This interview with Forever Knight star Geraint Wyn Davies was conducted back in September 1995 when the show was early in its third season.
Forever Knight (1992–1996) was a Canadian-produced supernatural crime drama that blended police procedural storytelling with gothic romance. The series followed Nick Knight, an 800-year-old vampire working as a homicide detective in modern-day Toronto, attempting to atone for centuries of bloodshed by serving justice and searching for a cure for his condition. Played by Geraint Wyn Davies, Nick was aided by medical examiner Natalie Lambert (Catherine Disher), who sought a scientific explanation for vampirism, and shadowed by his charismatic, dangerous vampire mentor LaCroix (Nigel Bennett). The show’s moody cinematography, moral introspection, and romantic melancholy set it apart from flashier vampire fare of the era.
The series evolved from a 1989 CBS television movie titled Nick Knight, starring Rick Springfield in the lead role. That film introduced the core concept: a vampire detective struggling with guilt while solving crimes at night. Though CBS did not pick up the series at the time, the premise had strong appeal, and it was later retooled and revived in Canada as Forever Knight, with recast roles and a more somber tone. The show became a cult favorite and is often cited as an important bridge between the tortured, romantic vampires of Anne Rice adaptations and later television antiheroes like Angel in Buffy the Vampire Slayer and its spin-off series.
The nutshell plot line for Forever Knight may sound out there, even campy: Nick Knight (Geraint Wyn Davies), a 13th-century vampire, struggles to regain his mortality, all the while working as a Canadian homicide detective. Somehow, though, the show works.
Knight began sinking its teeth into its third season in September, and now it’s more popular than ever, airing in both first-run syndication and on Monday nights on the USA cable network.
“I never imagined the show could work before I started, and I didn’t believe it was working until halfway into our first season,” says the cheerful, Welsh-born Davies, 38, by telephone from the Knight set in Toronto, where the show is filmed and where he lives with his wife and two children.
“But I should’ve known better, because it’s actually a pretty cool idea. (Creator/Executive Producer) Jim Parriott combined so many different elements. We’re a neoclassic, pop, sci-fi, adventure, fantasy, love story with a vampire twist,” Davies says.
Davies, a stage-trained actor who played a vampire in the syndicated Dracula: The Series and was a regular on CBS’ Airwolf, credits the show’s appeal not just to the basic concept but to other ingredients in the Knight stew.
“Nick is the classic disenfranchised guy who is looking to belong. People relate to that. He’s also an addict, which means he’s constantly fighting something within himself,” Davies says. “People also like the wonderful folklore of vampirism. And the fact that Nick has such good characters to play against helps, too.”
Fans of what might be called “Nick at night” have seen major changes this season. John Kapelos, who played Nick’s partner, and Natsuko Ohama, who played Capt. Cohen, are gone. Newcomers include Lisa Ryder as Tracy, Nick’s 25-year-old new partner; Blu Mankuma as Capt. Reese and Ben Bass as Vachon, a young vampire with whom Tracy associates. Catherine Disher remains on the “Knight” shift as Natalie, the only mortal aware of Nick’s secret, and Nigel Bennett is back as Lacroix, the vampire who gave Nick his immortality and wants him back in the fold.
“John and the others were such a part of the family that it was difficult to let that go,” Davies says. “I miss them, but Lisa, Blu and Ben are now part of the family. The first few shows this season were a learning experience where the writers, crew and actors figured out where they fit in. Now, we’ve found what works, and we’re all quite comfortable.”
Upcoming Knight plots focus on a serial killer, an exorcism and Nick’s bout with amnesia. Over the course of the season, the Nick-Tracy relationship will be more clearly defined. “We’ll quickly get past the experienced cop-rookie cop thing, which can get tiring,” Davies says. “I want Tracy to be Nick’s equal, so we can move on from there.”
Davies, who directed this season’s two-hour opener, will be back behind the camera later this season. He’ll also be seen with Leslie Hope and Christopher Plummer in the film thriller Conspiracy of Fear, to be released early next year.
Looking down the road, specifically to his last “Knight” as Nick, Davies ponders how the show might end. “If we get to go out with a last episode of our choosing, it could go one of two ways,” Davies says, “Nick becomes mortal or he dies, proving it’s futile for a vampire to seek his mortality again.
“I’d like to see him become mortal. I guess I’m just a Disney-movie kind of guy.”