‘The Magicians’ exclusive: Arjun Gupta on playing Penny, exploring vulnerability, podcasting, and more

Are you enjoying the journey so far on Syfy’s “The Magicians”? We’ve found the show to be magnetic and interesting through three episodes, and we say that as someone not even familiar with the Lev Grossman source material. Book readers may be having reactions on a whole different level.

So following our interview with Stella Maeve prior to the series premiere, we had a chance to chat this week with the man responsible for Penny in Arjun Gupta. The Brakebills student is a complicated, dark, and certainly confrontational character, but as Gupta says, that is part of the fun playing him. In this discussion we touch on how he approaches Penny, the dynamics between Penny and Kady, his podcasting journey, and a few other assorted topics. Enjoy, with of course a warning that there are spoilers ahead from the first three episodes of the show.

CarterMatt – I think every actor has a very different way of approaching material, especially with it being something like this where it is already out there for people to digest. Did you want to wait to find out things about your character, or did you want to sort of dive into the books right away?

Arjun Gupta – I didn’t know about these books when I auditioned for them; I just missed that they were in the world. I auditioned and I was really excited about the risk that the script was taking. And with Penny, I really liked the role. Penny is such a dark character, and that was a stretch for me in a really different way.

I knew I didn’t want to read the books and get attached and mess [with] myself before the auditions, but I after I got the part I read all three books probably within one week. I really loved those books; they’re stunning pieces of literature. I wanted to know as much about Penny as I could; I wanted to have enough information so I could craft the best arc of the character throughout the whole season. [Following that] also [then] talking to [executive producers] Sera [Gamble] and John [McNamara] and seeing if we were all on the same page of where this character is coming from, his backstory and what he is interested in [with the show]. I just tried to marry those.

I have to imagine that this guy is pretty funny to play. He’s a very intimidating, and he’s not that prototypical good guy who’s going to do everything the right way. How has that been for you playing him?

It’s been a blast. I love everyday getting to go to work and step into this world and this role. You nailed it; he’s an incredibly-layered, very complex dude. One of the best things to play is just how unapologetic he is. Most of us are quite apologetic for how we make people feel, but Penny is completely unapologetic. He’s constantly testing people. There’s a trap with this sort of character where you can make it come out like he’d just a d**k, but I wanted it to come from a true place of pain and rooted place of truth. A lot of really angry people are just [experiencing] pain and [are] broken inside. I really wanted to honor that in so many ways.

I want to get through the journey of this past episode, because I haven’t read the books and it was fun sort of seeing Penny go from being a psychic, and getting a particularly fun scene figuring that out, to learning then that he also has this traveling ability?

I remember, I was a little bit confused. We had gotten the first three episodes together. That’s what they sent to us. I had the same reaction that Penny was happening: ‘What, I’m just a psychic? That doesn’t seem right.’ (Laughs.) Then when I got to the end of the episode when he traveled, I was like ‘whoa, this is crazy’ because it opens up so many doors of where he can go.

What I love that John and Sera did, and it’s a fun thing to do, is also just [show] how reluctant he is. The way I crafted him, and John and Sera have supported me in this, is that he comes to Brakebills to fix the fact that he can hear voices; he doesn’t want to hear them. He’s not going to magic school because he’s excited like Quentin; he’s trying to fix something. He’s trying to get something figured out, and he winds up in a deeper [place] and it’s more complex. Then he’s just like ‘oh, f**k’ (laughs). He’s just like ‘great, more.’

As someone who’s done a lot of work on more grounded shows like ‘How to Get Away with Murder,’ were there any changes that you had to make on this show to react to things that were not always there?

We are fortunate that a lot of things that we do are practical. We’re setting things on fire all the time, and there’s very little green screen. Actually, the third episodes was one of the few times that we’ve been doing green screen, and that’s because I was in China and sadly they couldn’t fly me to China for that one shot. That was one of the few times that I had to use that, and it’s really helpful as an actor [to be in the scene] because you’re right, it is helpful to see what you’re reacting to.

For me, the type of actor and artist I am, it’s all about conveying truth. What’s beautiful about the books and the show is that we’re telling a story about these characters and magic becomes almost the background for it. And so, for Penny it’s always going to be about honoring the person in this moment, [even] if this moment has extraordinary or supernatural circumstances. There’s still the truth of being lost or hating someone or offending someone and honoring that. That’s really where my prep work lives.

Let’s talk about Penny and Kady. What do you think his feelings are right now towards her?

Penny’s someone, the way I describe him, he’s like this American gypsy guy who has been on his own for a long time, and I think that he would drop down in the middle of the city and he wouldn’t know where he was going to stay that night. But, he’d find a woman’s house, or a man’s, who knows, and just be at that house. I don’t think he’s had intimate relationships at all in his life. He got kicked out of the house very early and lost that sense of safety from [his] parents, who are supposed to be the people you learn [from] and who you model intimacy and safety [from].

I think with Kady at this time, he’s confronting for the first time ‘do I have feelings for this person, she challenges me, she doesn’t get that intimidated by me,’ which is exciting for him. Then again at the same time being vulnerable is probably the most terrifying thing for Penny. He’s still testing ‘whether I can trust these people or not.’ It’s going to be fun for you guys to see where it goes because it goes in wild places.

So that’s where I wanted to go next. Do you think over the rest of this season we’re going to see Penny start to break down some of his walls and barriers?

100%. It’s quite the roller-coaster. Let’s just put it that way. You’re going to see a lot of Penny.

The confrontation between Quentin and Penny was one of the bigger action-oriented moments of the show. Is that something you’re looking forward to doing more of?

(Laughs.) That’s only the beginning. It’s fun where John and Sera are taking us. That’s the tip of the iceberg. There’s a lot of crazy situations that we get thrown into, and like I said we get to do a lot of practical stuff. They try to use stunt people as little as possible. I think that’s a good little tease.

Like I said I haven’t read the books and I don’t know what happens with Penny, but there’s a fun parallel almost to how you describe the character going to place to place and then an actor going from project to project. He may be getting some roots at Brakebills, so are you hoping to have some roots here with ‘The Magicians’ and stick around for a long time?

I could not be more grateful for the experience. I [get] to work with a wonderful crew in Vancouver. I’ve never worked with a crew other than the crew on ‘Nurse Jackie’ where I felt like they were such a part of the experience and were our collaborators. That was such a blessing. That kind of environment is really precious and not the norm, so that’s something that’s very appealing.

But the beautiful thing about being an actor and the life that I’ve chosen is that I get to work on so many different projects while I’m working there and when I’m in the offseason. We only film for six months. I have a theater company (Ammunition Theatre) that I love doing work with, and I have a podcast that I do. I’d love to do more film. I kind of get to have my cake and eat it too a little bit.

Let’s talk a little about the podcast, since I’m a little bit of a podcast guy myself and listen to a lot. What can people who may not be that familiar about it expect to hear?

It’s a really fun podcast. My comedian friend Akaash Singh, one of my closest friends who’s like a brother to me, we started this show because we wanted to do something in radio and we have such a good time together. We started this podcast a few years ago in our mid-to-late twenties and we were talking about just things that people talk about at that time: Identity, who you are, who you are becoming. What kind of adults we want to be. A lot of that was tied to who we are, being first-generation immigrants from one culture while living in another culture; how those inform each other, how those fight with each other. We wanted to do a podcast called American Desis where we wanted to explore what it meant being South Asian today, and we wanted to just talk to people in a really casual environment, and explore universal themes of shame, rejection, and vulnerability, and exploring how to be the best versions of ourselves in the world.

So we get to interview amazing people once a week, and share their stories; really, we’re trying to paint the tapestry of an experience that hasn’t been highlighted yet in America.

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Thanks to Arjun for his time and candor, and of course you can check out “The Magicians” Monday nights on Syfy (or Showcase in Canada).