DC seems to be nailing it where TV is concerned, as evidenced by the dual success of Arrow and The Flash on the CW, Gotham on FOX and Constantine on NBC. Of them, it’s the latter, based on the Vertigo Hellblazer comic, that’s struggling the most in the ratings. It’s season one order has been reduced to 13, although the network insists that the show is a prime candidate for a second season renewal. The irony is that as it’s progressed, it’s captured the flavor of the comic in many ways and is proving itself to be a highly innovative series. The trick to shore up the opportunities for renewal, of course, is that the fans watch the last batch of episodes and spread the word about the show (which airs on Fridays immediately after Grimm).

Starring as John Constantine (exorcist, supernatural detective and dabbler in — formerly self-described as master of — the dark arts) is actor Matt Ryan. Born on April 11, 1981 in Swansea, Wales, Ryan joined the Royal Shakespeare Company in 2004 and, outside of the stage, went on to appear in a number of television series and feature films, as well as voicing and providing motion capture for the character Edward Kenway in the video game Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag.

What follows is an exclusive one-on-one interview with Ryan, in which he discusses the debut season of Constantine.

VOICES FROM KRYPTON: This is probably a dopey way to star this conversation, but are you enjoying the show as much as we are?

MATT RYAN: Yeah, man, I’m loving. I’m just about to watch the last episode [“Blessed Are the Damned,” episode seven] tonight, because I was actually flying back to the UK while it was airing over there with you guys. But I think as it’s gone on, we’re getting better and better and stronger and stronger. As we hit episode four, the Gary Lester episode [“A Feast of Friends”], I think that’s where we really pinned down what the show was. In the first season of a TV show that tends to happen, but we’ve been going from strength to strength and some of the stuff coming up as well I’m really excited for everyone to see.

VOICES FROM KRYPTON: When word came out that they were ending production on season one after 13 episodes, my reaction was, “No, not now! They’re getting it right!”

MATT RYAN: I know, right? It’s one of those things, but I don’t think it’s a bad thing, to be honest with you. Thirteen episodes for a first season, lots of cable shows do that. Sometimes when you do 22 episodes, there’s lot of stuff in there you’re just kind of getting through. Hopefully if we got picked up for a second season, even if it was for 13, I’d be very happy with that. Also, I think from a production point of view and the point of view of the actors, if you’re doing 13 episodes, they’re going to be 13 great episodes, rather than 22 episodes where there are likely to be a few in there that aren’t that good.

VOICES FROM KRYPTON: You mentioned that episode four really pinned down what the show should be. With that in mind, what should Constantine be?

MATT RYAN: I think it’s the juxtaposition of the balance between it being a very dark and serious story, but the tone being able to maneuver within that. And the humor and the wit being set against that. It’s those two things that make the show unique; you’ve got the central character cracking a joke in the middle of something that’s really fucking serious. I think that earlier on, as an actor, I found the character had a little more dark humor. But if the stories are based in that reality and the stakes are so high because there’s all this serious stuff going on, then you can have John being John and counteracting it with humor. That dry humor works really well. And what I think was also great about episode four is that it was personal for John. You’ve got an old friend coming back and the situation is brought to him. In the comic he always stumbles across things, and I think that early on it was kind of John going out to find it and hunt it down for hopefully a chance for redemption. Later on, though, it comes to him, and I think that’s more in the Hellblazer game.

VOICES FROM KRYPTON: How has John evolved as a character from the beginning, and I’d love to know if you feel that you’ve evolved as a performer and in terms of connecting with this character.

MATT RYAN: Definitely. Again, episode four is where I really connected with him, and what helped is that it was a personal story with Gary Lester. What also helped is that Jonjo O’Neill, who played Gary Lester, is a friend of mine. We worked at the Royal Shakespeare Company ten years ago and there was just a moment where it all clicked. At our wrap party one of the producers said, “There was a moment when it was like you got older; your face changed and it was as if something just dropped in you.” And I felt that, actually. I think it’s a kind of ease with the character when you stop trying to play it and are just doing it. It’s a strange thing to explain, but it’s kind of when you really get under the character’s skin and you are him. And it’s progressed from there as well.

VOICES FROM KRYPTON: And how do you think John has changed? What’s his journey been so far?

MATT RYAN: I think that the relationships he has with everybody on the show has changed. This is something that’s very important about the show — and it takes time as well — the establishing the other characters, to establish John’s relationship with them and how those relationships progress. As we go on, we do progress. In episode 10 we have Chas’ back story and you see a little bit of John and Chas back in the day, and how he can have the powers he has. And then there’s the relationship with Manny [something of a reluctant guardian Angel to John]. And there’s his relationship with the rising darkness. At the end of episode 13 there’s a line that he says to Manny which kind of gives away something important about John. I’m not going to say what it is, because it’s quite important in terms of the plot for the end of the season, but there’s a moment where you hear John is moving away from chasing it down. Everything in him is becoming a lot heavier; the burden becomes more difficult for him to handle.

VOICES FROM KRYPTON: The great thing about the evolving relationships is that early on John was so much a loner, saying that everyone close to him dies, yet as the season has progressed we’ve seen the building of something of a “family,” if you will.

MATT RYAN: That’s the interesting thing, then. There’s something gnawing at the back of his head with him knowing that somewhere along the line all of this is going to go to pot. It’s all going to go to shit, and it’s an inevitability, but it doesn’t stop a human being from having connections with other human beings and angels and stuff. It doesn’t stop him feeling, it’s just something that he knows, and that’s a really interesting dilemma that he has in the relationship with Zed and the relationship that develops between Jim Corrigan [the future Spectre] and Zed as well, and how John feels about that. It’s a very interesting dynamic and we deal with that in episode 13 when Jim Corrigan comes back. There are all those things under there, bubbling away and I think it just makes everything more difficult for John. And with the Rising Darkness, the burden on him is getting bigger and suddenly he’s accumulating these people he has feelings for – feelings that are obviously buried deep inside. And then there was the thing with Gary as well; what he had to do with Gary was something that I think was great for us as a show and great for me to kind of tap into that early on so you can carry that forward and build it into the other relationships.

VOICES FROM KRYPTON: As the series progresses, does it continue to dip into the comic?

MATT RYAN: That’s been the goal. Once you start out a new show, there’s a lot of different components in the machine that’s working itself out. One thing that Daniel Cerone and David Goyer and everybody said from the beginning was,“We want to be as close to the comic as possible.” Sometimes we get there and do it better than at other times, but there is the constant drive from the creators of the show. That’s the main thing. We’re on that path. All of the guys from DC have opened that universe to us and there’s so much potential. What we’ve seen this season is some great stuff that’s really close to the comics, and we’ve also seen the potential of what it could be and what we will hopefully be able to make it into. I think that as long as we’re all driving towards that and the fans keep watching, we’ll be back for a second season and trying to up our game and make it better as we bring it closer to Hellblazer.

If you’re a John Constantine fan, check out this feature: Hellblazer: The Making of a Constantine Fan Film by clicking on the image below.