Beyond’s Burkely Duffield Chats the Show, his Character and More with BeautifulBallad
Freeform’s newest series Beyond was released in its entirety today, January 2. The show stars Burkely Duffield as Holden, a young man who wakes from a coma after 12 years to find that he now has superhuman powers.
We had the amazing opportunity to sit down and chat with Burkely about the new show, his character Holden, doing his own stunts and so much more. Highlights can be found below.
On why he wanted to be a part of Beyond: “Right off the bat, reading the script. It was very well written and, as I mentioned before, I always loved this sort of idea growing up where this is a character really discovering these abilities he has and it’s really fun storyline where you see this character grow up in front of your eyes and that is a really big driving part of our show.”
On his character Holden: “He wakes up out of coma after 12 years of being asleep and has to come to terms with this whole new world around him because he doesn’t recognize anything. His family and friends have changed, his entire city has changed and he feels like he is in a completely different place now. He also has these telekinetic abilities now that allow him to manipulate the world around him.”
On playing a character with superhuman abilities:“I have always idolized the sci-fi genre where their superhuman abilities or something that is extraordinary that people are in touch with. To be able to embody a character like that was a fun challenge to take on and me and the whole team of talented writers and directors had a lot of fun honing into what that really meant to create this character.”
You can find the rest of our interview with the star under the jump. Beyond is now available to watch in its entirety online, but if you would rather watch it one episode at a time, the show will hold its two hour premiere tonight, January 2 on Freeform!
Photo source: Freeform/Nino Munoz
On doing his stunts: “I always love having the opportunity of doing stunts. We have a very talented crew that made it very safe and the stunt master himself, but some of the stuff is the stuntman of Brennan, who was a very talented guy who would double me, but as much of it that I could do I love doing myself. A lot of the stuff you see on screen is me.”
On how he prepared for his stunts: “There is quite a bit of a process you go through for each individual stunt being so different. You get taught the stunt in itself, what goes on, the logistics of it, if there are any rigs or cables or the safety measures behind it. Usually you’ll have the stuntman show you how it is done and what to do and then make sure you are comfortable doing what he’ just done. It is a very meticulous process to make sure that you feel safe and at the end of the day you get the really cool sequence that you want to achieve.”
On what influenced him as a child that helped prepare him for this role: “I loved watching TV shows about Star Wars or superheroes. I also had actions figures growing up that I loved. It was that universe, no matter who was depicted, that always attracted me and as a kid it was something I always sort of aspired to be like the superhero and do good.To be able to have the oppurtunity to have a role like this is really a dream come true.”
On promoting the show at a variety of different Cons over these past couple of months: “It is unbelievable. It is amazing. It is so much fun to go to these conventions and to show everyone the show we have been working really hard on this past year. To be able to meet the fans and to meet people who are getting really excited about the show they get to see in January. It is a great experience in itself, I really truly enjoy them.”
On if he is excited for the show’s whole first season to be released on January 2: “I am so excited. I love the opportunity we are giving the fans to be able to watch the entire season right away. I really think our show is one that grabs you and we really have a momentum that you will from episode to episode that is building a sort of crescendo till the season finale. So to be able to give the fans the opportunity to watch it week to week if they want if their schedule permits, but if they want to take a day and binge Beyond they can and that is a way I love to watch TV and I am happy that we are able to provide fans with that opportunity to.”
On if he is binge watching any shows right now: “I just binged Strangers Things, which was such a great show.”
On if we should expect twists throughout the entire season: “I would say there are definitely twists and turns. It’s fun because as an audience figuring out this world and these abilities he has with Holden, so you are sort of thrown in with no orientation in this world. It is definitely a world and a show of discovery and twists and turns because people in real life will tell you one thing and they’ll put on a face and they might have alternate intentions. You may not really know who they are , so meeting these characters at face value sometimes or situations don’t exactly play out the way you think they are going to, You definitely will see that throughout the show.”
On why should fans should tune in for Beyond: “I think fans should tune in for Beyond because we have got a lot in our show that I think is really going to attract the audience. We have some really cool action sequences. If you are a fan of sci-fi you have to tune in, as well as this character developement of Holden, but the relationships he finds himself in, whether it be friends, where it be a love relationship, whether it be a family connection and there is a lot of strong bonds he forms through love that he forms through hate and I think it’s a very cool journey that this character goes on of growing up that everyone is going to be intrigued by.”