Thanks to a greater demon named Azazel, Valentine has escaped the Institute and is walking around inside the body of Magnus Bane on “Shadowhunters.”

Harry Shum Jr. didn’t have a long lead time before jumping into the new role of Valentine-inside-Magnus, but he enjoyed taking on the twist.

“I think I knew about it in the first episode, when we started shooting,” Harry told AccessHollywood.com. “So, maybe like two weeks before or a week-and-a-half before we started the second [episode].

“It was fun to kind like of sink our teeth into it and it was great that we got to sit down and really like talk about it — kind of what direction we wanted to go,” he added.

Harry said he met with Alan Van Sprang, who plays Valentine, and the episode’s director, Bille Woodruff, before shooting the new episode.

“We sat down for lunch and just kind of discussed how we wanted to play it because when you hear that, you’re like, ‘Oh, OK, you just switch bodies,’ but [there are] these more intricate and really kind of interesting layers on top of it and both of us are playing it very different because our motivation is completely different,” Harry told Access. “Valentine-in-Magnus’ body is trying to figure out how Magnus acts and functions and also, convincing people that he is Magnus while Magnus-in-Valentine’s body is trying to convince [people] that he’s Magnus. So, it’s this weird kind of double take where we didn’t want to play into kind of the idea of like, ‘I’m just doing an impersonation of you.’ It’s all these little things that we had to kind of sprinkle on to that and it was really important to us to really have that play into the episode.”

Harry watched tapes of Alan as he prepared to do his portrayal of Valentine-in-Magnus.

“I think [with] Valentine, there’s little points where you’ve seen him kind of get really frustrated, but he has this calmness, where he’s very calculating. He knows what he’s going to do next. He’s always two steps ahead and I wanted to give a little bit of that,” Harry said.

“But also, this is something that he’s never dealt with. This is beyond frustration. This is like, I’m trapped in the body of something I like, hate, and I’m trying to destroy. How do I react to this?” Harry said of how Valentine, a shadowhunter, feels being in the body of a warlock. “So that is what I wanted to really pull from … with Alan and getting those tapes, and at the end of the day, putting my interpretation on top of that.”

Source: accesshollywood.com

Harry Shum Jr. talks with Hypable about Valentine’s stint as Magnus Bane in Shadowhunters season 2, episode 12.

How do you play a man trapped in body he absolutely despises?

Shadowhunters offers viewers a chance to see Valentine inside of Magnus Bane’s body. “Filthy” is a term Valentine has often used when referring to any Downworlder. Now that he is stuck performing Azazel’s bidding as a warlock, Valentine must find a way to navigate the relationships this particular warlock spent centuries developing.

That includes his most recent one with Alec. While the roles certainly call for a bit of miming, the process of letting another character play in the sandbox you constructed, is no easy task.

Harry Shum Jr. talks to Hypable about Valentine’s stroll in Magnus’ body, what lies ahead for Magnus and Alec, and a piece of fan art that he wants to see play out!

Valentine and Magnus have limited screen time together. What was the preparation process like for the role reversal?

Harry Shum Jr.: We had access to each other, but we didn’t want to do that. Tapes were what were provided for us to be able to look at how they talk to people. But it wasn’t about spending time with each other and trying to mimic each other.

It was about making sure that we captured the essence of each other’s characters. From there, within the scenes that we had to play with, we wanted to deliver them in a way where it was very situational. It was very specific. It wasn’t, “Well, I’m going to play Valentine and then I’m going to put that on top of all the scenes.” It was specific.

For instance, Magnus in Valentine’s body talking the Azazel is very different than how he is going to attempt to talk to Alec or talk to other characters who are going to come in. Also, he’s observing how the characters are reacting. It’s Valentine in Magnus’ body, trying to figure out Magnus – who he actually is – to convince [the people he is interacting with] enough to move on to the next level.

He doesn’t really know Magnus that well, either. As you layer that on top a bit, there is a little bit of humor about it. But as an audience member I hope that they’re watching and they know that it’s him, but also anticipate what is he going to do next.

One of the best moments, for me personally, was watching when Jace comes to Magnus’ apartment and you have that recognition – it felt so much like Valentine seeing Jace coming to him. It was truly fantastic.

Oh, that’s great to hear.

Magnus has just been horrifically tortured. Give us a sense of where Magnus is at the end of this episode.

What that [torture] does to someone’s psyche — especially coming from someone like Magnus who as dealt with instability in a mental capacity — it’s a mixture of emotions. And [in the past] he’s dealt with issues of questioning whether to even stay on this planet. I think for him it brings up a lot of this history and trauma that he’s been trying to stay away from.

Then there’s the trauma of being tortured. That alone is something that is already hard to get over. But the fact that it’s bringing up something that has affected him in this mental state is something that is going to take a while to get over. And it will really affect his relationships with people — especially Alec.

The stories from Magnus’ past are endless. So much so, Cassandra Clare enlisted other writers to craft some of them in the The Bane Chronicles. If you could explore any part of Magnus’ past, whether you created it, or you’re pulling it out of the books — what would it be?

I just saw something that was really interesting. It was a piece of fan art that came out that – first of all some of these [fans] are incredible, incredible artists. The things they conjure up whether it’s from their minds or the books or from the show, wow – B there was one thing that would be so fun. It was a picture of him in the 80s with Freddie Mercury and Michael Jackson.

It’s his days exploring how he got into high society, how he was friends with these celebrities and influential people. That’s a fun part to explore outside of the world ending and defeating the evil doers — The fun he had. He had an interesting life and outlook, and he had to hide that he was a warlock. He’s an eccentric and unique being that fits in with all these artists that are eccentric themselves. I think that’s a really fun thing to explore and to navigate through that would be a really, really fun thing.

I can’t talk to anyone from the Shadowhunters cast without talking about the fans – what is the feeling of carrying this relationship of Alec and Magnus through to these fans. Especially, as the love for them grows.

The responsibility that I feel and making sure it’s as truthful as possible. We always want to make sure that we’re not falling into cushions. We want to service them as strong characters who are figuring things out. Whether it’s a first time — not even just the first time of having a relationship, not just for Alec — but being with someone who is the polar opposite. Also, [they exist] in a complicated world on both sides. That’s to me the unique part.

But then treating them also like any normal relationship and figuring out how they are going to get through this together. How they are going to deal with certain things that arise that they disagree with? And hopefully they’ll overcome that. That to me is what we always strive for with what the writers come up with. I feel like that’s our job. And the writers have been bringing some really interesting situations for the two characters to play out and that’s great.

Describe 2B in one word.

Tornado.

Source: hypable.com

Harry Shum Jr. reveals how he prepared to play Valentine on ‘Shadowhunters’ and asks fans to take a deeper look at the mental health storyline in Season 2, Episode 12, “You Are Not Your Own.”

On this week’s episode of Freeform’s Shadowhunters, “You Are Not Your Own,” actor Harry Shum Jr., who (almost always) portrays the role of Magnus Bane, took on the unique challenge of playing Valentine Morganstern. The catch? Shum had to play a vulnerable, complex version of Valentine we’ve never seen before, and he also had to act against Alan Van Sprang as he played Shum’s character, Magnus Bane. So, Harry Shum Jr. was playing Valentine, who was pretending to be Magnus, talking to the real Magnus, who was now trapped in Valentine’s body. Are you still with us?

We caught up with Harry Shum Jr. to ask about taking on the role of Valentine and to learn more about what it was like to film scenes where he had to exchange dialogue with his own character in someone else’s body. Shum also spoke on the deeper meaning woven into the themes of the episode and what he hopes Shadowhunters fans will take away from the story in Season 2, Episode 12.

What first went through your mind when you found out Shadowhunters was going to do a body-switch with Magnus and Valentine?

Harry Shum Jr.: I would say that I was a little afraid that I wouldn’t pull it off because he’s such a complicated character, but at the same time, I was up for the challenge. How often do you get offered to play someone else on the show that you’re working on?

How did you prepare to play someone who is such a contrast to Magnus?

Shum: Over the seasons, we got to know what Valentine’s intentions were, or his goals, or his motivations, and kind of his way of manipulating people into doing what he wants. So that was kind of laid out already throughout the season. For me now, it’s the characteristics and little movements. His body posture, the way he smiles, the way he looks at you, and all of those little things that I had to study and watch on some of his tapes, and even the way he would approach talking to someone he’s trying to manipulate.

I didn’t really want to do an impersonation. I really wanted to draw those things that he’s been put in the situation he’s never been in before. Being in a warlock body, which is his worst nightmare, and being able to try and really pull it off, where he’s trying to get out of that body, but also trying to convince people that he is this warlock that he doesn’t really know too much about. So it’s that top layer of being Valentine, but also trying not to be Valentine.

Did you and Alan spend time together to teach each other any mannerisms or characteristics?

Shum: We didn’t. We kind of had one conversation about it with the director. We sat down over coffee and discussed mainly the things that we wanted to avoid, the typical things that you get when there’s body-switching happening. We really wanted to avoid those tropes of this trap of pretending to be each other, or being each other as an impersonation.

So that was really the biggest part, and I trusted him and he trusted me to really take care of these characters that we’ve nurtured over the years, and bring something of ours on top of it, which was really fun when we got to see it live at first and see each other do it. I would say the first couple times, I would laugh because he would do such a great job, and he would blow me away by his physicality and the way he would deliver a line. It would make me laugh because it was so good.

What was the most difficult part of portraying Valentine?

Shum: It’s keeping it up, because it’s not just maintaining a voice pattern of “This is the way Valentine talks.” You’re adding this layer of maybe, “This is the way Valentine talks when he’s talking to someone he knows like Azazel,” but to everyone else, he doesn’t. And what’s fun is that every time he’s in a scene, he doesn’t know how Magnus fully functions.

He’s gauging the other person’s reaction like “Oh, do they believe me? Are they believing me? Oh, I have to switch this up. Maybe my tone has to go a little softer. I’m being a little too harsh in the way I act.” So I think constantly, every second, he’s trying to figure out how to play this character, this guy that he hates, but also he has to convince people that he’s him.

We’ve seen the photo of you with Alan together in the Institute prison staring through the glass at one another. What was it like to act in scenes against someone else as Magnus?

Shum: It was great. Honestly? It just flowed, and I think that’s what I really enjoyed the most. Seeing him in such a vulnerable state, it hurt to watch. You’re seeing the emotions come up, but the image of yourself in this, and it really flips your head around, but with Alan, he’s just such an incredible actor. His range is so far and wide, and I can’t say enough nice things about what he’s able to do with the character. I was really impressed by his interpretation of Magnus.

How are we going to see the trauma from Magnus’ time in prison affect him, as well as affect his relationship with Alec in future episodes?

Shum: First, it really reiterates his feelings toward the Clave and how torture is even something that is still done. And second, that torture does have a lasting effect of resurfacing these memories and feelings that Magnus has been trying to put away for hundred of years, and is just recently, I would say, slowly getting over.

He just got over something else that was an effect of what he’s experiencing right now, so it will definitely affect him, his outlook on life, and also his relationships with everyone, including Alec. So he will definitely have to fight to get back to the state that he was in before that.

How do you think fans are going to react to the episode?

Shum: I don’t know, but I would hope that they are open to it because I think it does help the story move forward, and not just to move the story forward, but it brings up interesting things about someone’s mental health when someone’s body is being invaded. It’s so invasive, the swapping of the bodies. I think in some ways it can be interpreted differently, but I think the trauma that happens out of that… You have to have help, and you have to find help, and you also have to talk about it.

So I hope that fans look at this outside of — obviously it’s in a fantasy world, where things are possible in that world — but I think it also speaks upon people’s relationships with how they deal with this after it happens. I hope that the fans are really looking at it deeper than just kind of a “swapping bodies,” because that’s the fun part of watching the episode, but I think it goes a lot deeper than that.

Hopefully this never happens again, but if another Greater Demon comes along on Shadowhunters in the future and Magnus were to body switch with someone else, which other character would you want it to be with?

Shum: [Laughs] Ummm, wow. You know what would be really really fun? I think Luke. I think the fact that no one in the Downworld, or really in the Shadow World, gets to turn into something else, you know? And I think having that feeling of your bones cracking and turning into a werewolf… I don’t know if it’s enjoyable, but I think that would be kind of a cool experience. So I think for fun, it would be kind of fun to switch into a werewolf.

Source: hiddenremote.com

Harry Shum Jr. was never considered for the role of Valentine on Shadowhunters, but Monday’s episode (Freeform, 8/7c) does make for a pretty solid audition tape.

Following last week‘s 11th-hour switcheroo, Magnus and Valentine are now inhabiting each other’s bodies, creating a multi-layer challenge for the characters — as well as the actors.

“He’s a hard one to crack,” Shum tells TVLine of Valentine’s portrayer Alan Van Sprang. “He has a lot of nuances, all these little movements and smiles. I just tried to capture that without being too blatant or hokey about it, since [Valentine] is trying to hide those characteristics, trying to fool people as much as he can.”

Of course, there’s one thing Azazel didn’t consider when putting Valentine in Magnus’ body: “Valentine doesn’t really know Magnus that well, other than him being a ‘filthy warlock,’ as he says,” explains Shum. “He knows he’s a little flamboyant, but he doesn’t know much about his personal life,” including that Alec is his boyfriend. As Shum points out, it’s much harder to fool “someone he’s been intimate with.”

Despite being kept apart for most of the hour — “Valentine” remains in Shadowhunter custody, while “Magnus” roams freely about the city — the two do share a scene together, which Shum calls “really fun” for a number of reasons.

“I’ve never really gotten to act with [Van Sprang] before, so to do it this way for the first time — playing each other — made it even more interesting,” Shum says. “He’s such a great actor, and it was so cool to see what he did with it, seeing how he lifted those little hand movements and other things I’ve contributed to the character.”

And although it’ll probably end up on the cutting room floor, Shum is really hoping that his ad-libbed line at least makes it to the Season 2 blooper reel: “We looked at each other in this very serious moment, and I told him, ‘Magnus, you’ve never looked better.’”

Source: tvline.com

If there’s one person’s head we would never want to get inside of, it’s probably Valentine Morgenstern (Alan Van Sprang), but that’s exactly what Harry Shum Jr. had to do for this week’s episode of Shadowhunters.

Thanks to an unfortunate run-in with a higher demon, Magnus (Harry Shum Jr.) has found himself trapped in Valentine’s body, and thus imprisoned in the Institute, while Valentine takes his warlock body for a joy ride. TVGuide.com spoke to Shum Jr. about what it was like to play such a twisted character as well as the old memories that this torturous situation (seriously — torturous) will bring to the surface for Magnus.

How did you even start getting into the headspace to play Valentine playing Magnus?
Harry Shum Jr.: Luckily, we’ve had a season and a half to really, for me, find out who Valentine really is and what his motivation really is and to see him interact with different characters. I think tapes are the first thing you can kind of look at. After putting that layer on, it’s really figuring out what situation he’s being put in, in this particular episode.

Outside of getting the mannerisms and kind of becoming him and how he’s very manipulative… He is trying to figure out how Magnus actually acts. He’s this thing [Valentine] actually hates and despises, but also he has to somewhat find his essence as well trying to throw people off, so he can move on to his next agenda, which is to get out of it.

To be real though, Magnus got the worse end of that stick, didn’t he?
Shum Jr.: For sure. We can talk about Valentine – his worst nightmare is being in a warlock’s body, but I think Magnus’ worst nightmare is being locked up in a prison and nobody believes – especially the love of his life – believes that he is him. I think it’s his worst nightmare. And with that, what they do to him, that puts an extra layer on top of his worst nightmare, which definitely affects him over time.

Outside of the torture and people not believing him and bringing up old, traumatic memories, someone is going to be so fragile after that. Sometimes having a traumatic experience like that, almost no one can help. The only friend that you have is time, and the thing that you can get it giving you time and space or the understanding that this is going to be a long process to get back to his old self. That’s the sad part of it all. Magnus isn’t even thinking about revenge at that point, he’s just trying to get himself level-headed and back into a mental state that’s somewhat healthy.

Will we get to see more of Magnus’ past this season?
Shum Jr.: Yeah, I think the writers are really trying to explore that. That is their goal because why wouldn’t you? You have this character that is so rich in history, and a lot of his past is something that will affect the future. When you bring that up, he has to navigate it in a different way. For the writers, I think that’s really fun as well as for me as an actor. I hope that the audiences really enjoy that ride as well because he is a character that has gone through a lot, and for people to see how he approaches it and how he handles it, I think is going to be a very interesting ride.

Do you think Magnus will pull away from the Institute (and Alec) after going through this ordeal?
Shum Jr.: What I’ve always known of Magnus is that he’s very strong. He’s a strong character. I don’t think anything or anybody can hold him down. It can stop him for the time being, temporarily.

Obviously he wants to lean on Alec (Matthew Daddario), but also Alec has a lot on his plate outside of trying to help Magnus. He still has to be able to deal with getting Valentine and getting the Mortal Cup and all that, especially dealing with his family as well. So there’s a lot for him to deal with outside of just Magnus. Magnus is a big part of his world, but he’s not the only thing that kind of keeps him going because he still has his whole other life that he has to pay attention to. It’s going to be a difficult situation, and I hope they make it out of it, but they won’t be unscathed unfortunately.

If you could chose two other characters to get the body swap treatment who would they be? Which actors would you want to see do what you and Alan Van Sprang got to do?
Shum Jr.: I honestly think, to play around, the two Parabatais [Jace and Alec] would be hilarious. They, themselves, would be so fun to watch. They’ve been put in situations where they have to go against each other even though they know that they love each other and they’re brothers in that sense… I think them switching bodies would be really interesting to watch. And I’m sure [Dominic Sherwood] and [Matthew Daddario] would pull some pranks along the way as well.

Can you tease anything about Sarah Hyland’s guest star role this season?
Shum Jr.: She will be the new Magnus. She will be taking over my duties as Magnus, and I will just be on the sidelines telling her exactly what to do — no I’m just kidding. I can’t really tell you what it is, but Sarah is an awesome actress, and it’s so good to have her energy on our show. I think people will be impressed with what she’s going to bring to the table.

Source: tvguide.com