by Ryan J. Downey
It wasn't long after Chris Zylka was added as a series regular to "The Secret Circle" that his conflicted witch-hunter character all but disappeared. Sure, there was some lurking about here, the cloak-and-dagger rescue of the occasional damsel there, but Jake was mostly absent save for in Cassie's vivid dreams. All that changed of course when Chance Harbor's bad boy descended the basement staircase at the end of last week's episode just as Cassie finally decided to make out with her potential soulmate Adam.
Speaking to Hollywood Crush by phone, Chris told us all about Jake returning in a big way in tonight's episode, "Witness."
"They sure cut me out a lot!" he said half-jokingly when asked about the last few episodes of the teen witch series. "But, yes, that's about to change. I was chomping at the bit to get back to work and maybe get to say a few words on set."
In "Witness," Jake arrives with a warning for Cassie: either solve the mystery of how her father was killed in the big fire 16 years ago, or suffer his same fate. Both Adam and Diana are suspicious of his motives and the big question remains: Should Cassie trust Jake?
"I think Jake's motive is—obviously, he loves her and he needs to prove it to her all over again," Chris said. "But he also knows that she knows that he was trying to killer her, so, it's tough! I think he's going to just continuously try to prove [his love and trustworthiness] to her. And he's going to have to one up Adam; obviously Jake isn't good with timing."
Initially, Jake forsook his witch heritage to throw in with the witch hunters. But now he's bound with the Circle, whether certain members are comfortable with that or not. "You know, for being such a bad guy, he doesn't like to be alone," Chris explained. "Jake needs to be part of something, always. He felt something different with the Circle. Adam kind of pushed him away a little bit. But he just wants to be part of something. Is the Circle going to push him so far that he goes and tries to be part of something else?"
With the recent news that Joe Lando ("Melrose Place") has been cast as John Blackwell, Hollywood Crush's long-held theory that Cassie's father is in fact very much alive was proven true. Of course, readers of L.J. Smith's books had good reason to suspect the same. "It's huge! Everyone is curious. That is the big question mark. What is Blackwell?" Chris said. "What does he look like, even? How powerful is he? Is his skin red because he's so evil? What is this guy all about? It's really exciting they brought him up.
"It's going to add a lot of stuff to the show," he continued. "And it's someone else for the Circle to not trust!"
In the books, Blackwell (called Black John on the page) becomes principal of the Circle's high school. Will it play out in a similar fashion on the small screen? "I can't tell you that man, I'm sorry. There's no way to beat around the bush. His return, it's right on point. It's very exciting. People are going to be extremely excited about the way the writers did it and the way it's performed."
When we last spoke with Britt Robertson about "The Secret Circle," she noted how demanding the late evening filming can be. Chris, on the other hand, enjoys the show's odd hours. "I love night shoots. I'm one of the rare ones. I come to set like skipping in. It's just so much more fun to play in the dark. I'm not a big sleeper anyway. So it's like 'Yay, something to do!' Of course, it's definitely cold!"
Chris promised plenty of stunts and even more magic in season one's remaining episodes and gave a particularly strong shout-out to the look and feel of the new hit series. "One thing I can tell you is that the cinematography is frickin' gorgeous, man. It's really beautiful. It's dark and eerie. Every once in a while when I'm watching, I'm like, 'Damn! It did not look like that!'"
While he insisted that he mostly stays away from what's written online about Jake, Cassie, Adam and the rest of the characters on the show ("I think just concentrating on the job, on the work, is the most important") he happily reported that every interaction he's had with fans since he joined the show has been extremely positive. "It's just flattering. I usually just get so flattered, I'm like, 'Whoa, you know me? Can we be friends? I could use a friend!' And they never really talk about anything. Usually people just say, 'hi' and either they're too shy or too polite. It's been so pleasant thus far. And I don't think that's ever going to go away. Mama raised me right!"
Will you be tuning in to tonight's "Secret Circle"? Are you shipping for Cassie and Jake?
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