Posted in: Paramount+, TV | Tagged: Aasif Mandvi, Evil, exclusive, interview, Katja Herbers, Mike Colter, paramount, Sohina Sidhu

Evil: Aasif Mandvi on Embracing Ben; Co-Stars Herbers, Colter & More

Evil star Aasif Mandvi spoke with us about growing closer to his character Ben, bonding with co-stars Katja Herbers & Mike Colter, and more.

When Aasif Mandvi was cast as Ben Shakir, an atheist raised as a Muslim, a scientist, and an engineer at heart on Evil, he hadn't realized how much of himself he'd pour into the character, let alone how much empathy he developed for him. A pragmatist, Ben brings his technical prowess to the team, which includes forensic psychologist Kristen Bouchard (Katja Herbers) and Catholic priest David Acosta (Mike Colter). Tasked to investigate the paranormal by the Catholic Church, the trio travels across the country to affirm the phenomenon of any mystical or supernatural forces at work and address possible threats.

The Robert and Michelle King-created TV show, currently in its fourth and final season, is also the longest dedicated series the Million Dollar Arm star has been a part of since his on-screen debut in 1988 in TV's Miami Vice. Mandvi spoke to Bleeding Cool about how he feels more "informed" of Ben's "empiricism," how his relationship evolved with costars Herbers & Colter, the similar type of bond he developed with his TV sibling Sohina Sidhu, who plays Karina, and if he wished he developed more screen time with his season three-four love interest played by Gia Crovatin.

Evil Star Aasif Mandvi on Embracing Ben's Journey and Cast Bonds

Bleeding Cool: How has 'Evil' challenged you as an actor in a way other projects haven't?

This is what's interesting about the trajectory of doing a character for a long time. When I first started, I was so different from Ben. I am not an empiricist or a scientist, I am much more of a spiritual person, and someone who tends to believe things much more than that. I thought there was a huge chasm between Ben and me. I had to bridge this trap of "He's so different than me," but as we've gone along the journey, Ben and I have come closer together. I've been informed of his empiricism a little, his pragmatism, and his sense of competency. There are things about Ben I feel informed me a little bit, but it was always a challenging thing because he was so different then. I'm personally closer to Kajta's character (Kristen) in myself. That was challenging at first, but as I started to understand him more, in a sense of eye-rollingness and disdain for the idiocracy in the world, it resonated with me.

What were your initial impressions of Katja Herbers and Mike Colter when the series started, and how has that bond evolved with each season it transitioned to screen and into your characters?

What were my first impressions of them when I met them as people? We're quite different, coming from various backgrounds. Katja's Dutch and Mike is incredibly handsome [laughs] and a superhero [playing Luke Cage]. There's me from 'The Daily Show,' sort of funny guy, but with a serious side. [Katja's] more than Dutch because she's an incredible person of substance. Since we were different and not three peas in a pod. We created great chemistry, and it was smart to put us together because of – not despite – those differences. Katja's and I's relationship is different than what I have with Mike and Mike's with Katja. That bled into the writers, who were also watching our real personalities and starting to write toward that in the show. A lot of the dynamics we presented in real life appeared on screen.

You also worked with Sohina Sidhu, who plays your sister Karina. She wasn't as involved initially in the first two seasons as she was later. Since this is one of her first on-screen roles, how do you feel she's grown as an actor? How did you develop that sibling bond with her?

I don't know how she's grown as an actor. She's a tremendous actress. She was great out of the gate. She would have to answer that more than I can, but the sibling bond…she's younger than me. We have siblings, so that was an easy rapport since it was her first big acting role. She was also looking at me, and that was an organic big-brother dynamic when she was looking to me to be, "Okay, you're the pro, and this is my first real TV gig." It fell into a big brother-little sister dynamic right away. Ben and Karina are one of my favorite relationships on the show. Even Robert King would talk about whenever we were together, it was easy. We would improvise stuff all the time where it was not in the script. There was one moment I forget what season it was, where we're doing something scary, and then I go, "Boo!" I scared her, and she jumped and said, "Oh, my God!" That was completely improvised. It wasn't in the script, but they kept it in the show. It's stuff like that where we organically play a brother-and-sister dynamic.

Are you disappointed you didn't do more with Gia Crovatin's character, Renee?

She was great, and we had so much fun doing those scenes. I don't know what that was more with that. If the show were to continue in a universe, we all hope it could happen; maybe that would be more with that character. She was in an interesting storyline you see in season four where with Ben when things are happening [that] he doesn't remember what is happening and stuff like that. It was great playing off her with that and finding more in their relationship. It's funny how they always put Ben with the crazy lady. It was always like, "Oh, we'll give him a girlfriend, but she's insane." I liked that, and it was fun to play.

The series finale of Evil, which also stars Andrea Martin, Christine Lahti, Kurt Fuller, Michael Emerson, and Wallace Shawn, streams August 22nd on Paramount+. Stay tuned to Bleeding Cool next week when we discuss the finale with Mandvi and the series' future.

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