A comedy about carpe diem

BEVERLY Hills, California — What would you do if you are wooed by a man who believes that the world would end tomorrow?

Tori Anderson and Joshua Sasse gamely grappled with that question during an international press conference organized by CBS Studios International for nine TV shows, one of them No Tomorrow (airing in the Philippines soon on RTL-CBS Entertainment), a carpe diem comedy about Evie (Anderson) being courted by Xavier (Sasse) who is so worried the world will be destroyed by an asteroid that his idea of courtship is to make Evie share every moment as if it were their last? You know, carpe diem (Webster Dictionary: The enjoyment of the pleasures of the moment without concern for the future).

A Canadian, Anderson, 27, played Dr. London Blake in Open Heart and Queen Titania in the Nickelodeon series The Other Kingdom; and Sasse (from England), 29, is best known for, among other TV roles, the title role in the NBC series Galavant. He’s reported to be engaged to Kylie Minogue.

The presscon was held at a function room of the Beverly Hilton. Excerpts:

If we were given the opportunity to believe that things were coming to an end, would all of our actions at that point be almost selfish wish fulfillment? Like would we just want to do fun stuff or would there be kind of, you know, more noble things that we would want to do? What would be the right reaction?

Tori: Yeah, absolutely. I think that there are two types of people or two ideas. You can be the risk taker or you can go on an emotional journey with the people that you love. So it’s two different routes that you can take. But I think that what’s so beautiful about this story is that it shows such different characters, 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.

Joshua: You’re right. It’s a really nice thing to think about, something that people think about often, especially if a family member is terminally ill.

The show is inspiring. Has the show perhaps inspired you to do something that you may have been putting off for a while?

Tori Anderson and Joshua Sasse in the CBS show No Tomorrow during the presscon at Beverly Hilton

Tori: Yes, it has actually inspired me. After we finish production, my plan is to actually travel. I’ve never traveled extensively before and it’s something I’ve always wanted to do… go surfing in Bali. I’m planning on doing that for the first time. We live in a world where social media make us stay constantly behind your phone and you’re wishing, you’re vicariously living through other people and wishing you were doing what they were doing. And hopefully, the show will get people outside and get people do those things that they have always wanted to do.

Joshua: Yeah, one of my dreams is to go kayaking in the fjords of Norway. I just came back from that trip…because of the show. TV shows are really evocative, they don’t just inspire people but remind them to take up the plans that they have put on hold. People have come up to me and said some pretty interesting things and have very interesting suggestions for our list, our “Apocalyst.”

(To Joshua): Your character’s got such an interesting sort of soul. How did you put him together? Did it come from people you knew?

Joshua: Well, okay, what I had in front of me was a guy who found out the world was going to end. So what I wanted to try and do is work out where that interest had come from. We worked out that he had worked for a science magazine and I was like, “Well, okay why?” He doesn’t seem like the kind of guy that would have. So I thought that he had some Australian blood and he traveled around Australia and ended up working just north of Sydney where there was a lot of telescopes out in the desert.

And he met a guy who said, “Come and just have a look and see what it’s all about.” And he fell in love with it, fell in love with how the stars made him feel and that is something that I can really associate with. That was where it came from and then through that he discovered this asteroid was going to hit. I’m really glad that that question came up because it was really important for me to find out how I got to that place …that there was a mystical element to it.

So did you research about it, did you just get inspiration for the character from any books or anything?

Joshua: Yeah, absolutely. I’ve been trying to watch and read as much stuff as I can. There’s a wonderful teacher named Alan Watts, a spiritual leader in America in the ‘70s, who said that it was very important to live your life the way you want to live it without being hindered by someone else.

Have you met people, maybe your friends, who feel there is no more tomorrow, and what did you do to sort of console them?

Tori: Unfortunately, the only people that I’ve met who felt that there were “no tomorrows” have passed away. But recently, I went to see my Nana and I moved her into a hospice because she was going to pass away shortly. And it was interesting to see how different people deal with it. Before my grandfather passed away, he never wanted to say goodbyes. My grandmother is different. She is someone who wants to say goodbye. She wants to spend time with the people that she loves.

Joshua: I think what’s interesting is that it often takes people to get into a really bad situation to start asking these questions. And what I’ve noticed with friends of mine and family members who have lost people close to them…and I’ve lost people close to me…was it’s sad to me that that’s the only time they start asking those questions. I have tended to try and get my friends to ask those questions before that happens.

Tori: And it’s a reminder for yourself as well to not take every day for granted, to embrace what you want to embrace, go after what you want to do and not sit back. You only get one life so you have to kind of make the most of it.

Did these experiences affect the way you look at life?

Tori: Yeah.

Joshua: How precious it is.

Tori: Yeah, I think what it’s about is that life is so precious and the people that you meet are. I think everyone comes into your life for a reason whether for 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.

On screen, you guys have a really natural great chemistry that works and I feel like your story is really believable. Did you know each other previously and if not, did you have to screen test? What was the process?

Joshua: We’re just really good actors.

Tori: Yeah, he’s really difficult to act with, okay? (Laughs) We actually didn’t do a chemistry test together which I really thought that there would be. The chemistry is, I feel, like the crux of the show. It’s important that the viewers believe that the two of you are really in love. But no, Joshua and I didn’t  take a chemistry test. We met right before we started shooting.

Joshua: Because it’s about trust at the end of the day. Acting is about trusting the person you’re with and you’ve got to make sure that they’re going to catch you when you fall and vice versa. And honestly I would like it to put it on record that I feel totally blessed to work with Tori. I’ve never worked with anyone like her. It’s a total privilege. Every day on set, there’s no vanity with her, she’s just in the moment and it’s really, really nice working with her.

Tori (addressing Joshua): It’s inspiring for me to work with you because I’m learning a lot.

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