Having a good time.
British actor Kayvan Novak, who plays Nandor The Relentless in the FX vampire comedy “What We Do in the Shadows,” said his idea was to show more of Nandor’s love life in the third season.
“It was something I had expressed when I was asked,‘ Where would you like Nandor to go? “I thought it would be exciting for him to explore their relationships and find love,” Novak, 42, told The Post on a call from his home in London.
“The writers decided to run with this concept and they gave me everything. All my Christmases came at once, I had such fun things to do this season. We laugh a lot on set. It may be a cliché to follow a comedy group about the fun they have on set, but we really do. ”
The third season of the Emmy-nominated fake vampire documentary series (released Thursday at 10pm on FX and Friday on Hulu), based on the 2014 eponymous film by Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi continues the adventures of Nandor, a neurotic former Ottoman Empire warrior, and his vampire roommates on Staten Island: lottery Laszlo (Matt Berry) and sarcastic Nadja (Natasia Demetriou).
There’s also Nandor’s family member, William (Harvey Guillen), who takes care of household chores in hopes of one day becoming a vampire himself, and the energetic vampire Colin (Mark Proksch).
The third season begins with the central trio taking on new positions as leaders of the local vampire council, while Nandor, who has had 37 wives (and estimates 35 of them), also wonders if there is anything more in life than “Kill and yearn.” As he reflects, he participates in a flirtation with a woman in his gym and the show features his new lover, Gail (Aida Turturro, “The Sopranos”).
“Nandor who had another dysfunctional relationship with his dysfunctional relationship with Guillermo felt like a natural progression,” Novak said. “Aida Turturro playing the amazing Gail was just a riot.”
Novak mocked another character at the end of the season, who “falls for me in a pretty serious way, and then Guillermo has to do something about it.”
The third season also features a kickball game scene as a tribute to the famous vampire baseball from the first movie of “Twilight.”
“It was a lot of fun,” Novak said. “All this snow [in the scene] it was real snow. We’re like kids, I think we had too many snowball fights that night. I liked a belly in the snow as a joke and costume [department people] they said, “No, the coat!” I worried them. “
The new plot lines centered on Nandor’s love also gave Novak, who wears an elaborate costume to play the blood sucker, a new element in her appearance.
“I love wearing clothes,” he said. “They are all different layers, they are the layers, it is the leather double, they are the buckles, the big boots. All of this helps tremendously to feel like Nandor and feel like a vampire. That said, this season they asked me for some nudity. And it was a whole new experience, since I was Nandor [just] a t-shirt and boots! ”
“I love playing Nandor and I think it’s important for a performer to have their character and feel like they’re playing their character in a kind of groove. If you don’t participate, you’ll have to make some changes. But, I’m sorry pretty cool like Nandor. “