Australian actor John Kim talks to Bibi Nurshuhada Ramli about his role in The Librarian
THE Librarian, a made-for-TV movie trilogy starring ER’s Noah Wyle, gets a TV series version, which promises new characters and even more action and adventure.
Wyle reprises his role as Flynn Carsen, a librarian and an adventurous bookworm who works for an ancient organisation that operates from beneath Gotham’s Metropolitan Public Library building, dedicated to protecting the world from the secret dark forces around them.
In the TV series, Flynn recruits four new librarians, Eva Baird (Rebecca Romijn), Jake Stone (Christian Kane), Cassandra (Lindy Booth) and Ezekiel Jones (John Kim).
With their respective skills, they assist him in solving impossible mysteries, fighting supernatural threats and recovering powerful artefacts from around the world.
Australian actor of Korean descent, Kim, who wasn’t familiar with the movie franchise prior to landing the role as Ezekiel, shares his excitement upon discovering the high level of action and adventure it features.
“The movies have a bit of Indiana Jones and TheMummy in them with a bit of Doctor Who.
It was a whole lot of fun to watch them and teach myself about the universe as a librarian,” he says in a phone interview.
The three films in the franchise were The Librarian: Quest For The Spear (2004), The Librarian: Return To King Solomon’s Mines (2006) and The Librarian: Curse Of The Judas Chalice (2008).
Born a nd ra ised in Melbourne, Kim jumped at the chance to work with The Librarian creator Dean Devlin and producer John Rogers, whom he says have created such an amazing cinematic entertainment in the movie franchise.
“Also, the opportunity to work alongside the likes of Wyle, Romijn, Kane and Booth is obviously a huge draw for me.
For my first US project, I couldn’t have picked anything better,” he says.
Previously, the actor had starred in Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg’s war miniseries The Pacific, and the Australian longest-running soap opera Neighbours.
Acknowledging the fact that Neighbours had a totally different genre than The Librarian, Kim says: “I definitely like The Librarian more.
Neighbours was a great opportunity, and I had a lot of fun but it was very limited in what I could do as far as soap opera goes.
“On The Librarian, we get to fight magical monsters and creatures, and experience crazy things that you don’t get to see in your everyday life.
The Librarian is a lot more fun to film for Kim but he is very grateful for both opportunities.
He also enjoys portraying Ezekiel, who is easily the most morally corrupted of the library’s new recruits.
He is a master of new technologies and aficionado of classic crimes, who enjoys playing the role of international man of mystery.
Ezekiel loves the thrill of adventure and is always up for a good challenge but the question remains, can he be trusted? Commenting on his character, Kim says: “Ezekiel is trouble.
He’s the little brother to the group of librarians.
In the team, Ezekiel gets the job done while forgetting his moral ethics.
“He isn’t really driven by any motivational intention so when he finds himself as part of the group of librarians, that’s the first time in his life he has a sense of purpose or direction.
“He’s a lot of fun and witty.
He’s quite arrogant but still likeable at the same time, or at least I’d like to think so.” Kim tells us more: Did you have any reservations before agreeing to be part of the show? Absolutely none.
I wasn’t even sure if I’d be working this year in the TV or film industry.
I was actually re-enrolling into university (when I got the offer).
When I landed the role, I changed my mind about everything.
I flew to United States.
We shot for four months in Portland, Oregon, which is one of the beautiful places I’ve ever been to.
How did you prepare for the role? You make sure you know the script and your character back and front.
I played a tech whiz so I didn’t have to do much physical preparations except to familiarise myself with the idea and theme of The Librarian franchise.
How similar are you to Ezekiel? I’m the youngest among the cast members and Ezekiel is the youngest in the team of librarians.
We’re both quirky.
I like to play jokes and get under my friends’ skin a little but for the most part, he doesn’t seem like a good person.
I don’t think I’d be friends with him, to be honest.
I like to think that I’m a pretty decent guy (laughs).
Are you good at technology yourself? I like video games if that classifies as technology.
I wouldn’t say I’m a technology expert but I wouldn’t say I’m technology redundant either.
What kind of video games do you play? I’m a huge NBA and football fan, so I play sports games a lot.
I also like those with a great storyline.
I recently got hooked on Assassins’ Creed 2, which has an unbelievable story arc.
I’m not a massive gamer but when I do get a down moment, I love a jump on the Playstation or the Xbox.
Was it difficult to get used to the special effects element in The Librarian? Yes, because in Neighbours, we didn’t do any special effects whatsoever, and most of my scenes were shot in a classroom.
In The Librarian, I had to adjust.
I found that the best way to pick up new things is to learn it on the fly.
If I wasn’t sure about anything, I’d ask my cast mates and they’re so forth-giving with their advice.
They’re literally the loveliest and sweetest people you’ll ever meet.
Any memorable filming experience you can share? Kane and I were supposed to sneak into a room but we both walked through the doorway at the same time and we ended up getting stuck.
(Laughs) Lots of my funny moments on set were with Kane because we have such a great brotherly dynamic.
He’s such a funny guy.
It seems like the chemistry between you and the cast is strong.
Yes.
They’re all great people.
It’s hard not to get along with them.
It’s been three months since we wrapped up filming and I’m still in regular contact with all of them.
I’m so lucky to have worked with them.
What’s the biggest thing you’ve learnt from being on the show? Just to have fun but to trust in your work.
I was very nervous when I joined the show, of people’s perception of me and being the greenest actor in the group, the rookie.
I wasn’t sure how I’d be received.
Kyle pulled me aside one day and said: “Hey, I know you’re nervous but just focus on what you’re doing and enjoy your time here.
You’ve already got the job so just enjoy it.” Those words resonated with me.
He’s definitely someone I look up to.
I’m very grateful to have had him around and to learn that sometimes you just need to enjoy things.
The Librarian airs on Mondays at 9pm on Universal Channel (HyppTV Channel 612).