'The Vampire Diaries' Season 8 Premiere Q&A: Michael Malarkey

October 21, 2016 8:43 AM PDT

Damon and Enzo are not quite themselves on The CW's "The Vampire Diaries."
When the show returns on Friday night with the premiere of its eighth (and final season), the boys are leaving a bloody trail across the country -- behavior sparked by something that happened to them inside The Armory at the end of Season 7.
But not everything is as it seems. Michael Malarkey's character, Enzo, may have a light hold on reality, as he fights for self control against the demonic creature making him do things.

PHOTOS: 'The Vampire Diaries' Season 8

With the show beginning it's final season, Access Hollywood turned to Michael for more insight into Enzo's fight, when we might see the vampire reunite with girlfriend Bonnie, and more.
AccessHollywood.com: What did Enzo and Damon get up to on their 'summer vacation' (that's what I'm going to call it)?
Michael Malarkey: Wasn't quite a Euro-trip. They've mostly been cavorting around different parts of America, I believe, and finding victims and butchering them in a warehouse is what we see teased in the teaser. And yeah, they've been working under this mysterious force of evil whose been encouraging them/forcing them to commit these murders for reasons which will be made clear in the first episode.

Access: A lot of us are curious -- obviously with good reason -- as to how your characters became the [murderous/possessed vampires] we saw at the end [of Season 7]. Will that be explored a little bit? Have you started to dig into that? Michael: Well … we find out that they are basically having their minds controlled a little bit by this mysterious evil force and they don't really have a choice in the matter, and Enzo is a little bit more reluctant to being mind-controlled than Damon. He has a lot more of his guard up, he's undergone torture a lot, he doesn't like working for anybody else, as we've discerned from seasons prior, so that's a bit of a conflict there between the two of them. But yeah, basically they are having to do these things and commit these unspeakable things. Whether they enjoy it or not is up to their personality traits, I guess.
Access: [Does it feel] like playing two characters when your character is forced to do things? Is it kind of a different Enzo that we're going to see? Michael: Yeah, in fact it's really been quite a joy as an actor to play that because he has to be quite guarded in certain respects. I mean, it's like being a double agent. He had a little bit of that last season with The Armory, and that was great to play because I just pretended I was James Bond, and now this one runs a little bit deeper. It's a lot more of a psychological double agent type thing, so it's pretty fascinating stuff what they concocted here, and God, I wish I could tease a bit more, but there's going to be so many more questions that open up once we see the first episode and a lot of questions answered as well.
Access: You mentioned James Bond.  … [Are] you a huge James Bond? Michael: James Bond and I go way back to the holiday I took in Turkey awhile back, where I was looking for something to read and I just grabbed this like Ian Fleming -- the first three Bond books. They were in one edition and reading that on a beach, in Turkey, with a martini – it was pretty incredible. … It was the first time I'd really discovered how much of a badass Bond was. And in the books, his personality is a lot more that of Daniel Craig. He looks more like Sean Connery, I suppose, but the personality is definitely hard-nosed and [he's] got a hard edge to him and you would be, wouldn't you? But yeah, I'm a huge Bond fan. I've seen almost all the movies and I do particularly love Daniel Craig's interpretation.

Access: Awesome. Let me wrap this up by asking you how soon until we get a reunion between Enzo and Bonnie, as tough as it's going to be to watch considering what's going on for him?Michael: Well, it's going to happen, for better or worse, at some point. I mean, we will see them together -- I believe in a flashback form -- in the first episode, so at least fans will appreciate getting a little bit more to the story. And, yeah, there's a lot of stuff we're doing currently, so you'll see under what pretense that falls further on down the line. But yeah, it's been really great. This season is a pretty rollicking ride and I'm having a lot of fun this season.
"The Vampire Diaries" Season 8 premieres Friday at 8/7c on The CW.

-- Jolie Lash

Michael Malarkey on the Final Season of ‘The Vampire Diaries’ and Enzo’s Redemption

by Christina Radish   

The CW series The Vampire Diaries is back for its eighth and final season, which finds Damon (Ian Somerhalder) and Enzo (Michael Malarkey) still gone and wreaking murderous havoc, after falling under the sway of an evil creature, while Stefan (Paul Wesley) tirelessly pushes forward with their search and Bonnie (Kat Graham) questions whether they’ll ever be found. As they realize that whatever has a hold of them may have a more damaging grip than they could have ever imagined, they will have to decide what drastic measures they’re willing to use to break them free.
During this exclusive phone interview with Collider, actor Michael Malarkey talked about the show’s twisted final season, that Enzo doesn’t like being told what to do, how this situation will affect the dynamic between Enzo and Damon, whether he can find redemption, that he’s rooting for Enzo and Bonnie, what it’s like to know that they’re shooting the final season, and what he’ll remember most about this experience. He also talked about the music he’s currently writing and recording for the album he’s working on, due out in 2017.

Image via The CW

Collider: Your character took a really interesting journey last season, which set up a dark and crazy final season. Will it be as twisted as it looks?
MICHAEL MALARKEY: It definitely starts out pretty damn twisted. We end where we left off, at the end of last season. Damon and Enzo are on their no good murder path. We find out a bit more about that and why they’re doing what they’re doing. We find out that they’ve basically been overtaken by this evil spirit who’s kind of the puppet master, although Enzo is fighting it a bit more than Damon is. In the first episode, you’ll find out that Damon is very much his malicious old Season 1 self.
Is it fair to say that Enzo does not necessarily want to be doing what he’s doing?
MALARKEY: If we’ve learned anything about Enzo it’s that he doesn’t like being told what to do. He doesn’t like being someone’s henchman, just for the sake of it. He needs to know why things are happening. He has a really strong moral code. He doesn’t mind getting his hands dirty, at all, but he wants to be doing it for his own reasons and for a reason, in general, as opposed to some wishy-washy thing where he’s like, “What the hell is even going on?!” He’s also been succumbed to 70 years of torture, so he has a hardened skin, as far as fighting things goes.
Enzo hasn’t been in this kind of situation with Damon before, so how is this going to change their dynamic?
MALARKEY: Also, Enzo is accustomed to being a solo operator. He’s a bit of a lone wolf. Having to work with somebody else, especially somebody who isn’t quite on the same wavelength as him, can be maddening. So many movies are made about that. That’s the issue that Enzo is dealing with. Also, Damon is his pal, so the conflict of, “Do I stay by his side? And if he becomes even more of an overlord, when do I cut my ties?” It delves into finding the cracks in their friendship, a little bit.
We’ve seen Enzo be a bit of a villain, at times, or at least do some villainous things, but he’s also been a sympathetic enough character to come back from it. Can he come back from this?
MALARKEY: The big question that a lot of people have been asking is, what is redemption? That’s a question that a show like this oftentimes asks because it does touch on points of good and evil. Does pure evil and pure good even exist? I don’t know exactly what will happen, as far as that goes, but I think they’re going to touch on that nerve, a little bit more, throughout the season. Who’s truly going to be saved and who’s going to meet their maker?

Image via The CW

On a scale of bad, really bad, and really, really bad things that have happened on this show, where does all of this fall? Is it the worst that it’s been?
MALARKEY: It’s pretty gruesome, the things that they’re doing. I don’t know how to say it without giving something away, so I’ll just say that it’s about a 7, and then move on.

This season, everyone will have to work together to try to set Damon and Enzo free from what’s controlling them. What’s it like to have everyone involved in the same storyline, this season?
MALARKEY: I think it’s a really, really great move to have everybody involved together. I’ve enjoyed working on all of the past seasons, but sometimes when your character is a C-storyline, which has happened a few times, you’re barely working. In this instance, everybody is on the same page and on board, and we’re all working a lot together. I think that’s good for camaraderie, for the last season. It’s just good to see everybody more.
One of the highlights of Season 7 was the relationship that developed and evolved between Enzo and Bonnie. He’s had to help save her, and now she has to help save him, so how challenging will this be for them? Are you rooting for them to figure this out together?
MALARKEY: Yeah. They’ve really, really had to fight for each other, and I think that’s something we see with this couple that we haven’t really had since Damon and Elena. I really appreciate the work that Kat [Graham] and I put into it, and I think the fans do, too. I’m rooting for them because, after so many years of playing Enzo being tortured, torturing himself, and not finding what he’s looking for, for him to finally have a certain sense of satisfaction, as an actor, you feel that, too. You want that satisfaction for your character because you have great empathy for all the characters that you play. I hope things turn out “all right,” in the end.

Image via The CW

How does it feel to make this season, knowing that it’s the last season and that you’re living through the conclusion of a story that’s been given eight seasons to be told?
MALARKEY: It’s great that we’re able to know that. I think it gives the writers a chance to wrap things up in a tidier package than it would have been otherwise. For me, it gives me a chance to focus on the future, as well, and to start making plans. I’ve approached my work on this season with a bit of a different scalpel. I really wanted to go back to the work and check to see if I’ve gotten lazy in any areas, and really fine tune my work, as I move into this next chapter of my life.
What have you most enjoyed about playing Enzo that you think will be the thing that stands out for you about this character, once you have to say goodbye to him?
MALARKEY: It’s the first time I’ve had a believable British accent that fooled people. No. All jokes aside, although that is fun to notate, I’ll never forget working with this group of people in Atlanta, Georgia, and falling in love with the city, as well, and rekindling my love for America and the American people. I’d been away from it for a decade, before getting this job. Part of my Americanness slipped away a bit, and coming back here has really helped me reconnect to that. I’m proud to be an American.
You’ve also got an album of your music that you’re currently working on. What are you looking to get out of that experience, and how do you feel things are shaping up with that?

Image via The CW

MALARKEY: I’ve written music since I was just leaving high school. It’s always been a huge passion of mine, from being a record collector to being a love performer, as well as a studio musician. I’ve also performed on the West End in a musical before. So, it’s been a huge part of my life, and it always will be, no matter what happens. This particular batch of songs, I’m super proud of. I feel like I’ve gotten to this point in my life and my musicianship where I’m hitting a certain stride of songwriting. We’re literally banging the songs out in the studio like hotcakes. Everybody is on fire right now, so I’m really buzzing about it. Also, last summer, I went on tour in the U.K. and Europe, and it was the first time I’d toured with a band since playing in a punk band, just after high school. That really rekindled the desire in me to be a music performer again. By no means, am I leaving acting behind, but I definitely actively want to pursue music as a sideline career, as well, and take these new songs on the road. They’ve got a fuller band sound and they’re a lot more orchestrated. It’s going to be a pretty legit tour when it happens, so I’m super stoked.
Where can people go to buy the album and keep up-to-date on all things pertaining to your music?
MALARKEY: On all of my social, I have a link at the top, which goes straight to my page where you can pre-order the new full-length that comes out next year. I’m doing a whole Pledge Music campaign, which basically means that, by pre-ordering it, you’re actively helping me get this project finished. It’s an exciting and interactive way to do it. If you pledge, you gain access to my journal of writing and my updates from the studio, telling you how it’s been going and sending videos. It’s a super active and exciting way for people to get involved with the project. Also, my two old EPs are available at iTunes and Spotify, so you can check that out, in the meantime.
The Vampire Diaries airs on Friday nights on The CW.