NEON’s new romantic comedy No Tomorrow is founded on a premise that takes the term ‘high-concept’ to new, er, heights. It concerns an attractive young couple, Xavier (English actor Joshua Sasse, Galavant) and Evie (Canadian actor Tori Anderson), who are navigating their way through a burgeoning relationship in picturesque San Francisco.
Factory manager Evie is a little buttoned-down, which is why she was so responsive to the impulsive and adventurous Xaxier. Then she found out why he is this way – Xavier is under the impression that the world is ending in nine months, and wants to make the most of the time he has left.
The revelation doesn’t send Tori running, and the show chronicles the pair’s spirited attempts to come together, learn from each other, and prepare for the apocalypse.
Flicks spoke to the two leads recently in Los Angeles.
FLICKS: Joshua, is Xavier supposed to be Australian? He sounds Australian, but it’s not really addressed in the first episode.
JOSHUA SASSE: Yeah, Antipodean. It was something that I brought on board. I just went with my gut on it. It’s something that we will talk about.
It’s quite rare to hear an Australian accent in an American TV show, especially from a British actor.
SASSE: That’s how I read it when I first got sent the script – I really believed in that and I went for it. It was a conscious decision. It wasn’t just like, ‘Fuck it, I’ll make him Australian,’ you know?
Tori, is it ever frustrating to play the ‘straight’ role in this dynamic?
TORI ANDERSON: That’s what’s so beautiful about this story, because we are such different characters – you have someone who’s innately a risk taker and someone who shies away from that. And they’re both going to draw things out of each other that they wouldn’t otherwise.
The show’s premise is pretty lofty – how challenging is it to ground the story?
SASSE: You have to believe completely and utterly that these people are respecting the time they have. I think that says a lot about the characters and how they’ve chosen to kind of create their [apoca]lists and on Xavier’s list is “Patch things up with my dad”. You know it’s not just bungee jump and travel and screw as many girls as you can.
Has the show’s concept inspired you to seize the day in your own lives?
ANDERSON: It has actually. After we finish production my plan is to travel. I’ve never traveled extensively before and something I’ve always wanted to do is go surfing in Bali and so I’m planning on doing that for the first time. We live in a world where you’re constantly behind your phone and you’re vicariously living through other people and wishing you were doing what they were doing. And hopefully it’s going to get people outside and get people to go and do those things that they have always wanted to do.
SASSE: One of my dream things was to go kayaking in the fjords of Norway and I just came back from that trip, because of the show.
These characters come together in a manner that both evokes and subverts classic movie romantic tropes – why are they so drawn to each other?
ANDERSON: I think she sees someone who has endless possibilities, with whom life could be so much more joyous and so fun and spontaneous. She’s used to the mundane activities of her daily life and all of a sudden, it’s like she meets him and her life kind of bursts into colour. She’s still a strong woman and she doesn’t need a man to kind of complete her in any way but he brings out a different aspect in her – he’s engaging, he’s enticing, exciting. Yeah that’s what I would say.
SASSE: Wow, I can’t follow that. I guess he sees this innocence in her that he’s lost, which is a really beautiful thing that – you can’t fabricate that and that is a really beautiful thing and I think he sees her wanting to go and start the same kind of journey he’s gone. And the more he watches her, the more he sees that she’s unlike anyone else and there’s just something different about her. I mean that’s what love is – that kind of unexplainable nothing and he sort of just follows it, which is really sweet I think.
ANDERSON: Yeah, I think that’s really what it’s about – that life is so precious and the people that you meet are – everyone I think comes into your life for a reason whether it be a short amount of time or your entire life. And I think everyone can learn from one another. I think life is a constant learning experience and we need to embrace that and be grateful for what you have and be grateful for the people that you’re surrounded with.
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