The new season of “Dimension 20” premiered last week with an action-packed and kindness-packed episode. “Dimension 20: Gladlands” takes inspiration from both the “Mad Max” world and the “Care Bear” tone. While this world and tone seemingly clash, they twine together in unexpected harmony.
The cast includes Intrepid Heroes Zac Oyama and Ally Beardsley, with Jacob Wysocki and Oscar Montoya also returning to the dome. The cast is rounded out by dome newcomers Kimia Behpoornia and Vic Michaelis. Brennan Lee Mulligan serves as Game Master to this post-apocalyptic adventure.
In an exclusive interview with Temple of Geek, Michaelis shares insight into the inspiration for their character Hugi. They also reveal how they became a part of “Dimension 20: Gladlands.” Michaelis explains why they were initially hesitant to be a part of “Dimension 20.”
Vic Michaelis Explains Why Dimension 20 Seemed Intimidating
Temple of Geek: Then last time we talked, you said you were very scared of the idea of performance D&D and now you’re in “Dimension 20.” What was that route?
Vic Michaelis:
Honestly, it’s so funny because even when you talked to me, I think I might have already been signed on for that season. It’s one of those things where I was still, even when I got the offer, I was very trepidatious about it. I was in Hungary, and I got on a call with David [Kerns], and he was like, “Brennan is DMing, and it’s all of your best friends that are doing it.” And I went, “OK, then I am also doing it.”
I think it was circumstantially a really good way to start, with one of the best DMs in the world. And again, with all of your closest friends, I can’t really imagine a better recipe for success. It was unbelievably fun. It was super artistically satisfying. And I feel like after our first day of filming, I really locked in, and I was like, “Oh, I understand now.” I think I just didn’t totally understand how this worked before. And now I get it. It just was an absolute joy.
Temple of Geek: I love the energy that you and Kimia [Behpoornia] bring to it. It’s so fun and fresh. These are a lot of your closest friends; they’re folks that you regularly do improv with. What was it like getting to bring that background into this new world to play with them?
Vic Michaelis:
I think for one, it brings a level of safety, especially when you’re doing something where you’re building stories together and you also have some of your own stuff going on. It’s an inherent level of trust that you maybe wouldn’t have with people that you’ve just met. And it’s a knowledge that if there’s something going on. I trust you. Or if I don’t know what’s going on, you’ve got people around you that can help you build it and help you figure it out. It’s really interesting.
I think maybe when I first started with performance D&D, like from our conversation, my interpretation of it was that it was sort of like Game Changer. Where it’s like, there is a story, and we are trying to figure out what the story is. Brennan has this story in mind, and our goal is to try and figure it out and to stay on a path that’s been set for us.
And I think especially after that first day of filming, I realized, Oh, no, it’s a lot more like VIP. Where it’s like there is no path. Our job together is to build the next piece of the path to get to where we’re going, which was really freeing and awesome. And I think once that clicked in, it again was one of the most satisfying things I’ve done in a really long time. It was awesome!
Temple of Geek: I love the first episode. I love that Zac almost died before almost anyone else had been introduced.
Vic Michaelis:
Insane. Absolutely insane.
Vic Michaelis Shares The Surprising Inspiration For Hugi
Temple of Geek: I texted my friend. I was like, I’ve watched a lot of “Dimension 20.” This is the wildest first 10 minutes.
Vic Michaelis:
This season, I think in the last episode, has one of the things that’s made me laugh the hardest I’ve maybe ever laughed.
Temple of Geek: Oh, amazing! I love that. What was your thought process for the character, Hugi?
Vic Michaelis:
I think I was really thinking a lot and doing a lot of reading about death with a death in my family. And I was reading this book called “From Here to Eternity,” which was like one of the best things that I read during that time. It’s a book that’s about the practice of death around the world and how people… I know it sounds heavy, but I listened to the audiobook, and it’s kind of clinical.
It’s a little more anthropological. It’s fly on the wall. It feels a little bit more like “This American Life” than it does like heavy. And so I was really fascinated by that. Everybody dies. Even in this wasteland, everybody dies, and there needs to be somebody that is taking care of that and somebody that’s taking care of the people going through that.
And so as we sort of were figuring out this world and our places in it, I was like, I would love to explore that and be this person that is trying their best to be a person and make friends and exist in this community, but also this is the only person that is doing this job that I think a lot of people would really not want to do.
The first episode of “Dimension 20: The Gladlands” is on Dropout now, with new episodes every Wednesday.
