The Strain – Q&A with Miguel Gomez

As we enter the second half of the season…where do you feel like Gus’s story is going?

Miguel: I think he wants redemption.  He wants revenge for what happened to his family, to his mom, his brother, and his best friend.  And whoever’s going to help him get that revenge, he’s going to ride with, he’s going to be down with.

[Gus] is more isolated than the others on the show… is there a point where we’ll see [him] meet up with some of those other main characters again? 

Miguel: Yes, it’s pretty lonely.  It’s like a lone wolf; you’re going through this whole thing by yourself.  But I think his intentions and his motivations are in line with the rest of the cast.  I think they all want the same thing.  So, yes, I think if they cross it would actually be really great for everybody because they all want the same thing.  They all want to defeat this sickness.

What do you think it is then about The Strain that really has made it such a fan favorite show so quickly?

Miguel: I think The Strain is not trying just to scare you.  There’s a political message, there’s a spiritual message that goes along with the show, I think.  And even deeper than that, it brings people from different walks of life together, because I think in order to defeat this thing you need people from different walks of life.  Nobody’s more important than anybody else.  The billionaire needs the guy from the street, and the guy from the street needs the scientist, and the scientist needs his son.

If you really look at what’s happening–it’s love.  Everybody needs to be together as one.  I think it’s very important.  It’s an incredible message for us as humanity.  We need to all be together.  Why does it take something like a sickness or an alien attack for us to realize that we’re just one?  We’re all one and we all need each other.  I think that’s what people connect to.  They realize that we need each other.  We’re all human beings, and ultimately what’s going to save us is love.

When you all did Comic-Con last year the show was fairly new, and now a year later it’s been out in the world…can you talk about the difference between those two experiences?

Miguel: Last year we were explaining what the show was about, and this year fans have come up to me and told me more things about my character than I knew.  They knew more about the character than me, and just them giving us a chance.  And certain fans have come up and said, “I really thank you for showing this character and showing him in a different light, and giving him some good things, and some good qualities,” which comes from the writing…from Chuck Hogan, and from Guillermo.  Those things I think, that was the plan from the beginning.