Meet 'Grimm's' New Royal: Star Nico Evers-Swindell Talks Prince Kenneth

If at first you don’t succeed, try and try again.

Apparently, Grimm’s king believes in this age-old adage to achieve his happy ending — tracking down Nick’s mom, securing the baby princess, and raising little Diana in the royal fashion that he believes is her birthright. Prince Eric (James Frain) failed and wound up dead, and Prince Viktor (Alexis Denisof) didn’t provide results fast enough, so he was recalled to the home castle in the last episode.

Enter Prince Kenneth, a hands-on type who promises to get results, throws a mean punch (even at a “woged,” decay-faced Capt. McChesty), and dashes Adalind’s plans to blame her new pregnancy on his successor by burying the lead that he’s sterile under false congratulations and a charming smirk.

As Kenneth is scheduled to stick around Portland at least through the May finale and seems likely to become a royal pain in the butt for Nick and his Scooby gang, Yahoo TV tracked down Nico Evers-Swindell, the blond-haired, blue-eyed Kiwi who portrays the pugnacious prince, to learn more about the show’s new big bad.

How was the role described to you when you auditioned?
As a ruthless prince who was sent to town to fix some problems for the royal family. He has been tasked with getting little Diana back to the king. But I don’t think he describes himself as ruthless. That would be weird. I think he thinks of himself as pragmatic and loyal to the family.

Is he evil or just doing his job?
I think it is impossible to play evil, because I don’t think anyone ever believes they are evil. I think he is pragmatic, determined, willing to risk relationships to get what he wants, and ambitious. Others probably think you are evil like the heroes, but to you, you are just getting the job done. In Kenneth’s mind, the royal family has a claim to the child, a legitimate bloodline claim. He’s been given the go-ahead from the king, so he is acting on orders he feels are legitimate. This is not a rogue maniacal mission in his mind. This is something the family deserves.

Related: ‘Grimm’ Star Bitsie Tulloch Says Don’t Hold Your Breath For a Nick-Juliette Wedding

He immediately gets to town, calls Adalind on her b.s., tortures and kills the double agent, and delivers a beat down to his relative Renard. Is he always such a brute?
His methods are not just physical. He is also a tactician. He is someone who is looking to play personalities against each other. Kenneth will do anything he can, at any cost, to serve the king, because it serves his own interests, ultimately. He will play all kinds of games to get what he wants. Kenneth is so extreme in his methods that the stakes get a little higher. When you get given a character that has such a degree of control and power over others, you can really, for want of a better term, chew the scenery up.

Did you know you’d have a fight scene in your introductory episode? Did you train?
I had no idea. Extra training would have been amazing, as I had never done hand-to-hand combat, just occasional stage combat kind of thing and a little swordplay. Luckily, the guys who do the stunts and the effects on the show are incredible. You couldn’t tell that I’m not that tough in real life. And I don’t I usually play the brute force. It was a trip, and fun.

Will we find out how Kenneth became so ruthless? Or can you tease any upcoming scenes you are excited about?
There’s a little more backstory. There are also definitely elements of the final episode I am very excited about.

Intriguing. Will he interact with the heroes other than Renard?
Kenneth will [enlist] a very unexpected ally to get what he needs. He will use whatever opportunities arise to benefit him in his mission. He will take advantage of and manipulate that situation to work in his favor.

This is not your first prince. You played the real-life heir to the British throne in the 2011 TV biopic William & Kate.
He was the polar opposite of Kenneth. Literally the only thing that is the same is the accent.

Which is not your real accent. Is the Brit accent easy for you?
I am from New Zealand originally. It is a quick adjust to get to a basic British accent. There are certain dialects that would require more training. We grew up watching the BBC and ITV. For the most part, I only watched British and American programs, save the occasional Australian soap after school. As a result, you start trying to mimic accents when you’re just messing around with your friends, and I got pretty good. That’s how I got my practice. Turned out to be very helpful, as once you get to the States to look for acting work, there aren’t many audition breakdowns that call for New Zealanders. We had Flight of the Conchords, but even they mostly interacted with New Yorkers.

Best thing about shooting on location in Portland?
Oh man, easy. The food. I haven’t stopped eating since I got here. I really recommend Tasty n Alder.

Favorite fairy-tale of all time?
Little Red Riding Hood. It was what came to my mind straight away, and I have to trust my instincts.

Favorite fictional prince?
Was Dread Pirate Roberts a prince? I think he becomes one by the end. I love that character so much. The Princess Bride is one of my favorite movies of all time. I very much enjoythe dastardly prince in Shrek. I like tired, jaded, funny princes. Also Hugh Laurie as the Prince George in Black Adder the Third is my favorite fictional royal of all time. He is genius in that role.

Photos: Check Out More Pics From This Season of ‘Grimm’

If you woke up tomorrow and found yourself a real royal with real power, what would be the first decree you’d make?
Where would I start? Wow. This is dangerously falling into political territory. It would be an absolute rule? I want to say something about doing away with materialistic needs, but then I sound like a Marxist. It is coming from more of a Buddhist sense. I’m not suggesting another communist revolution. I am just getting started in Hollywood. I don’t want to be put on the blacklist 2.0. It is more about doing away with needless consumerism.

You’ve moved into the phase of your career where your characters get real names, but your résumé is filled with roles that are just job titles. Which no-name character was the hardest to nail — Messenger (Guiding Light), State Trooper #2 (Edge of Darkness), #6 Duke Medical (The Secret Game), or Blond Russian #1 (NCIS: Los Angeles)?
Blond Russian #1 is misleading, because he was actually the guest lead on that NCIS episode. I was a double agent and the main bad guy, but they had a weird thing about giving me a name, because they didn’t want to kill someone with a name. The hardest one to pull off was Messenger, because it was my first TV role, I was nervous, and it was a soap, so they only give you one take. They shoot with a handheld camera, and they shoot so fast. I was just delivering a piece of paper, and they barely throw the camera on your face, so I had to work very hard to get in frame. But State Trooper #2 was the coolest, because I got to kill Ray Winstone. And it was actually going to be Robert De Niro before he fell out of the project. And that was my first ever film role. The director had liked my audition but didn’t have anything for me, so he said, “You could play a precinct cop, and I could give you a little something there.” And then he buried the lead and was like, “Or you could shoot Robert De Niro.” I was like, “Duh. I would like to shoot Robert De Niro, please. Where do I sign?” Then it turned into Ray, which is fine, because he is also one of the coolest tough-guy actors around.

Grimm airs Fridays at 8 p.m. on NBC.