Aaron Ashmore becomes real ‘Killjoy’ in new Syfy series

Steve Wilkie/Temple Street Releasing Limited/Syfy/TNS
Hannah John-Kamen in the new Syfy series “Killjoys.”

‘KILLJOYS’

9 p.m. Friday, June 19, Syfy

By Rick Bentley

The Fresno Bee

No one can say the Ashmore twins can’t take a beating.

Shawn Ashmore took some major licks as part of the Fox series “The Following.” Now his older brother (by one minute), Aaron Ashmore gets battered and bruised for the new Syfy series “Killjoys.”

“Mom doesn’t like when we get beat up but that’s what’s out there,” says Aaron Ashmore, who has has been part of several TV series heavy on action, including “Warehouse 13,” “Lost Girl” and “XIII: The Series.”

Now, he’s part of the cast of “Killjoys” where he plays bounty hunter John Jaqobis. He works with Dutch (Hannah John-Kamen), a leader who can gain your trust or beat you up with the same grace and speed. The other part of the team is D’Avin (Luke Macfarlane), John’s brother and former prisoner. They work in the Quad, a distant solar system on the brink of war.

“The Quad is a world with three moons and each one looks very different. Even the lighting is different on each moon, with one being very blue and gritty to another that is very light and warm. The one thing that’s the same is that there’s a lot of poverty and injustice,” Ashmore says.

It all comes together to make “Killjoys” a bit of “Guardians of the Galaxy” and part “Firefly” with its blend of strong heroes, comedy and action.

It’s not a coincidence Ashmore’s back in another genre series.

“I have done a lot of genre type shows that include action, adventure and violence. I like making those kind of shows because I’ve always been a big fan of the genre,” Ashmore says.

The Canadian actor became a sci-fi geek when he was young, sparked by his love of “Star Trek: The Next Generation” and reading fantasy books. He was drawn to the layered stories that deal with topics that might be off-limits in more mainstream entertainment.

And, there’s one more thing that makes the genre watchable to Ashmore.

“Good stories always have a sense of humor,” Ashmore says. “It doesn’t feel like the characters are three-dimensional unless there is some comedy. We have tried to bring that to this show.”

And it’s Ashmore who’s bringing it.

John-Kamen is the brains of the group, while Macfarlane’s character is the renegade. Ashmore’s character is the one who is most likely to offer a funny quip in the face of danger.

Another plus for Ashmore is that John-Kamen’s character is so strong. He wasn’t aware that the series was created by Michelle Lovretta, the creative force behind “Relic Hunter” and “Mutant X,” two other series with strong female leads.

“It’s really exciting because of the relationship between my character and Hannah’s. There’s not really a romantic interest between the two, but a real bond of friendship,” Ashmore says. “They are just two people doing their job, which I think is really cool and really interesting.”

There’s also a family element with his character’s brother being part of the team. Their relationship is nothing like the one he has with his acting brother. The bigger issue is that his TV series character and his on-screen brother have been estranged for nine years. Now, they are trying to deal with this new family of three while chasing the bad guys.

Syfy has ordered 10 episodes of “Killjoys,” and it will continue if the ratings are good enough. Another successful show might change how Ashmore gets recognized. His work as Jimmy Olsen in “Smallville” continues to get him attention despite the show ending in 2011.

“”Smallville still looms big for me probably because it was such a massive hit internationally,” Ashmore says. “It seems weird because ‘Smallville’ seems like such a long time ago.”