Earlier this week a group of reporters and myself sat down for a conference call with Corey Stoll to talk about The Strain and his character Eph. We talked about how much has changed in the second season, where his character is going, and even his wig. If you are unsure of what has been happening click here for our latest recap. But during the interview we were able to ask him if there is a definite end to The Strain or if they were planning to keep going on for as long as possible. With the series being based on a trilogy of books, it already has a written definite ending. His response:

Corey: “I mean, according to Carlton, it’s a very specific 56 episode arc, where at the end of—it will go for three more seasons.  The idea is not to feel the need to tread water and sort of stretch it out.”

This is great news, as shows with a definite ending allow the audience with have a well deserved closure instead of continuing the show past its prime. It is also is very interesting, as the first season was essentially the entire first book. It sounds as though they will be expanding more from the books instead of sticking strictly to what is written. This of course is only if FX continues to renew the show through its end, which luckily, it has been renewed for a third season.

*Update* This article originally ran saying it was a six season plan. We confirmed its is a planned five season run. We apologize for any confusion.

***SPOILERS AHEAD FOR THIS SEASON***

Sandra Perez from The Hidden Remote asked him about this season’s favorite new foes The Feelers:

Sandra: “In the last episode we saw the vampire children kind of going into full action now.  Can you tell us how much—what factor will they play in the future episodes?”

Corey: “The Feelers are the formidable part of the Strigoi Army.  They’re fast, they can crawl on walls, and they play an important part of the master’s arsenal going forward the rest of the season.”

Good to know that even though their numbers are dwindling, The Feelers are still going to play a major role. Especially since they kicked major ass in the last episode.

Now of course, in the last episode Eph shaved his head, allowing those who were distracted by his wig to concentrate a bit better in the future. Angela Dawson from From Row Features asked about how he felt about this:

Angela: “I just wanted to ask you, there was a lot made of the “Wig Gate.”  I just wanted to ask you, are you kind of relieved that that’s behind you now and were surprised at all the attention that that got while it did?”

Corey: “Yes, I’m relieved and I spoke about this at the TCAs that it was, just from the sense that it was a distraction for the audience.  It’s unfortunate, and there’s an unfortunate bargain that every actor has to make; they don’t have to make, but often makes is that the more you work the more recognizable you are.  That can be helpful in getting you more work but it’s detrimental to your job as an actor because you’re less able to disappear into the role.

I can see why someone like Johnny Depp has gotten so enamored of really intense hair and makeup for his roles because when you get that famous it can sort of be the only way to really do your job, just sort of become somebody else.  So that’s an unfortunate thing that people’s ability to see past the image.  It was limited here.  So yeah, it’s a relief to have that not be an issue in this particular project.”

Glad to see that Corey has a bit of a sense of humor over the whole “Wig Gate” controversy.

Will Eph become sober again this season?

Corey: “He does not sober up the rest of the season.  He was never the best fighter in the world; but, no, he’s a little easier and a little bit more handicapped.”

Aaron Sagers from NBC Universal ask him about Eph killing his former boss on the train in the last episode:

Aaron: Did he have a choice or did he make the choice to kill him?

Corey: “No, he didn’t; he didn’t.  It was really a (audio disruption) move to not get hit and before what he knew what was happening, he had killed him.  Now it was in his best interest probably to kill him but this is—it’s still obviously a very big deal, it’s his first human kill.  No, he did not intend to kill him.”

Aaron: Well now that he crossed that line will this open up a door to sort of a darker Eph, a guy that’s willing to do more and cross the line a little bit more easily?

Corey: “Yeah, I think you can say that.  The first time he killed anybody intentionally he was being attacked and that was sort of purely defensive.  As the first season went on, he became more inured to killing to the point where he doesn’t really sort of flinch killing people who are completely turned.

Then he crossed the line, again, at the beginning of this season experimenting on freshly turned people and then this is another one, and then sort of the ratchet that sort of keeps pushing him past these lines that he never thought he would cross.  But yeah, it definitely from that point on to the rest of the season, he is in a different place, morally.”

Will Eph be doing more hands on fighting in the future or is he going to continue to rely on his knowledge of biochemistry to fight the enemy?

“In terms of in total between the two seasons, it’s about the same.  In the first bunch of episodes Eph is taking a much more—he’s using biochemistry to fight the strigoi.  Especially like that fight scene that I had with Barnes was actually one of the more—I think a lot of it was actually cut, but it was one of the more involved fights that I’ve had in either season.  Definitely moving forward there’s more fighting.”

I guess they will be leaving the ground fighting more to Fet and Abraham as they have been doing. I always thought Eph using biochemistry is a great aspect of the show. Helps break up the action scenes and helps bring the story outside of the streets, especially now that Eph has left the city for Washington DC.

It is always great to see and interact with an actor who is passionate and very open to talking about the project they are are. From the conversations we were having with Corey, it sounded like he was as big of a fan of the show as we are.

The Strain airs on Sunday nights at 10pm EST/PST on FX and the FXNow app. Catch up on the previous season with our Strain-ge Talk recaps for Episode 1, Episode 2, Episode 3, Episode 4, and Episode 5!