Looking at Michael Trevino, it’s hard not to see how he was the perfect casting choice for the role of Tyler Lockwood on the CW series, The Vampire Diaries. With his refined good looks and penetrating eyes, the latest development in his character’s plotline makes perfect sense. When we left off in season three, Tyler had been transformed into a hybrid, a supernatural crossbreed between a werewolf and vampire. “There have been so many transitions with Tyler. In season one he was basically just this one-note douchebag, alpha-male, football jock. In season two, he’s cursed and becomes a werewolf, and when we finished off in season three, he was the first successful hybrid created by Klaus. Our cliffhanger in season three was Tyler becoming Klaus after. Klaus is taking over Tyler’s body. We’re going to see that play out in the beginning of season four.” Prepping for lycanthropy didn’t always prove to be the most settling experience. “I had to watch some very graphic videos of women giving birth. It’s drawn out, agonizing and gruesome. That pretty much got me where I needed to be.”
It’s safe to say that The Vampire Diaries is the one of the CW’s most successful shows; something Trevino says is the result of constantly pushing boundaries. “We’re always pushing the envelope. They don’t wait until the end of season for a major character to die. [Characters] come and go. What’s cool about our show is the cliffhanger at the end of each episode. Things change all the time within the script. When we have a storyline it isn’t cemented. It’s always going to change. That keeps us on our toes.” Die-hard fans of the show could also play a significant role in story. “With Twitter and Facebook and other social media, the execs are definitely tracking what fans are saying and what they want to see.” Of his own anticipation for season four, Trevino says he’s excited “to see how long I’m going to be playing Klaus. And When Tyler is his own self again, I wonder how that’s going to play out with Caroline and affect the whole love triangle between she, Klaus and Tyler. We left it on a weird note and Caroline’s in the dark about it. I want to see how she reacts to what’s happening.” The best part about playing Tyler? “Kissing Caroline, without a doubt.” The Vampire Diaries returns to the CW on Thursday October 11th at 8/7c.
Interviewed by Ashley Symone Lee
Photographed by Vince Trupsin
Animal Practice follows the adventures of NYC veterinarian Dr. George Coleman (Justin Kirk) whose uncanny gift for working with animals (human beings not so much) makes him the top doctor at a veterinary practice where it often seems as if the patients are the ones in charge. The diverse cast includes JoAnna Garcia Swisher, Justin Kirk, Bobby Lee, Kym Whitley, and funny man Tyler Labine who plays Dr. Doug Jackson. “When you first meet me, I’ve had my heart broken and I’m trying to get back onto my feet,” says Labine. “I’m basically the only logical, reasonable animal and human-loving doctor at the clinic. Dr. Coleman hates people and my character is always running defense for him and smoothing out situations because he’s so anti-social. I’m the one who’s clipping nails and brushing out knots in fur and playing gentle music to make sure the animals are in a happy place.” The cast stars alongside live animals, something that isn’t always easy to do while working on set. “You have no idea. I learned that penguins bite! They take huge chunks of skin! The trainer has pieces of arm missing all over his forearms. In the pilot, I’m giving a basset hound a rectal exam and I thought ‘oh okay we’re going to fake it or they’ll have a sedated dog something.’ But the dog was this fully awake, very spry basset hound that didn’t want my fingers anywhere near his butt. He kept jumping off the table, turning around trying to bite my hand. And again I can’t blame the dog, I have to look at the people who didn’t stop to think ‘oh maybe that dog won’t like getting finger-banged.’ We also had a Bengal tiger that was pissing on everybody. Beautiful creature, but it’s a giant cat with a lot of piss.” Crystal, the beloved monkey from The Hangover 2, also stars alongside her human counterparts. “She’s an international star. They flew her first class to New York. She had her own seat at all the dinner parties. Everyone wanted a photo with Crystal. She’s already the runaway star and scene stealer of the show. But it’s not a gimmicky show about animals; it’s about the people and their interactions with each other. That’s actually the play on words with the show. The idea is that we’re the real animals.” 
Currently starring on TNT’s "Falling Skies," while voicing on the Legend of Korra, while finding the time to pursue music, Seychelle Gabriel is accomplished beyond her years. She is just 21-years-old and is as cool and collected as can be. We chatted with Seychelle and this is what we discovered: 
What is the best part about working on "Falling Skies?"
The people, definitely the cast. I don’t think I’ve ever encountered that energy of people before. Everyone’s really supportive of each other and very unique at the same time. I play Lourdes who's almost 20-years-old now, coming into the third season and before the whole alien attack, she was a pre-med student up in Boston. She came from Mexico, where her family was. She was a regular girl that got kinda swept up in this whole thing, lost her family in the process and had to start from scratch and found her place. And supporting the second mass, which is their group, medically and is kind of second in command. In the first season, my character also had a big spirituality about her, which is really cool…she kinda represented a different kind of motivation and hope. 
