“SurrealEstate” Exclusive: Adam Korson Talks Phil’s Chat With Jesus, Working With Director Melanie Scrofano, & Teases Rest of Season
Canadian actor Adam Korson presents a double dose of horror this summer season. Not only does he star in SYFY’s new horror-comedy series SurrealEstate on the small screen, he’s got another project in the horror genre showing on the big screen as well. Directed by Peter ‘Drago’ Tiemann, The Stairs is a frightening tale about a group of hikers hunted by a sinister presence in the woods.
“This log line sounds like a typical horror film, but the character development is so great that hopefully it’ll make you care a bit more than perhaps you normally would,” Adam Korson tells PopWire in an exclusive interview. “It also leaves you with some fun surprises. Characters at the start of this film transition in a very cool way by the end.”
If you missed your chance to see the creature feature during the one-night only Fathom Event in theaters on Thursday, August 12, you’ll have another opportunity to check it out in a few weeks when it becomes available on streaming/VOD platforms as well as a return in the theaters for an extended theatrical run.
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Meanwhile, on his spooktacular SYFY series, Korson’s character Phil and his team at The Roman Agency come face to face with all kinds of demons and entities — especially in the latest installment’s opening sequence. Before the opening credits rolled, the research specialist was manhandled (and not in a good way) by a paranormal, malevolent being. With the help of his colleague, August, the two manage to destroy the “big, smelly piece of shit” just in time before the rest of their crew show up to the house for a viewing.
Unfortunately, however, there is still something inside the house. The fallen priest goes back to his Catholic church, a place where he grew up in and devoted his life to, to dig up what he can about the young spirit stuck in the house. Later at the church, he opens up and has a conversation with Jesus — a very poignant moment where we get to know a little bit more about Father Phil Orley.
“That monologue and that connection that he has with Jesus is the first time he’s talked to Him and had that sort of heart-to-heart in years,” Korson says. “[Series creator George R. Olson] and I had many conversations about Phil and the relationship he has with the church and his religion, and that was a piece that George wrote after most of that episode had already been filmed. It was something that came to him that he wanted to put in the episode. The scenes in the church were all filmed at the end of the first season in Toronto.
“I was so beyond grateful that he gave me those words, because the relationship that one has to God, I think people have different relationships, they have their own unique relationship with God, however that is. For Phil, I think it very much is like a father-son relationship where he can sit down and talk to Jesus like it’s his own dad, like it’s a friend he hasn’t talked to in a while. George had crafted something so beautiful, and in turn, trusted me to bring it to life — and being given those words was a blessing.”
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This past episode was directed by Wynonna Earp‘s Melanie Scrofano, who guest starred as Harper North in the previous episode. The installment, titled “Ft. Ghost Child,” is the first of two SurrealEstate episodes that she directed, the second of which is the upcoming episode 6. Korson shares that it was an “absolute blast” having Scrofano as a director.
“She created an environment for collaboration and freedom of discovery,” he says. “It felt like we were playing the whole time. Not a lot of actors can direct or transition into directing. But when they do, and they do it well, it can create a beautiful working environment on set for the actors. That was Melanie. She just got it.
“She had control over the set and created some pretty unbelievable episodes this season. You’ll see!” Korson continues. “If we have the opportunity to go another season, I hope Melanie comes back to direct a few more. If not, I’d drop everything and hop on whatever project she’s directing just to work with her again.”
Hopefully we won’t have to wait too long until we hear if SurrealEstate will be renewed for a Season 2. Until then, though, he previews what viewers can expect for the second half of the series’ inaugural season. “You’re definitely gonna get way more scares and jaw dropping moments,” he teases. “We’re halfway through and I feel we’ve just scratched the surface of these relationships and this world.
“More layers to these characters get revealed, which definitely hooks you in to caring quite deeply for these people,” Adam Korson adds. “I also have to say, without revealing anything, there are some cliffhangers along the way. Honestly, you ain’t seen nothing yet.”
SurrealEstate airs Fridays at 10pm on SYFY.