In this week’s episode of NIKITA entitled “Falling Ash,” rogue Division agent Owen Elliot returns. In a recent interview, Devon Sawa talked with theTVaddict.com about what Owen is up to, the journey he is on, and whether he can foresee a future between Nikita and Owen.
How would you describe Owen’s journey for the second season of NIKITA?
DEVON: Actually, when I got the script and read it — the last scene in this episode is kind of a game-changer for Owen. Craig and the writers have done it again. They kind of send Owen off in his own direction and I’m really excited about it. I mean, I don’t know the specifics of what’s going to happen, but the way it’s going is really exciting. I think fans are really going to be like, ‘Oh my god!’ and there’s going to be a lot of jaws dropping at the end of this episode. [laughter] I’ve got to be real careful that I don’t give anything away, but it’s going to be pretty cool!
Is this Owen’s way for lobbying for his own show and get a spin-off?
DEVON: That would be nice!
Venturing back into last season briefly, when we last saw Owen, he was still fighting the drug addiction he had gotten on while he was with Division. Did he successfully overcome that or has he had to find some kind of substitute?
DEVON: Well, the drugs that he was taking last year, Michael gave him enough to get by for a while, but now he’s running low. He’s not quite become the guy that he was in that last episode, but he knows what’s gonna happen. So now his whole thing in this episode is trying to figure out a way to safely detox off the regimen.
So that’s a big part of what’s upcoming still.
DEVON: Yeah.
This is also going back to what his journey is about, is it his own personal vendetta that Owen’s on now or does he have a more altruistic motivation in taking down Division?
DEVON: I think he’s still got the revenge thing going on. He’s after Percy. He’s definitely got Percy on his mind.
Seems like everybody’s got Percy on their mind.
DEVON: Percy’s a bad, bad man. He’s like THE bad guy. Xander’s playing him perfectly and I think the writers are writing him perfectly — like really. But that’s what Owen’s got going on. He wants to chemically detox, get better, and he wants to go after Percy.
Is Owen looking forward to facing off against Percy in that glass cage?
DEVON: That’s the plan!
Oooh, that will be intense. Okay, do you think Owen’s ready to give up being a lone-wolf or does he want to team up more?
DEVON: I don’t know exactly about being a lone-wolf. I do know that Michael and Owen are softening up a little bit towards each other, so the potential of being a team is there. They could work as a team, but he could also go off on his own. I don’t quite know that yet.
At the point he is at now, how would you describe Owen? What would be the one word you would use to describe him?
DEVON: Unpredictable.
He’s the wild-card in this?
DEVON: He is. I mean, he’s like Nikita where he’s got heart and he wants to do the right thing, but he’s got that regimen thing that’s really weighing him down. He’s got to figure out a way to get off of it so that he can go forward.
We’ve seen Owen a lot with Michael and Nikita, will we be seeing him with some of the other characters, like Birkhoff or Alex?
DEVON: We see a little bit of interaction with Birkhoff and Owen in this episode. It’s kind of fun because Birkhoff has that comedy thing going on and Owen’s a little bit more serious and that plays well against each other. As far as the other characters, there’s a big ballroom scene that Alex is in, but Owen does not interact with her.
It seems like they have kept those characters separate, yet they are all still very instrumental in both those worlds, so it would be interesting to see them mix it up a little bit.
DEVON: Yeah, it would be.
What is one thing you admire about Owen?
DEVON: I admire that he’s got “heart.” He’s a stand-up guy. He’s kind of come out of that shell. We do a flashback in this episode of the way he was in Division. This is like a mini-flashback — kind of a teaser to the way he used to be and he used to be really, really ruthless. And I admire that he’s come out of that. I mean, he fell in love, he lost the girl of his dreams, and yet he’s trying to be a good man.
Is he ready to find love again or is that the furthest thing from his mind?
DEVON: I hope so! I would be so into that on the show, but who knows. I think he wants to get Percy first and then, you never know, maybe he’s a hopeless romantic.
Where would you like to see Owen go after he finishes his crusade against Percy and Division?
DEVON: You know what, I would put that all in the hands of the writers. So far they have done a spectacular job with wowing even me. I mean, I get a script and go, ‘Oh my god, I didn’t see that coming!’ So we would see where they would go with him next.
Because you get to play one of the more action-oriented characters on the show, maybe you could talk about what has been like to play with all the toys they employ — all the guns, weaponry, and flying machines — what’s been the best thing you’ve gotten to work with on the show?
DEVON: You know what? It wasn’t necessarily any of the guns — the guns are awesome, you always get a pretty spectacular weapon in each episode — but working with Ray Park, who is of course Darth Maul, Snake-Eyes, and Toad in “X-Men” — working with Ray Park was the most fun I had in this episode because he’s like the king of action. So that was a lot of fun.
So has there been anything else that was the most memorable thing you’ve gotten to do, or has there been a particular stunt or a particular location that you got to work that may have stood out for you?
DEVON: That was the most memorable on NIKITA that I’ve done, which was the Ray Park-church scene. That was the first day of the episode. We got there and it was intense. I mean, we did two big action sequences that day and that was the last one and by the end of it, we were both out of breath. Also, the very first episode, working with Maggie Q, my very first action scene with her was pretty interesting. I love seeing her work. She comes to set, she does her thing and she was on point all the time.
What would you describe as a specific challenge in portraying such a fractured character? When we first met Owen, he was not so fractured, but his world kind of disintegrated once they killed Emily. How is that as an actor for you to do that kind of role?
DEVON: It makes everything interesting. You have to be hardened, but you have to still have the feelings for Emily. But now he’s met Nikita and he’s got that whole thing going on — where it’s kind of a brother-sister relationship — it’s very interesting to play. If he’s too soft, you’re not going to buy him beating on Ray Park in a scene. But you’ve got to make him soft enough that you feel the Nikita-Owen kind of brotherly thing.
There’s actually a huge fan base that is support of the Owen-Nikita romance. Do you ever try to do anything that plays into that?
DEVON: I haven’t yet. From day one, I’ve always thought that would be too predictable, like Owen stepping in the way of Michael and Nikita. But you never know. I mean it’s there, if it doesn’t work out with Michael. . . . But you never know. Maybe next season. Maybe this season. As it is right now, Owen has no interest in Nikita, anything other than just making a really good team.
What else can you tease about what’s upcoming for Owen this season on NIKITA?
DEVON: I can’t tease much. I don’t know what’s gonna happen. [laughter] The last scene of this episode is really awesome and it sends Owen onto his own little mission and I’m excited to see what’s going on next. 
To find out what game-changing reveal the writers have dreamed up for Owen and to see if his intentions towards Nikita are as pure as Devon proclaims, be sure to catch this week’s new episode of NIKITA on Friday, September 30th at 8PM on The CW (CTV Two in Canada). NIKITA stars Maggie Q, Shane West, Lyndsy Fonseca, Aaron Standford, Melinda Clarke and Zander Berkeley. Catch up on past episodes you may have missed for free online at clicktowatch.tv
Tiffany Vogt is a contributing writer to TheTVAddict. She has a great love for television and firmly believes that entertainment is a world of wondrous adventures that deserves to be shared and explored – she invites you to join her. Please feel free to contact Tiffany at Tiffany_Vogt_2000@yahoo.com or follow her at on Twitter (@TVWatchtower).