Q&A: ‘Grimm’s’ Reggie Lee rides a wave of emotion with Wu’s transformation

In this fifth season of “Grimm,” the changes seem to have come fast, even at “warp speed“” if you ask Reggie Lee.

Lee plays Sgt. Drew Wu, the onetime resident everyman police officer who was not in on the whole supernatural-Wesen-world-living-right-outside-our-perceptions until recently. In the span of basically a season and a half — give or take a few episodes — Wu went from being told there are creatures living among us (which put him in a sanitarium), to fighting them, to — as of the last episode — in a sense, becoming one. Wu is infected with a disease causing him to become a werewolf, so it’s not a full Wesen transformation, but close enough.

To bring you up to speed, the main character (Nick Burkhardt) recently had a baby with his onetime mortal enemy (Adalind Schade). A seemingly innocuous stick with healing powers locked away for hundreds of years has been found. An international Wesen terrorist group (Black Claw) has brought its brand of violence to Portland. And the sage chief of police (Sean Renard), supposedly a powerful ally fighting for good, has seemingly joined the Black Claw group. It’s a lot for Wu, and the actor playing him, to take in.

More changes are ahead as we approach this season’s finale, so we caught up with Lee to get his take on the recent happenings, the show’s future (it was renewed for a sixth season) and how things stand with Wu.

The changes that Wu has had to weather in what seems to be a short time must throw you as well?

It feels like it’s going in warp speed. When they get an idea, they tend to drag it out. It went from last full moon to this full moon. It took four episodes for [the transformation] to come to fruition. So, in that regard, I think they like dragging out that storyline.

Like, when I found out [about the Wesen world], it took eight episodes. But, the thing is, once they get an idea, it’s not like they go full force – it’s the opposite direction of what you thought it would be. At one time, they were like, “Wu would help be the human-supernatural balance on the show.”

Now, they’re like ... well, at first, it was like we want to maintain the balance of people knowing and people not knowing about the Wesen world, and I was kind of like the everyman. And now it’s like, I get a scratch and, well, they’re describing it in a way, saying that I can’t turn supernatural. I get this virus. It’s a virus where I’m not turning into a Wesen, but I’m turning into something that they’ve never experienced. It’s a new world for them. It’s a creature between Wesen and human — stuck in evolution. A Neanderthal man.

In that regard, I like it because of the accuracy of it, but man, the story and the places I have to go emotionally for this kind of stuff. I’ll take it. I’m like a kid in a candy store when that happens.

I never thought in a million years that my character would be here. When I’m doing it, it’s the most fun moments on the show for me. I love being the sarcastic, sardonic guy, but I love this stuff because I really have to find the balance between my normal sense of humor and — which is who I am in real life in terms of the show — and then finding those moments where I’m freaked out. This is a life change.

I love though that he’s been in this “Grimm” world for so long that he’s like, oh well. I’m freaked out by it, but I’m understanding it, so let me find a way to deal with it. That’s going to be the hard part. When he’s around the Scooby gang, he’s all right. But when he’s on his own, it’s going to be tough. Warp speed, man.

To quote you on the show: “As long as I know I’m not crazy, I’ll deal.” And that’s been Wu’s MO since getting out of his self-imposed sanitarium stay. But is this a little too much? This isn’t just knowledge, but a physical transformation.

It relates back to the question — some people were saying — “Why weren’t you telling them that this was happening to you?” A part of me, when I’m alone, is freaked out. A part of me is like, “Are they going to shoot me when they find out?” So now, in this particular regard, I can put up a front. When I first started the show, they hadn’t really built a character yet. I went straight to the sarcastic mode because it was in the script.

I did some research on sarcasm and found that most people that are very sarcastic are insecure on the inside. That’s their cover. That’s the same mode that Wu is in now. He’s saying “I’ll deal,” but when he’s at home and left to his own devices, it’s really tough. I think as you’ll see, it might be a little too much. Who knows?

The onetime normal characters — Wu, Juliette and Hank — became consumed by the Wesen world as soon as they found out about it. Where is that balance between man and Wesen, thematically, going to come from?

I think it still comes from the outside world. It’s akin to so many sci-fi shows where after five or six seasons, everyone is involved. The balance becomes the outside world. But you’re shifting the threats. Now the threat is no longer the outside world [finding out]. Now it’s Black Claw.

We’re suddenly the normal ones and they’re the ones that are trying to take over. I think they’re doing a great job switching that and changing that balance. There’s a struggle within each world and within each person. Hank is like, “If I see a Wesen, I’ll just shoot it.” Juliette was turned into Eve and went completely in the other direction. In Wu, you’ll still see that everyman that is trying to deal with this stuff that is Wesen, and you’ll see him deal with it internally. That becomes the balance now.

At some point in every show, it has to shift. It can’t just be “Oh, the world doesn’t know.” At some point, the characters just have to stop being stupid. They have to shift the entire world so that the conflict becomes something else.

OK. So, the mystical stick — wrapped in super old cloth with old writing, possibly, and it heals Monroe of blood poisoning just by touching him. I have my suspicions, but do you know what it is?

Well, we’ve finished the season, so I have a pretty good idea. Let’s just say it definitely comes back into play. It’ll evolve and probably play an important role in Season 6.

David Giuntoli, who plays Nick on the show, says that “Grimm” has always had to fight for whatever it gets. What should we expect from the finale and even going forward?

“Grimm” is a show that’s never held back, as you can see with the evolution of my character. It’s never stuck to being what’s perceived as a procedural. That may be what helped give it legs, and I think that’s why fans have tuned in. As opposed to the case-of-the-week and fans figuring out who done it, it’s become more about how the characters have evolved.

In this regard, so many things have shifted. With Renard going into the mayor’s race and Juliette and me and ... Here’s what I know the fans will see: There’s some death coming up. There’s that to look forward to. Because of this, you’ll see some alliances shift.

Season 6 is part of a clean slate in terms of where it can go, which makes me a little bit fearful about what’s to come. Again, “Grimm’s” never been a show to hold back, so you will probably see the entire show change in Season 6 in terms of alliances and relationships. It’s pretty big; it’s pretty big the way this all ends.

MORE:

Q&A ‘Grimm’ star David Giuntoli says it was a ‘fight’ just getting to 100 episodes

From the archives - ‘Grimm,’ ‘Once Upon a Time’ reviews: Fairy tales all grown up