Mark Sheppard Discusses ‘Supernatural,’ ‘Doom Patrol,’ and ‘Doctor Who’ | Wizard World Chicago

Mark Sheppard is no stranger to fandom. Being on shows such as Supernatural, Doom Patrol, and Doctor Who has made him a fan favorite. This was proven at Wizard World Chicago when droves of his admirers flocked to his panel querying him on the inside scoop to all their favorite shows.

One of the first questions centered around Sheppard’s experience on Doctor Who. He replied, “That show was offered to me and I was like — Yeah!”

“The timing was terrible. We were in the middle of one of the Supernatural seasons.”

“It takes eight to ten days to finish an episode of Supernatural,” he continued. “We have something called a midseason break for a reason. The reason is you start airing shows after you started making them, and you end up catching up to the shows that are airing. We take a midseason break because we need to make more stuff.”

He further explained that somewhere within this span, the actors get a week or two off. Unfortunately, things weren’t lining up as planned. “I had to call up Doctor Who and say that I couldn’t do it — it was really depressing.”

Through pulled strings and last-minute changes, the Doctor Who crew decided their best bet was to have Sheppard fly over immediately to make things work. This sounded great until the WB got wind of it. They feared Sheppard was cutting things too close.

“I called up Sera Gamble and said, ‘I think I made a mistake.’ Three hours later, the first assistant director called me back and said, ‘Get on the plane. If you’re late — I’ll kill ya’!” 

He flew back and forth three times between Vancour and Wales. “It was crazy, but it was just so much fun to do. It was a lovely place to work.”

Later on, the subject turned to the topic of Doom Patrol and Sheppard heartily announced, “It just got picked up for Season 4!

“Season 3 of Doom Patrol is superb, and it was so much fun. I’m not in Season 3 as much as I wanted to be,” he added.

“I love the show not because I’m in it but because it is a beautiful show.” He then went on to list his wonderful Doom Patrol co-stars by name and complimented their acting skills.

Mark Sheppard is eventually asked if he will star in Season 4, but Sheppard was coy at the moment, pretending to yell at the person who asked. “I told you, I’m not talking about it!”

Soon after, a  curious audience member asked what the fanbase for Supernatural was like overseas. Without missing a beat, Sheppard answered, “Same as it is here. Same people, the same vibe — all very cool people.”

“Surgeons and politicians, from white-collared workers to creators and non-creators. Everybody from all walks of life. It has a common bond to it that people attach to.”

“It’s bonding more people together. When you see people travel from abroad to come to a convention, they are instantly accepted because they are one of us. No difference at all,” he continued.

Sheppard then stretched the answer to talk about his experiences in Germany. He told the audience that all American television is dubbed in German and that there is one person who always does his German voice-overs in everything he has ever done.

“He is the German Mark Sheppard! He has the worst voice I have ever heard for me. I feel so bad,” he explained. “He is a lovely guy, but I don’t want to sound like that in German — it’s awful.” 

Getting back on track, a fan asked Sheppard what part of Supernatural he is most fond of. “The end of Season 8,” he answered immediately.

“The end of Season 8 is the most fun we ever had. That was literally the best time for us. We shot the ending in sequence, and we were never more together than we were at that time,” Sheppard explained.

“Any time they put all four of us together it was good. That’s why you see all of the stuff on the gag reel because we played very hard. We were all very tight and very close — I think it shows,” Sheppard resolved.

“It was a blessed thing to do. It was a joy to do,” Sheppard concluded. From the sounds of the crowd’s applause, they couldn’t help but agree. 

As the panel came to a close, Mark Sheppard thanked his fans for their love and welcomed them all back to his table for pictures and autographs. Although it was sad to watch him leave the podium, the laughter and memories created in those 45 minutes will always be cherished by his most intimate fans.

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Catch Doom Patrol and Doctor Who on HBO Max.

Watch Supernatural reruns on TNT.

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