TVD Chicago – Daniel Gillies Panel

An Evening with Elijah at TVD Chicago

The Originals sexy Daniel Gillies (Elijah) attended Creation Entertainment’s annual TVD fan convention in Chicago, Illinois (April;. 17 – 19). Cast members appear in Q&A panels for the fans, sign autographs and take photos with fans. Stars appearing this year include Ian Somerhalder, Paul Wesley. Michael Trevino, Zach Roerig, Michael Malarkey, Chris Wood, Daniel Gillies, Matt Davis, Sebastian Roche, Chris Brochu and David Alpay with Chase R. Coleman,and Micah Parker serving as hosts for the weekend. Daniel was the last panel appearance Sunday evening. Below are some quotes from his panel as well as photos shared by fans.

• Daniel likes playing Elijah because he is a mix of violence and softness and serious and funny.
• He liked “One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest” as an adaptation, but generally doesn’t care for them.
• Last time Daniel was on stage was 2001.He played Oscar Wilde’s gay lover and was naked on stage. He’d like to go back, but is intimidated by it
• Daniel calling himself Joseph’s boss is an ongoing joke between him and Joseph.
• He didn’t expect the spinoff, but sensed Elijah would last longer than originally planned “Elijah wasn’t supposed to survive. He was a henchman. He was only supposed to be about 4/5 episodes.”
• Daniel shares that during his wedding, the officiant kept calling him David.
• He won’t say who messes up their lines the most, but does admit Meg Foster did have trouble. He thinks they overburdened her with exposition.
• Daniel jokes that Joseph has little, little fingers and it was his hand (not Hope’s) pricked during the season one finale.
• Daniel says “On set every performance I do is the most humiliating thing ever.”
• He says we reward fame and hence diseases like the Kardashians.He gets embarrassed by his fame and reveals it does intrude on his private life. He is bummed that people only want pic/autograph and not talk.
• Daniel reveals he was so exhausted by doing “Saving Hope,” like how character died. He hopes Elijah goes out grand if he must.
• A fan asks about Hailey and Elijah “relationship” Daniel says Elijah still has hope for them. He says he can taste Paul’s kisses on Phoebe and they are soft too.
• A fan asks Rachael appearing on The Originals one day. Daniel says “Because Torrey was on The Vampire Diaries. And now Phoebe. All of Paul’s girlfriends. Me. He’s a great kisser.”
• He reveals he tried out for Boardwalk Empire, but didn’t get it and is still bummed by that.
• He’d like to see David Lynch or John Cassavettes talk.
• Daniel says he had more time to himself on TVD than on The Originals.
• He explains Elijah has an American accent with English cadence. He’s does 15 different accents. Says it’s difficult. A fan then asks if Daniel can say “Katrina” in his Elijah voice.
• Daniel says “Elijah” shoes are pristine and amazing
• He reveals ‘Saving Hope’ was actually harder for him using his own voice and since Elijah has his own voice, he can slip into character easier
• He doesn’t have a preference for present or past, but says the wigs in flashbacks are tricky.
• Daniel thinks Elijah is an idiot for sticking around for Klaus. Says he sometimes he loses respect for Elijah for that.
• He knows many were upset Elijah didn’t visit Katherine on her death bed or cry over Kol. He thinks it was budget/time issue.for Katherine and as for Kol, the only real interaction was as an advisory and Daniel refused to have Elijah mourn him.
• Daniel says his favorite thing about Chicago is the people. He says Chicago is amazing.
• He confesses he misses produce from New Zealand and how outdoorsy they are there.
• He legit took on the role of Elijah because he was heavily indebted - would have otherwise had to declare bankruptcy
• Daniel says Joseph loves to tease that he’s 1 on the call sheet and he is 2.
• Once he did $600 damage to Joseph’s car when trying to prank him. “[Joseph Morgan] put his head-shot on my parking sign. One day I decided to block him in and I hit his car.”
• Says he has lot of respect for Lena Dunham and ‘Girls.’ He loves ‘Game of Thrones,’ but thinks acting is spotty. Maybe like to guest star on ‘House of Cards.’
• Daniel says “I’m embarrassed. I think I’m a dork.”
• He does what stunts he’s allowed to, but reveals wire work is always done by the stunt crew.
• He’ll go deep in debt again to make another film - it’s that important to him.
• Daniel: “I like that my show pleases people, but I feel like I could do something more. Like with my kids…. I love being able to say that! I’ve only been able to say kids plural for 14 days.”
• Daniel: “I like doing scenes with Joseph And [Phoebe]. I can also taste Paul’s kisses on her kisses. I’m still thinking about Paul kissing me. It’s so tender. I don’t want to cry in front of you all.”
• Daniel: “Every time the knife would go flying, I would pretend it was landing in different parts of my genitalia.”

RELATED | TVD Chicago – Ian Somerhalder & Paul Wesley Panel

Special thanks to @gilded_lady @tvdfancentral and @DblOSevenDancer for the amazing photos and all the live tweeting!