Welcome to Random Roles, wherein we talk to actors about the characters who defined their careers. The catch: They don’t know beforehand what roles we’ll ask them to talk about.

The actor: Silas Weir Mitchell first stepped in front of the camera in the late 1990s, popping up in small film roles and one-off TV series appearances for several years before finally earning the plum role of Charles “Haywire” Patoshik on FOX’s Prison Break. Although he appeared in a recurring role rather than a series regular, Mitchell’s work on the series made enough of an impression that he began pulling higher-profile roles, ultimately leading him to his current gig: playing a Wieder Blutbad—a wolf creature, basically—named Monroe on NBC’s Grimm.

Grimm (2011-present)—“Monroe”
Silas Weir Mitchell: It is definitely the most creatively invested I’ve ever been in a role, because I’ve been in from the beginning. I’ve now done 60-something episodes, so it’s by far the deepest I’ve gone into one character, and it’s the character I know the best and therefore have the most sway as far as the language. I know him better than anybody else, and it’s a nice feeling.

The A.V. Club: So you’re in a position where you’re able to say, “Oh, Monroe wouldn’t do that.”

SWM: Sort of. It’s gotten to the point where I’m able to say, “This doesn’t feel right,” or, “Maybe this would work.” It’s a very collaborative environment, so it’s not like it’s that big a deal that I’m able to do that. We’re all able to do that. I’ve just never done 60 or 70 episodes of the same character where, if something doesn’t feel right, you know it. If you’re only on a show for two episodes, there’s a lot of reasons why it wouldn’t make sense to say, “I don’t think he would do this.”

Read the rest of the interview/article here!