{alltv} Pale 'Human' star suits vamp role

PASADENA, Calif. -- Sam Witwer has a natural quality that saves time and makeup on the set of Being Human.

"I just come like this, so it's no problem," said Witwer, referring to the convenience of his pale skin as it pertains to his role as a vampire.

"You are the whitest man I've ever seen," chimed in co-star Meaghan Rath.

To which another co-star, Sam Huntington, added, "We call him Sam White-wer."

Speaking of white, fans of the original British version of Being Human may have turned that colour when they heard a remake was in the works for an American cable network (Syfy). The new version -- which was filmed in Montreal, posing as Boston -- makes its Canadian debut Monday, Jan. 17 on Space.

The actors and creators of the new Being Human insist the BBC version is a jumping-off point, rather than something that needs to be replicated note by note with American accents.

"We haven't really seen it," Witwer said of the British version. "I've seen the first episode. When I was auditioning, I wanted to know what that was about. But I don't think any of us wanted to unintentionally mimic.

"I saw one episode, and that was enough for me to really fall in love with what they were doing and then to want to stay away from it and do our own thing."

The 13-part supernatural series follows three unlikely 20-something roommates: Vampire Aidan, played by Witwer; werewolf Josh, played by Huntington; and ghost Sally, played by Rath. Being Human also stars Mark Pellegrino as Aidan's charismatic but menacing vampire mentor, Bishop.

As was pointed out at the Television Critics Association tour, the framework of Being Human sounds like a bad joke. You know, "A vampire, a werewolf and a ghost walk into a bar ... "

It does make you wonder about the prevalence of those creatures on TV and in the movies. What did Frankenstein ever do to piss people off?

Anyway, the driving plot of Being Human -- which is a combination of brooding drama, light comedy and gruesome violence -- is watching the three roommates strive for a degree of normalcy that most of us take for granted.

From a business perspective, Being Human faces two big questions. First, will fans of the old version take issue with the new version? And second, no matter which way the first question goes, is the new Being Human interesting enough to attract fans who've never seen the old one?

"You can't just take a British script and hand it to an American cast," said Witwer, reiterating that once the setup phase is over, the new Being Human has its own story line. "Culturally there is a North American take that deserves to be told, really.

"I think when Spaced was going to be remade, why do that? I didn't agree with that decision. I didn't think there was something new and interesting you could uncover that Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright hadn't already done.

"But with this, having just seen a little bit of the British series, talked to friends and read the scripts, I was like, 'Yeah, this makes sense.' "