Levi Meaden is one of Hollywood’s hottest actors. His gripping performance in The Killing put him on the map and earned him well-deserved attention. Since then, he’s been involved with projects including iZombie, Legends of Tomorrow, and Olympus. He’s currently starring as Matt Copeland on the addictive new sci-fi thriller, Aftermath. And, if you haven’t checked out the show, what are you waiting for? With each new project, Levi has displayed his versatility and leading man qualities. He’ll soon begin filming the highly-anticipated sequel to Pacific Rim. Pop Culturalist was lucky enough to chat with Levi about Aftermath and his blossoming career.
PC: What drew you to the project? And, what was the audition process like?
Levi: I’ve always been a big sci-fi and fantasy nerd and especially loved the apocalyptic genre. I loved the idea of running around in a world like that fighting monsters.
Originally, the casting directors in Canada asked my agent for another client of hers, but he was unavailable. She pitched me instead. I taped for it and a few months later went in to meet with producers and the director for a screen test.
PC: How did you learn that you landed the role? How did you prepare?
Levi: I got on a conference call with my agents and manager. They told me what was going on. It happened as soon as I got home from the screen test, and, apparently, they liked me. [laughs] I also found out that Taylor and Julia had been cast not long before so, early on, we knew who the siblings were going to be.
I prepared by diving into a lot of apocalyptic literature and movies—The Stand, Swan Song, Crossed, etc.—to get a feel for some of the rules of the genre. I also made sure to put on a little weight to sell the football player aspect and went to the gun range to re-familiarize with some of the weaponry I would be using.
PC: How would you describe your character in a few words? What similarities/differences do you share?
Levi: Passionate, repressed, angry, heroic, conflicted, and proud. I’d probably fall into conflicted, proud, and passionate. Maybe a little anger too. [laughs]
PC: Matt has been struggling with maintaining his humanity while also protecting his family. Will this be a common theme for him and will we see it unfold further?
Levi: I think it’s a common theme throughout the whole show, but definitely for Matt. He carries a lot of guilt for his actions, and I think he beats himself up for letting himself let go of that humanity. We’ll begin to see him face that and hopefully find some forgiveness as the season finishes.
PC: Both of Matt’s sisters have had love interests this season; will we see Matt developing a relationship with another character?
Levi: We just might…you’ll have to tune in to find out.
PC: What can you tease about the remainder of the season?
Levi: There are a lot of answers that are going to start coming out and a lot more questions. Our pursuit of the elusive Moondog will become a huge part.
PC: If the world was ending would you be more likely to fight or flight?
Levi: Flight. I know the exact location I would need to get to. Few people know about it, and it’s self-sustaining enough.
PC: If the world ended tomorrow how would you spend your last day?
Levi: I would fly back to my family so I could spend it with them.
PC: How would you describe your cast-mates in one word?
Levi: Lovable.
PC: What’s been your favorite moment on set?
Levi: The day we filmed Brianna’s capture. We had a huge crane to launch a stunt woman 120 feet in the air. It was like a “welcome to TV” moment.
PC: How did you get started in the business? When did you realize you wanted to be an actor?
Levi: I always knew I wanted to work in the entertainment industry. I acted when I was younger but found my interest shifting behind the camera as I got older. I ended up going to the Czech Republic for film school. Due to a lack of English-speaking actors, I found myself acting in a lot of shorts that teamed me up with a great teacher by the name of Simon Howard which re-ignited my interest in acting. When I came back I ended up working at a production company, and the owner, Director Roger Larry, convinced me that it was worth pursuing as a career.
PC: How do you approach each new project?
Levi: I try to find what I have in common with them, and that’s usually my way in. From there, I begin to build up a back story, fears, hopes, etc. and try and make as well-rounded a character that I can. I tend to do a lot of research and prep work that way. I have a whole host of things to fall back on if I run into challenges on set.
PC: What’s been the biggest lesson you’ve learned as an actor?
Levi: Play the story above all else. It’s easy to get self-involved or lost in your own self-importance and forget the actual point of a scene. Playing the story is always your way out. Also, one of my teachers always said to treat everything with a lightness of touch—meaning never forget a sense of humor.
PC: Do you have a dream role?
Levi: John Constantine. Great character and we have a similar outlook on life. [laughs]
PC: Are there any upcoming projects you can chat about?
Levi: Next up, I’ll be filming Pacific Rim 2. I just finished an indie called Incontrol which should be making festival rounds and hitting VOD soon.
PC: If you weren’t an actor what would you be doing?
Levi: I’ve always been interested in architecture. Maybe that. Or city planning something along those lines.
PC: Guilty pleasure T.V. show?
Levi: The Ranch—it reminds me of some of my family.
PC: Guilty pleasure movie?
Levi: Action Jackson—it’s a horrible action movie from the ‘80s that starred Carl Weathers. I’ve watched the movie like eight times, and I’m still not sure how we got to the ending.
PC: Favorite play or musical?
Levi: Sweet Charity—love Shirley MacLaine.
PC: Favorite book?
Levi: Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad.
PC: Favorite social media platform?
Levi: Snapchat! It’s must easier to get sarcasm across with a picture. Lots of trouble started in texts over nothing.
PC: Hidden talent?
Levi: Cooking. It was always a hobby, and I worked as a cook for years. I’ve always said that my apocalypse job is the ability to cook mass amounts of food without killing anyone.
PC: If you could have dinner with 5 people, alive or dead, real or fictional, who would they be and why?
Levi: Orson Welles: One of the greatest director of all time. A personal hero of mine; JFK: A great leader to be sure but… let’s just say I have a lot of questions about his administration; Bette Davis: The greatest actress of all times. One hell of a strong personality; Warren Oates: An oft-forgotten tower of charisma. Could drink a lot of whiskey; Christopher Hitchens: I wanna see him argue with JFK.
Make sure to follow Levi on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and Snapchat (L.Meaden). And, watch him on Aftermath, every Tuesday at 10PM EST, on the SYFY channel.
Photo Credit: Eike Schroter/Aftermath ULC/Syfy
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