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Evolution’ Star Addresses Whether Voit Could Return After That Shocking Season 19 Finale
Editor’s note: The following contains major spoilers for Criminal Minds: Evolution
Summary
In his time on Criminal Minds: Evolution, Elias Voit (Zach Gilford) has evolved from a serial killer to the leader of a network of killers, to a broken man no longer considered a psychopath. Rather than just rotting away in the dark corner of a prison, Voit would rather use his newfound conscience to help the FBI’s Behavioral Analysis Unit (BAU), but how can you atone for your past when you don’t even know where to begin?
At the same time, the BAU is investigating a string of new cases that ultimately wind their way back to Voit. The attention focused on the Sicarius killer and a podcast dedicated to his misdeeds brings The Fan out of the shadows in an attempt to prove he is worthy of the God status he has labeled himself with. The two men eventually clash face-to-face and Voit is left to wonder whether his daughter might become more like him.
After watching the Season 19 finale, Collider got the opportunity to chat with Gilford about playing Elias Voit and whether he could still turn up on the series again in the future. During the 1-on-1 interview, he discussed what it was like to find the dynamic between Voit and James Crowley, aka The Fan, his experience directing Justin Kirk in their scenes together, Voit’s tunnel vision when it comes to saving his daughter, the fun of playing off of an imaginary David Rossi (Joe Mantegna), whether Voit really meant his apology to Penelope (Kirsten Vangsness), shooting the physical stunts in the finale, Voit’s concern that his daughter might take after her father, his favorite scene this season, and whether he might show up on the series again in the future.
Zach Gilford Enjoyed Finding the Voit and Crowley Dynamic With Justin Kirk in ‘Criminal Minds: Evolution’ Season 19
“I loved working with him. I couldn’t believe I got to direct him.”
COLLIDER: This season, we’ve seen Voit have trouble finding his footing with The Fan. For those moments when you guys were together, did you and Justin Kirk discuss how that dynamic would work, or did you just want to find it in the moment?
ZACH GILFORD: He was creepy. In real life, he’s the nicest, most normal guy. No, we didn’t discuss it much. The episode I directed was his introduction, when he basically came in. I’ve known him, as an actor, since I was a kid. I’ve been a fan of his. And then, when we did the table read, I was like, “Oh, my God, this guy has so much going on.” I’m very much like, “Let’s just show up on set and see what we find,” as opposed to beating it to death. We’re not making a play, so I want it to be alive. He knew his shit and he had a take on it. Selfishly, as an actor, I can do better if I don’t know what you’re going to do and I have to react to it. I definitely learned that doing Friday Night Lights because we did a lot of improv and stuff. You couldn’t just memorize your lines and know exactly how you wanted to say them because you didn’t know what the other people were going to say.
I like not to rehearse, but I tried that when I was directing on the show and people imploded. I was like, “Okay, nevermind. Let’s just rehearse it.” You get so much organic stuff when you don’t know what the other person is going to do. So, no, we didn’t talk about it a lot, especially because of the dynamic between these two people. I’ve never met him before. I don’t know who he is. So, I thought it was good to just come out and be like, “I have no idea what I’m walking into.” I loved working with him. I couldn’t believe I got to direct him. Directing him really just meant that I was like, “You sit at the table here and act however you want to act because it’s great.” There wasn’t a lot of discussion before it. He knew what he wanted to do, and I think he was spot on.
Voit makes the decision to escape in the finale. When he does that, do you think he cares at all about whether he lives or dies, or do you think he’s really just solely focused on what he believes he has to do and doesn’t think beyond that?
GILFORD: I think he’s just so tunnel vision with saving his daughter. I don’t think he really thinks about anything else. He’s said, over the course of the last couple of seasons, “Kill me. I don’t want to live anymore. This is terrible, living with this conscience.” I think he doesn’t really care if he dies, but I don’t think he’s thinking about that. I think he’s just so focused on, “I have to take care of my family. Whatever happens, happens. The repercussions will be what they will be. But this is what has to happen now.”
What has it been like for you to have imaginary Rossi there, especially for this season? Does that help gauge where Voit is at mentally when you have those conversations together, otherwise they would just be very quiet scenes?
GILFORD: Yeah, that’s a good point. It’s great. I know Joe [Mantegna] had a lot of fun doing that because he finally got to mess with me. Over the course of the season, different directors would push him in different directions for how much to play with it. It is a fun thing when you’re a voice in someone’s head. You’re not that person. You’re their manifestation of you. He is my antagonist, and he’s also my sounding board. It’s cool that we have been in each other’s heads because we’re the only people who rival each other intellectually. When you’re gaming things out in your head or strategizing, you need someone who’s as smart as you. It’s fun that these two characters, with me in jail and him out in the world, still find a way to have him be the only person who can challenge me enough to get to the conclusion I need to get to.
How do you feel about Voit apologizing to Penelope? How do you think he feels about her actually having gone to bat for him? Do you think he regrets any blowback she might get from all of that?
GILFORD: I think he means it. In Season 3, he is a new person or is tapped into the good part of himself. This whole season is him reckoning with not just what he’s done, but what he can do to make it better. Season 3 is coming to terms with, “I’ve hurt all these people. I’ve hurt all these families. And not only that, but now there’s the ripple effect of people worshiping me and wanting to replicate me. It’s even worse than I thought it was.” That’s another level of realization for him when it comes to how much damage he’s caused the world.
‘Criminal Minds: Evolution’ Star Zach Gilford Got Heavily Involved With the Physical Stunts in the Season 19 Finale
“There was a lot of rehearsal.”
Once Voit shows up and wants Crowley to bring him to his daughter, there’s a lot of fighting and physical work going on. What was that like to shoot? Did you have enough time to shoot all of that?
GILFORD: Yeah, we had enough time. This is where, to be honest, having had the chance to direct on the show actually helped a lot. They had us go for a stunt rehearsal, just to figure that out. And because of the way TV works, you’re always shooting. It’s so fast. Glenn [Kershaw], who was directing that episode, was directing scenes somewhere else and we were just there with the stunt people. They were like, “Here’s the fight.” And I was like, “Okay. Where’s the camera?” I kind of took over a little bit. I went back to set and they were like, “You should see our text chain from the PAs and ADs.” And I was like, “What?” Someone was like, “How’s it going in stunt rehearsal?” They were like, “It’s kind of chaos. Oh, it’s good now. Zach took over and is directing the scene.” I think that’s just because I knew, “Okay, I could just learn this fight, but we have to consider where the cameras are.”
Stunt people are great, but their job is to make it safe and make it look good. And that may be all well and good, but we can’t shoot that. So, there was a lot of rehearsal. Justin was so funny. He was like, “Whatever you want me to do, I’m here. Just tell me, and I’ll do it. I am a puppet. I will do my acting.” And I am such a control freak. I’m like, “No, the camera is going to be over there, and we need to figure this out.” It definitely was a big rehearsal, but it was fun and we figured it out. And then, when we finally shot it, it went pretty smoothly.
Voit tells his daughter that he loves her before he’s taken away. Do you think he would have wanted to sit down and have a conversation with her if he could have, or do you think it was better that he didn’t have that opportunity?
GILFORD: I think it’s better that he didn’t, honestly. I’m a father. My kids are young, but there are things where I’m like, “Man, I hope I never have to have that conversation with them” I hope they just know I love them and I did my best. With everything that he’s done, there’s no explanation. He can’t explain it away. And she knows what he’s done. I think what’s most important to him is just that she knows that he loves her, and he would do anything for her. In spite of everything bad he’s done, he would do anything for her and he needs her to know that.
’Criminal Minds: Evolution’s Voit Is Worried His Daughter Could Become a Monster Like Him
“If he just spawned another monster, it’s the worst thing that could have happened.”
There’s an interesting moment when she says she’s not sure how she feels about what happened and that she doesn’t want her mother to know what she did. She says that she’ll be fine, but there’s a small smile on her face. Do you think Voit is concerned about what his daughter did and what that could turn her into in the future?
GILFORD: Yeah. I think something that’s been lingering in the back of his head for years is, “I hope this isn’t something I pass onto my children.” Seeing her do things, even though when she kills The Fan, it’s in self-defense, there is this moment of, “Was she only able to do that because she has this thing that I gave her, or would anyone have done that?” He sees himself as a monster, and he always saw his children as his salvation. Not as his way to right wrongs, but to be different. And if he just spawned another monster, it’s the worst thing that could have happened.
Did you have a favorite scene or moment this season?
GILFORD: It was definitely the scene with Justin when we were at the table talking because it was like a play. It’s just two people talking and mentally sparring, and he brought so much to it. We basically got that scene in three takes. That was really fun. It was a seven-page scene or something, so you got to get lost in it and just be there. That was really fun. Besides that, I just loved any time Allison [Nordahl] was on set because I’ve seen her grow up over four years. She went from being 13 to 17, or whatever ages she was. She’s grown up so much and she’s going off to college. It was fun to have her around and just talk to her and see how different of a person she is.
Have Viewers Seen the Last of Elias Voit on ‘Criminal Minds: Evolution’?
“I do know I’m not coming back in Season 20.”
Have we seen the last of Voit? Will he really not darken the door of the B.A.U. ever again, or might we see him if his daughter decides she likes killing?
GILFORD: I don’t know. Obviously, they didn’t kill me. I do know I’m not coming back in Season 20. But you never know. I hope to be back. I hope the end of his story isn’t just that he’s in a cell somewhere and gone. You never know. But as of now, no one’s talked to me about it. I think they very purposefully did not kill me so that, at some point, if need be, if it makes sense for story, I could show back up.
Criminal Minds: Evolution is available to stream on Paramount+.
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