Exclusive: David Giuntoli (Grimm Interview)

NBC debuted one of the most unique television series ever with the release of Grimm in 2011. Grimm is easily described as a crime drama with a dark fantasy twist that draws on fairy tales for characters and storylines, but fans of the series would argue that the show is so much more than that. The show is one of the most popular currently on air and was recently renewed for a third season that was announced on April 26, 2013. Fans can now look forward to another great season of their favorite show, as we get ever closer to the Season 2 finale of Grimm coming up on May 21, 2013.

We were recently able to land a round table interview with the star of the show, David Giuntoli who plays detective Nick Burkhardt, a descendent from a clan of supernatural hunters with special powers known as the Grimms. Giuntoli talked about the show's upcoming finale stating, "one of the cast may not live through the finale." Giuntoli also talked about some of the scenes that stuck with him including some of the more grotesque scenes including, "when Monroe gouges out the eye of a fly person," and a scene where rats poured out of a guy's mouth that ruined him, " for a good 90 days." Finally, the actor talked about why Portland, where the show is filmed and located, could soon become his new home, why coffee just isn't the same in Los Angeles and why Portland is a great location for emerging theater talent.

You can read our excerpt from the interview below to learn about what detective Nick Burkhardt likes to do during his down time, if a Grimm video game could be a possibility in the future, if he would have what it takes to survive in the world of video games and more. Read on for the full transcript and make sure to catch Grimm on its new night and time, Tuesdays at 10/9c, only on NBC!


Amanda Dyar: Hey, David. I want to know on the show Nick really never gets a lot of down time. So what do you think he would do if he actually had some time to himself? Do you think he would play video games or, you know, what kind of shows would he watch? And what do you do during the down time of the show in between takes and such?

David Giuntoli: That's a very good question. I think Nick's a Palm Springs kind of guy. He wants to get down there with a group of friends. I think he probably drinks canned beer and wine. He's nothing too sophisticated though. Now with Monroe introducing me to a whole other world of foods and wines maybe I'm enjoying the finer things.

But he needs some sun. So I'd say like Palm Springs, Hawaii, Mexico. It's all kind of west coast.

Let's see what else he does. In the real downtime between sets, between takes, I mean it's just - you would get so annoyed with us. It's hijinks really. We laugh all of the time, talk, I mean ongoing jokes, play games that you'd play in like long car rides when you were a kid.

One game we play is dictionary which is - this is Silas' game of course. You just go into your dictionary app on your phone, find a word that's pretty hard that you probably know it, and you tell another person the first letter of the word, the part of speech, and the first definition. And that person has to figure out what that word is -- makes you smarter.

Amanda: Do you see a Grimm video game being a possibility in the future? And would you be up for working on something like that if it was?

David: I would be completely up with that. That is what I like to think of as a revenue stream for me. But I don't know if a video game is in the works. I have some very good friends who have voices on video games. A good friend of mine who's on the show Being Human -- Sam Witwer -- is a voice for someone in one of the Star Wars video games. I think like the main dude. And he loved it. So I would love to get into more voice acting.

Amanda: Well how did you mind working on the episode Nameless which was about video game Black Forest 2? Did you find that episode fun, and what would you do if you was kind of trapped in a video game and you had to survive? What would you do if you was trapped in that world?

David: I'm seeing through line now. What would I do? I have - first of all I've enjoyed video games in my adult life though I try not to let it take over, which it can. It's a nice way to totally turn off though when you're an actor. Turn off your brain and like just get away or whatever.

I enjoyed the episode Nameless. I thought it was really smart. It was written by a really smart girl, and I thought it was such a kind of, you know, a current thing that we're been dealing with. If I was trapped in a video game I would imagine I would find the nearest video game and just end it. I couldn't handle being trapped inside of a video game. I'm not that much of a fighter.

It depends what video game I suppose.

Amanda: Yes, well I mean do you actually play any video games in real life, or do you actually have any time to?

David: I mean I do have time, but I don't now on set because I’m so busy. But most recently I was a big Call of Duty guy. That's the last video game I really got into. It's been a couple of years now.

For more information on the show, check out the official Grimm website, and for more on detective Nick Burkhardt in real life, you can follow David Giuntoli on Twitter.