Exclusive Interview: Pop Culturalist Chats with The Order’s Madison Smith

Canadian actor Madison Smith may have gotten a late start in the industry, but he’s quickly building a résumé that rivals any in the biz. With projects like When Calls the Heart and Salvation, Madison has proven time and time again that he’s able to bring any character to life in any genre. This summer, he’s delivering a spellbinding performance as Orbin in Season 2 of The Order.

Pop Culturalist caught up with Madison to learn more about his connection with the series, how he prepared for the role, and how he broke the ice with costar Sarah Grey.

Career

PC: You discovered your passion for acting during your first year of college. What was it about the craft that drew you in?
Madison: I would say it was one of the things I had a desire for from a young age, but I grew up in a small town where sports were king. I remember thinking if I became an actor, would my friends make fun of me? Would they come to the plays I was in and point and laugh? I was like, “Why would a twelve-year-old kid go to a play?” Looking back, I wasn’t as smart as I think I am now. [laughs] After my first year of college, I realized that I was pursuing something that I wasn’t passionate about.

I was trying to find what my passion might be. My mother said, “Why don’t you give acting a try?” I got that little pitter-patter in my chest. I was like, “Absolutely.” It was more so that I was going to give it a shot and see if I liked it. Lo and behold, here we are eight years later. I think I enjoy it.

PC: Who or what has had the biggest influence on your career?
Madison: I love to look at successful actors who didn’t get their big break right away. One of my favorite things to do is go on IMDb and look at actors who may have gotten their big break a little later in life.

One of my favorite stories is Henry Cavill, who plays Superman. I remember reading about him, and he basically said that when he was living in England, he was working a bit. He would go to LA every year for pilot season and he would come back. He would have a couple of good auditions but not book it.

He did that year after year after year. He was around thirty when he booked his big break. That has always been so inspiring because it’s about not giving up. You can’t think, well, it won’t happen for me anymore, because it could happen for anybody.

I heard Clint Eastwood was twenty-nine when he went to his first acting class. Anyone who has had late success is someone that I like to emulate because it’s like they almost earned it more, to a point.

PC: Speaking of success, you’ve been a part of a lot of big and notable projects. When you look back, is there a particular moment that kind of stands out to you?
Madison: As a Vancouver actor, when you get to be on Supernatural, that’s a rite of passage. That one really sticks out because if you get an email from your agent, you’re like, “It’s happening!” But every year keeps getting better and better.

My time on this season of The Order stands out as one of my favorite times on set. It really felt like I was part of a collaboration. Honestly, I’ve gotten to work on some amazing stuff. But this year, this season was a standout for sure.

The Order

PC: Speaking of The Order, how familiar were you with the series before joining? How did you get involved?
Madison: I was a fan of the first season. It’s a Vancouver show. I feel like we all auditioned for the Jack role. I remember putting it on tape and I waited to hear back. It didn’t happen, and it ended up going to Jake [Manley]. He’s fantastic in it. It was one of those things where I knew about the show when it came out. I watched the first season, and I binged it in one day. It’s such an amazing show.

When Season 2 came around and I got to audition for Orbin, I remember going in and being like, “I know this world. I’m a fan of this show. I know what they’re going for.” I feel like that was a nice weapon to have in my arsenal.

PC: What is it like joining a cast that has a season under its belt?
Madison: This is the second time that I’ve had a chance to do that. I was a part of the second season of Salvation, and coming in a second time, it really put an ease to it. I mean, you’re coming in. You’re joining somebody’s family. That on its own is a bit scary because you want to make a good impression. You want people to accept you, but you also don’t want to overstep like you automatically belong there.

But coming in for a second season, you can rely on people to know the tone of the first season and what the story is. Sometimes, when you get a pilot or audition for a first season of a show, it’s still trying to figure itself out. A great example of that is The Office Season 1 or the first five to six episodes of New Girl. Those shows are very different from the beginning than they are at the end because they were still trying to find their voice.

Coming into The Order, they had established that. Now you’re helping to continue that story along. That said, I can’t wait to be part of the process from the beginning, but coming into the second season is still a lot of fun.

PC: There’s a duality to your character that unfolds throughout the season. What was your preparation like getting ready to play your character?
Madison: It was quite cool. I remember when we got our story and we found out about the sons of Prometheus and where their magic comes from. I remember watching a few movies, and one of the main ones that I took away from was Avatar, where the people of Pandora are drawn to the Earth. That’s where I did my research. I watched a few movies related to that.

Then the nice thing was working with Sarah [Grey] and the director. There was quite a bit of collaboration. There were some scenes that we got to do that didn’t have a lot written for us to do. If there’s a point in which I don’t have any lines in a scene, I have to try and figure those things out a little bit more. My character—I’ll say in case there are people who haven’t watched it yet—is a little nonverbal. You have to find a way to portray that.

PC: Great answer. That’s actually the perfect segue. When we’re introduced to Orbin, we see this instant connection between him and Alyssa. He becomes someone she turns to. Tell us a bit more about the collaboration with Sarah and how you two approached that dynamic.
Madison: Sarah is my favorite actress that I’ve had a chance to work with. Hands down. From the first scene, we just understood each other and how each other works. Every time one of us would come up with an idea for how we wanted to do this scene or that scene, it was always about asking the other person “What do you think about trying this?” We were both very open to that idea. It probably stems a lot from the way that we met.

I actually met Sarah when we were shooting our very first scene. She got there later than I. I was learning to drive the Unimog, which if you’ve seen the season, is a giant truck. That truck is twice the size of me. I have to drive it down the road like I’ve driven it my entire life. I was learning to drive it all morning. When we were about to shoot, Sarah jumped into the passenger seat. We make our introductions and then we had to drive. This thing is so large. You can’t really back it up. You just have to go through the trees and turn it around. We did that. When you’re shooting any driving scene, you shoot up and down the road fifteen times. Every time we would go around, I would go into this little ditch area. We were having a blast. On our last trip, Sarah pulls out her phone so she can take a selfie of what we’re doing.

I go and I cut a little too close on the ditch. Our front right tire, right below where she’s sitting, goes into the ditch. Sarah goes and hits the roof with her phone so hard that I was convinced that I had already just knocked out number two on The Order. I was like, “I’m going to get fired in a second.” Luckily, the sound that I heard was her phone and not her head. She was all good, but we got such a big laugh from that moment. From that day on, we became really close on set.

PC: In true Order fashion, the season ends with a lot of different cliffhangers, and there’s no real closure for Orbin. If the series is picked up for a third season, where would you like to see his storyline head?
Madison: I love that. I remember talking to the writers after my last scene and I said, “Do I come back in this season?”

The way that it was explained to me was that there’s a lot to tie up, so they didn’t need me. But they sort of explained that Orbin is a tool in their belt, so they can use him in the future. They don’t know what they might use him for, but they could! I was very excited about that. One of the cool things that I do like is at the end, we don’t really know too much about Orbin. We’ve met him. We get who he is as a personality. We don’t know about his past or his power. I’m really excited to see what they could do or what Orbin knows. I mean, to a point, he could be this person who has information about whatever they need because I’ve come from another world of magic.

PC: The second season is performing incredibly well. What do you think is resonating with audiences?
Madison: There’s something for everybody. It’s a fun show. With any show, whether you’re either a fan or if you’re part of it, you want it to be entertaining. People tune in because they want to be entertained. There are scenes where you’re laughing. You’re invested in the characters and their stories.

The writers and the creators of the show know what they’re doing too. Every one of those things have to come together for people to go, “I want to keep tuning in.” The actors do a great job with each of their characters. From Season 1, I was a fan of what Adam DiMarco does with Randall and every one of the Knights. They’re all different, and we get to see these characters fleshed out, and every story has the ability to tie itself up and lead to the next one.

PC: What was the biggest takeaway from the show?
Madison: Enjoy it while it’s there! Everything flew by so quickly. I looked forward to each day. Then all of a sudden, I was done with my three episodes. I’ll say that I definitely enjoyed it while I was there, but I’m reminiscent of my time. That was my biggest takeaway.

To keep up with Madison, follow him on Twitter and Instagram. Binge-watch Season 2 of The Order on Netflix today.