Deepest Desires: a look back on the Jalmics International’ Lucifer convention

Deepest Desires: a look back on the Jalmics International' Lucifer convention

Photo: DR

On Saturday, May 1st, Jalmics International gathered Lucifer fans for a virtual convention entirely focused on the series. During the Deepest Desires event, Lucifans were able to talk (and laugh) with Tom Ellis (Lucifer), Inbar Lavi (Eve), Kevin Alejandro (Dan), Aimee Garcia (Ella), Lesley-Ann Brandt (Maze), D.B. Woodside (Amenadiel) and Rachael Harris (Linda Martin). Let’s have look back at this event filled with positive energy.

Tom Ellis’ Margarita Madness

The first panel of the day took us to London with Tom Ellis. The actor who plays Lucifer welcomed the fans of the series in the kitchen of his apartment to make a cocktail, called ‘Mexican’ Mule. While preparing his drink, the actor answered some questions.

Michael or Lucifer ?

All the fans of the series know it, Tom Ellis plays two roles from season 5: Michael and Lucifer. But which one does he prefer to play? He admits, with no hesitation, that he prefers to play Lucifer. He said, during the panel, that what he likes about this character is that he has many facets which allowed him to do many different things on screen. He could go from a funny scene, to a fight scene, to singing a song…

For him, it was quite weird to have to play Michael. He felt a bit like a “fraud” playing another character. He wanted to make Michael the exact opposite of Lucifer, that’s why their postures are diametrically opposed. That’s also why Michael has an American accent.

Regarding the accent, he told an anecdote saying that when he was training for the audition of the character of Lucifer, he did it with an American accent. But he thought that it did not work for this character. He felt like that made him look like an idiot. It’s something he remembered when he started to play Michael. But he also said that it was fun to play a bad guy.

His favorite scenes?

During this activity, Tom Ellis also talked about his favorite scene in Lucifer. He mentionned the piano duet with Colman Domingo (Father Frank) in the episode A Priest Walks Into a Bar (season 1, episode 9). It was a moment he really enjoyed, a joyful moment between two characters who seem so opposite. He also talked about all the scenes from the musical episode as his favorites.

During the panel, he also mentionned his favorite stunt. It will be seen in season 6 and, without saying too much, Tom Ellis said he overcomes his fear of heights in it.

He spoke about an episode of season 5B that is one of his favorites (without naming which one). He also talked about the opportunity to play with Dennis Haysbert (God). He said it was a real pleasure and that he is just perfect in the role. It was an opportunity to deepen the relationship between Lucifer and his father, which had not been done until now.

His favorite “Deckerstar” scene?

It is very difficult for him to choose because there are many. He said that he loves all the scenes with Lauren German because they were partners for 6 years. They could easily make each other laugh which made the jokes work even better on the show.

Did he take any souvenirs from the set?

He took one of the pieces of art hanging in Lucifer’s apartment. He adds that officially he didn’t keep any of his character’s costumes, but unofficially… he may have.

And what did Tom Ellis think about the cocktail? Despite a few setbacks when mixing the ingredients, the result has pleased the actor who even adds a touch of salt on the edge of the glass.

He ended the panel by thanking the fans who are the best in the world according to him. He talked about an incredible and unique journey he had thanks to this series.

More information
– If he could ask Lucifer one question, what would it be and what would his answer be? Tom Ellis answers that the question would be “What Is It You Truly Desire?”, Lucifer’s iconic line. For the answer, Lucifer would probably say whiskey.
– Tom would love to perform on Broadway, either in a play or a musical. Speaking of musicals, he said that he really enjoys West Side Story and The Sound of Music.
– Who would he like to work with if he had the chance? He mentions Tom Hanks, Mark Rylance and Kenneth Branagh.
– His favorite book? He does not read much unlike his wife and father. So he mentionned books from his childhood: Roald Dahl’s books for example like Matilda and The BFG.
– His favorite soccer club? Arsenal.

Spring is in the Air

The second panel of the day was a singing event. Kevin Alejandro, Inbar Lavi and Tom Ellis competed with three lucky fans.

The goal: to find out which lyrics have been changed in the songs performed by the cast. The opportunity to hear the beautiful voice of Tom Ellis, Inbar Lavi and to a lesser extent Kevin Alejandro.

After the musical interlude, the actors answered a few questions from fans and talked about shooting during the pandemic.

Kevin Alejandro said that it was a real challenge to film with COVID-19. They had to wear a mask, goggles and a protective visor all the time. It was especially hard to understand each other. Tom Ellis added that he was glad to know everyone on the Lucifer set because he can imagine how difficult it would have been to start a new job with these types of procedures. Inbar Lavi said that it was hard physically but also a real creative challenge because you had to reproduce an environment where everyone is close, where everyone enjoys being around each other regardless of the health situation and all the restrictive measures in place.

Regarding their favorite episode, Kevin Alejandro chose the all-Dan episode that is coming up in Season 5B called Daniel Espinoza: Naked and Afraid. Tom Ellis also said that he really likes this episode. Inbar Lavi, who hasn’t seen it, said that considering how much she likes Kevin, she too should enjoy the episode. Tom Ellis mentionned the musical episode as one of his favorites. A choice that Kevin Alejandro approves.

Avatar Cooking

After the cocktails, Tom Ellis takes a seat behind the stove with Lesley-Ann Brandt and Rachael Harris.

For this activity, the three members of the Lucifer cast each have ingredients but they don’t know the recipe they’ll have to make. To get the steps of their respective recipes, they will have to answer correctly to questions about the series. And in this little game, Tom Ellis is the one who does the best since he knows his answers as well as those of his two co-stars.

Throughout the panel, Lesley-Ann Brandt will answer quite easily while Rachael Harris will need the help of the fans several times.

This activity will be full of laugh from Tom Ellis, Rachael Harris and Lesley-Ann Brandt who will nevertheless manage to have all the steps to make their recipes.

Lesley-Ann Brandt loves this activity and even suggests doing a “drunk cooking show” because she loves to cook while drinking a little bit of alcohol. When she does, she mixes up whatever she can get her hands on. And fans seem to be willing to watch this type of show from what we saw on the chat.

The Avatar Cooking activity is already over and unfortunately we didn’t have the time to see the result of the recipes. This will be fixed with Lesley-Ann Brandt a few minutes later since the actress who plays Maze shared a photo of her vegan pancakes on Instagram.

Arcade Games (Aimee Garcia, Kevin Alejandro, Inbar Lavi)

After taking a cooking class, we now play with Aimee Garcia, Kevin Alejandro, Inbar Lavi, 3 randomly selected fans and the two hosts of the convention (Emma and Taylor).

After helping Inbar Lavi set up the game, the Quiplash game can begin. The goal: find answers to “unlikely” situations and get the audience to vote for your proposal so you gain points.

3, 2, 1, go. Actors and fans answer Quiplash’s wacky questions. Well, it was without counting on the fact that Inbar Lavi does not find where she has to enter her answers and therefore makes a zero score for the first rounds.

Here are some examples of the questions asked and the answers given (the winning answer is marked with an *):

  • What’s one human experience Amenadiel needs to have? Waiting in line at the DMV (Emma*) / Tee ball games (Taylor*)
  • Besides Monopoly, what other games do Lucifer and Chloe like to play together? Chess (Aimee), Rainbow and Unicorns (Kevin*)
  • Amenadiel almost named Charlie … Screech (Mark), Mini Me (Blake*).
  • The greatest crossover since the MCU : Lucifer and… Arrow (aimee), Lassie (Mark*)
  • If Maze is going back to hell, what 3 things is she taking with her? Her knives, her sex toys, and her lady (Kevin*). Coconut water, vodka, knives (Blake)
  • Dan’s go to mantra : Always bring puddy / i’m not a dumbass!! i’m not a dumbass!!
  • What is Lucifer most afraid of? Trixie’s Dog (Aimee), Commitment and his dad (Taylor*)
  • If celestials celebrated halloween, as a child what would Lucifer have gone dress as? Fairy Princess (Taylor), Queen Latifah (Kevin).
  • Chloe and Lucifer tie the knot, what’s their wedding song? Ring of Fire by Johnny Cash (Carrie), Right Said Fred, I’m Too Sexy (Mark*)

After the first round, Aimee Garcia and Inbar Lavi find themselves in last place with 0 points while Kevin Alejandro leads the way with 2,300 points. In the second round, Mark takes the lead while Kevin Alejandro drops to fourth place. Aimee Garcia is second to last with 1040 points and Inbar Lavi is still last with 0 points.

In the last round, everyone has to answer the same question and the fans choose the proposal they like the most. Thanks to this last round, Inbar Lavi scores those first points and manages to pass Aimee Garcia at the last moment. Emma takes the lead while Kevin Alejandro remains 4th with 6300 points.

As in previous activities, there was a lot of laughter.

Ready, Steady, Sculpt (D.B. Woodside, Inbar Lavi, Lesley-Ann Brandt)

A new panel means a new activity. This time, the creative talents of D.B. Woodside, Inbar Lavi and Lesley-Ann Brandt will be put to the test. Using dough, they have to reproduce objects related to the show in order to make the other participants and fans guess them.

Lesley-Ann Brandt warns right away: she is a master of modeling clay like she has a young child. And it’s a good thing, because she’s the first one to have to sculpt the object that Emma, the panel’s host, assigns her. Without much difficulty, the fans find the right answer: Mazikeen’s daggers.

D.B. Woodside was the second to play the game. A bad idea according to him. While he is starting his creation, which is, according to him, complicated to make, Inbar Lavi asks if she can guess before he even shows it because she thinks she already knows what it is. She then gives her answer: the wings of Amenadiel. And she was right! She says that she has already begun, in anticipation, to make an apple related to her Eve character before she even knows what object has been assigned to her.

The sculpting continues in good mood and laughter: Martini glass (Inbar), apple (Lesley-Ann), piano (Inbar), Linda’s glasses (D.B.), Ella’s camera (Lesley-Ann) … They are making everything.

The actors also use this time to answer some questions. That’s how we learn that the favorite stunt of Lesley-Ann Brandt comes during the fight which will take place in the season 5B.

They also talked about the funny moments on the set of Lucifer. Lesley-Ann Brandt talked about a Maze and Eve scene where many extras are dancing. The actress says that as much as she loves them, they looked like they were straight out of Michael Jackson’s Thriller video. D.B. Woodside says that it was always fun when the whole cast was together for a scene because there were always a lot of jokes between them. And it is on these two anecdotes that this activity ends.

An Audience With D.B.Woodside

After testing D.B. Woodside‘s artistic talents, it’s time to meet him again for a solo panel in which he talked about his experience in Lucifer.

The fights in the series

D.B. Woodside started the panel by talking about the shooting of the fight scene in the final episode of season 5A. According to him, it was the most epic fight scene they shot, except for one scene that he can’t talk about right now because it will be seen in future episodes. This fight alone took 2-3 full days of shooting. He highlighted the excellent work done by Vlad Rimburg who was in charge of choreographing the fights on Lucifer.

D.B. Woodside also talked about the process behind shooting the scenes of this fight where we see Michael, Amenadiel and Lucifer. It was the stunt double of Tom Ellis who appeared when we see him from behind and when the character appeared from the front it was Tom. This required a lot of work because each time Tom Ellis needed to change from Lucifer to Michael: it meant changing his clothes, redoing his makeup, his hair …

Finally, concerning the stunts, D.B. Woodside made a point of making a distinction between the real stunts and the fight scenes. When it is really pure stunts, he lets the pros do it because they are incredible and the result exceeds all his expectations. For the fight scenes, he tries, like Lesley-Ann, to do them as much as possible because they are fun. He compared them to elaborate dance sequences.

His favorite arc in Lucifer

If it is not possible for D.B. Woodside to choose a favorite episode, he will confess to have liked very much the arc during which Amenadial loses his powers.

Season 2 is one of his favorite seasons thanks to the chemistry he had with Tricia Helfer and because he loves shooting with her. D.B. Woodside also teased that he should be working with the actress on a new project by next year.

His experience as a director

During the panel, he also talked about his experience as a director. D.B. Woodside said that when you’re behind the camera, any certainties or knowledge you’ve gained from books or your own acting experience tend to fall apart. Why? Because the way he works as an actor is very different from Tom Ellis, Lesley-Ann Brandt or Kevin Alejandro. Moreover, when he plays with one of them by simply being an actor, he can primarily be involved in his own acting, he does not have to question how one or the other works with the director present that day. He admitted that the more projects he directs, the more it also impacts his acting. He advises young directors to go to shoots and watch the directors work, without having to go ask them questions.

A message to Lucifer fans

Before concluding his panel, he apologizes because it will upset the fans of past series in which he played but for him, the fans of Lucifer are his favorite fans.

They have been very supportive throughout the series. For him, the whole team was ready to do 6 seasons and it is thanks to the fans that it was possible. This series changed his life and allowed him to meet people who are now his friends for life.

He ends with a message of hope for the fans of Lucifer by saying that it would not surprise him if we see them all together again in a few years to make a Lucifer mini-series.

More information

  • What other project, besides Lucifer, is his favorite? He loved working on the show Suits. He really likes the cast and the creator of the show. Also, Gina Torres is one of the people he has worked with the most in his career. He also mentionned Buffy.
  • What guests would he like for a talk show he would host? Idris Elba to talk with him about his way of working, his process, his life in general. He loves the fact that he is still a DJ despite his acting career. He loves the way he doesn’t let others define who he is, what he should or shouldn’t do. He also mentionned Michaela Coel, creator of I May Destroy You. He hasn’t seen a project like that in a very long time. He would like to talk with her about her process for creating this series, how she wrote the show…
  • A song to describe his character in Lucifer? It’s hard for him to chose but the song would be focused on someone who is honest and loyal. Maybe a Billy Joel song.

World Search (Aimee Garcia, D.B. Woodside, Rachael Harris)

New activity at the Lucifer convention where Aimee Garcia, D.B. Woodside and Rachael Harris will have to find where the fans they are talking to live.

If some cities or countries are easily found (especially by Aimee), other places challenge the geographical knowledge of the Lucifer cast.

Before ending the panel, D.B. Woodside wanted to highlight the fact that Rachael Harris and Aimee Garcia are exceptional in the episode he directed during season 6 of Lucifer (Save the Devil, Save the World). He adds that he can’t wait for the fans to discover this episode.

Aimee Garcia also said, about this episode, that D.B. Woodside‘s work was incredible. She goes on saying that, on a personal level, this is one of her best performances as an actress and that she owes it to D.B. Woodside who was the director of this episode.

Creation In Progress (Aimee Garcia)

After this world tour, Aimee Garcia is here for a new activity where her creativity will be put to the test. Indeed, the actress who plays Ella is going to have to imagine scenarios based on fans’ ideas.

If Aimee Garcia admits being very stressed by this new panel, she manages wonderfully and quickly develops (crazy) stories around fans ideas.

A country singer who enters a bar, Lucifer who is whitewater rafting with Trixie, Mazikeen who gets emotionally attached to a dog, Lucifer learning that Chloe has a twin sister, Ella and Maze who end up together… No scenario resists the imagination of the future writer of the sequel of the 47 Ronin movie.

After ending her script about Cloe’s twin sister, Aimee Garcia took a moment to say how much she loves Lauren German, even though she knows she will never see this panel.

Feel Good and Stay Motivated with Lesley-Ann

After having tested the creativity of Aimee Garcia, we join Lesley-Ann Brandt for a panel in which the actress delivered advices to stay in shape and to stay positive every day.

Lesley-Ann talked about the importance of taking time for yourself during this pandemic which can be difficult to live with.

She also talked about her workout routines with her trainer and teased the upcoming launch of videos to allow everyone to train like her. These videos will be accessible to everyone and will be an opportunity to see some guest stars doing these sessions with her.

She is also saying that the important thing is to do a little at a time and listen to your body. With time, you will become stronger and will be even more motivated to continue. Speaking of motivation, during workout sessions, she likes to listen to Beyonce, Rihanna or Calvin Harris even if music is not a necessity for her.

Shake it Up with Kevin Alejandro

While our day began with Tom Ellis making a cocktail, it ends (almost) the same way with Kevin Alejandro. He invites fans to reproduce his version of the Mexican Martini, a recipe he developed during his college years in Austin, Texas.

Like Tom Ellis earlier, Kevin Alejandro answered a few questions while preparing his cocktail. The first questions are related to the activity itself. Did he taste Skrewball’s Peanut Butter Whiskey? No. His favorite whiskey? He says he’s a “pretty simple guy” and mentions Macallan 12 and Jack Daniel’s whiskies.

More of the same questions follow before a young fan asks Kevin if he can tell us more about the Chloe-Lucifer relationship in Season 5B, whose trailer was revealed the day before the convention. He says he can’t answer that question without spoiling everything. He said, however, that a long journey awaits the characters and that in the end it will be beautiful and poignant. But, will it be a happy ending? He can’t answer that.

Afterwards, he confirmed that we will see new “bracelet bros” moments in the next part of the series, but not necessarily in the way we might imagine. Something to delight fans of the Dan-Lucifer duo.

Fun fact: in order to make sure that his cocktail is successful, Kevin Alejandro had two of his friends at home to taste it, one of whom is a member of the technical team of Lucifer. During the pandemic, his job was to make sure that everyone was following the rules and that everything was safe enough to continue filming.

Wrapping #JalmicsDD With Karaoke

The convention ends with a karaoke with Kevin Alejandro, Aimee Garcia, D.B. Woodside and Inbar Lavi. While the actors were supposed to sing, Rachael Harris invites Adriana, a fan with whom she has previously chatted with, to sing for them. A performance that will blow away the cast of Lucifer. They advice her to sign up for The Voice or American Idol.

Aimee Garcia shares a video of a fan (Brittany) singing before other participants join the panel to perform a song. We were particulary amazed by the performance of Shannon who sang the song “If I Ain’t Got You” of Alicia Keys. Again, the guests advise her to participate in one of the two musical programs.

Before leaving their fans, the whole cast thanks them for their support throughout this long adventure. They confess that they have never known this in their past experiences and indicate that they will cherish it for the rest of their careers. But the convention couldn’t end without Kevin Alejandro singing and so he starts the song “I Want It That Way” by the Backstreet Boys. A perfect end to a day filled with laughter and good humor.

Published on 28 May 2021
Last update : 28 May 2021

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