Corin Nemec is one of the Oz Comic Con guests who, when I told friends I would be interviewing him, there were some swoons to follow. The American actor, known to many as Jonas Quinn on Stargate: SG-1 and also as the Winchester brothers’ cousin Christian on Supernatural, Nemec has been a favourite of the Australian convention scene over the past few years.
“This is my third time in Adelaide so I kind of know the city a little bit.” Nemec admits, as we sit down to chat at the Hilton. “I have some friends who live here, so it’s been nice to catch up on a local level as well as doing the touristy thing around town. Oz Comic Con, since they started, I think has been a really great addition to the convention circuit here in Australia. I think that they’ve taken the brand of Comic Con and really lived up to the expectations of what you would think a Comic Con would be about when you’re going to it. Their events are very well managed; I never hear any complaints from the guests that I’ve spent time with, there’s just nothing but praise. I think that the public will really get a kick out of Comic Con, no matter what you’re into. Some people don’t realise what it’s all about and there’s just so much for everybody; no matter if you’re into comics or sci-fi, there’s collectibles and there’s gaming…there is just so much ‘eye candy’, as I like to call it, to check out. Plus, the cosplays are awesome.”
To look at Nemec now, you wouldn’t think that it was only a year ago that he was in a horrific accident which almost cost him more than an acting role. Having lost an extreme amount of blood as a result of a boat crash last year, Nemec is lucky to still be alive, let alone walking without much pain or assistance. Understandably, the actor has spent much of that year into 2014 in recovery and rehabilitation for the injury (he shattered a leg), but is optimistic about how he’s been healing.
“The recovery process is okay at this point,” he admits. “It could be going faster, but I can walk around now, which I much prefer. I still have quite a bit of physical therapy left to do though.”
Taking this recovery process into consideration, Nemec’s obviously had to limit the amount of roles and work taken on. On current projects and things he’s been involved with since the accident though, Nemec is enthusiastic about what he’s got coming up.
“I’ve been basically out of work for the majority of last year, although I did do a small part on Star Trek: Renegades, which is a fan-financed Star Trek film for television. That was a good experience; they had to change the role for me, because I was still on a cane at the time and I couldn’t do a whole lot. I don’t do much in it! Other than that, I do have a couple of projects that are still in post-production that should be coming out later in the year and some stuff that I’m working on on my own. I have a production company that I am a partner in in Los Angeles and we’re doing stuff that’s…it’s not really ‘reality shows’ so much as it’s exposes on hip, urban things that are going on, whether they’re food trucks or the street art scene or urban sports. Different things that are urban-centric.”
Having just hit up Perth for their edition of Oz Comic Con, Nemec reflects on his return to Western Australia fondly and notes the different environments these pop culture expos can often offer up.
“The highlight for me was that it was just a bit bigger and busier than I initially expected, so it was great. I found myself a bit busier than I thought I was going to be throughout the day, which is a really good sign for me. All the panels that we did over the weekend went really well. Sometimes you’ll do a panel and you’ve kind of got to ask people to ask questions, you know? Other times, people are just on a roll and one question makes somebody else think of a question and the faster that goes, the more energy the whole panel will get and they’ll fly right by. Sometimes they feel like they don’t want to ask a dumb question, but I’m here to say, ‘There are no dumb questions!'”
Clocking a successful career in television since the late 80s, Nemec’s been one of the lucky actors who has been able to move successfully between quite large and successful mainstream franchises. From Stargate: SG-1, to roles on NCIS, Smallville and the aforementioned Supernatural, Nemec’s familiarity to fans extends beyond the realms of sci-fi. On his career so far, Nemec ties what he’s been able to achieve on TV to his role and appearances at conventions such as Oz Comic Con.
“It’s been fun to have been able to be on a bunch of different shows. Granted, I would much prefer a series regular part on one of these shows! It’s definitely an easier hustle, but it’s nice to have been able to be on numerous different franchises that have been successful. I’m just trying to point myself in that direction and continue to do types of shows that are friendly to the convention scene, because I really like making the conventions a part of my career. It’s a lot of fun. I love the travel and I love being able to meet people face to face. I love the Q&A stuff, I love all of that. I really enjoy it.”
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