in All Hell Breaks Loose: Pt. 2, they turned one of the soundstages into a graveyard...complete with a kajillion truckloads of bark mulch. But they had to make sure the bark mulch was organic so no one got sick from pesticides and well, have you ever smelled organic bark mulch? Try it sometime you will never forget it. Whew! You went home stinking like unexplainable bowels, death, vomit and rotting vegetation, all rolled into one. Good times! Did I mention we shot for a week in there?"
Wow that's certainly something to think about and viewers will have a chance to see this episode with this exclusive behind the scenes information in mind as Supernatural Season 2 is released on DVD in stores and through places like Amazon.com starting this Tuesday, September 11th
Supernatural season 3 starring Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles as Sam and Dean Winchester premieres on Thursday, October 4th at 9PM on the CW Network. Check your local listings for the CW Network channel in your area.