What’s a guy gotta do to have a successful date?

If we’re talking the world of MTV’s new series Eye Candy, you try going to dinner…in the dark. But that's a dangerous setting when there’s a ‘Flirtual killer’ on the loose. [The show uses a fictitious social media dating app called Flirtual]

In tonight’s new episode Connor (John Garet Stoker) sets up a Dinner in the Dark date, but the mysterious killer that Connor and Lindy (Victoria Justice) is searching for might just crash the blind-- literally-- date. Will Connor survive the night? Will he be able to land a second date?

We grabbed some time with Stoker to talk about his role in the series, the questions he had about playing a gay character and what the chances of true romance are for quick-witted Connor.

TheBacklot: Tell me about those first chats you had with [executive producer] Christian Taylor about playing Connor and how you should approach it.

John Garet Stoker: I first saw the part, I don’t know if it said this exactly, but it described his character and his role in regards to Victoria’s character. Then at the end, it said ‘and he happens to be gay,’ which I thought was kind of an interesting phrasing and told me a lot right from the start. That his sexuality wasn’t meant to define him completely for an audience. I liked that. I think that it did raise some questions for me. Maybe the eternal question for actors playing gay characters is that you don’t want to marginalize their sexuality and you don’t want to hide from it because it’s a part of them just like anybody’s sexuality is a part of them. You also don’t want to exploit it.

I guess, for me it’s kind of a fine line between having that be part of his identity-- in so far as sexuality is a part of our identify-- but not use that as a tool to bring people in or to comment on it. So Christian, I think, is in line with that, and he was pretty clear throughout the process that, you know, ‘it’s part of him, but it doesn’t necessarily define his whole character.’

Lindy (Victoria Justice) and Connor (Stoker)

(Photos: MTV)

In this week’s episode, Connor has a date and they go to Dinner in the Dark, which is interesting for a first date.

JGS: Yeah, yeah, yeah. I was very glad that that was part of the story. The Dinner in the Dark thing, I had heard of that, that sort of thing that people did, but had no experience with it, and certainly no experience acting in that circumstance. All right, everything is pitch black and you’re talking to your date, that was kind of a little bit of a thrill. Plus it wasn’t pitch black when we filmed, but it was pretty dark. I think it’s an exciting way to begin the episode-- but also to let the audience in on Connor’s love life a little bit. It shows his sense of adventure in some ways, that he chooses to do something like this, especially given the circumstances of all the stuff that’s going on at the time with a killer. To choose to go into a pitch-black room is pretty bold, to say the least.

Connor talks in the episode about how he wants to date somebody who’s emotionally available. Do you think Connor is somebody who’s ready for a full-on relationship if he found the right guy?

JGS: That’s a good question. I think that it would be a challenge, and I wonder if part of his need to connect, at this point in time, is driven a little bit by feeling like he needs a partner, especially with Sophia kind of being pulled toward Lindy a little bit. And that was something that was certainly touched on in the beginning of the season is that little bit of jealously from Lindy taking Sophia away from him. So I wonder if it’s filling a spot, that confidante, friend, whether that’s part of it. To me he’s so independent and so I think it could be a lapse in confidence, or a lapse in security that’s driving him to this.

I think when he does date a guy that would be who he would need. He would need someone who has a strong, emotional core because that’s something that he’s maybe not as in touch with in himself. So I think he knows that that’s the next step for him is getting in touch with his emotions, just being present and having a more open, loving relationship.

TBL: Because the show does have an element of danger, how would Connor handle himself in a physical confrontation?

JGS: I think that Connor is confident in his own physicality. He takes Krav Maga for a reason, that plays a part in his life, and he is highly protective of the people he loves…in a tight spot, he would choose the fastest and most effective way to protect the people he loves.

TBL: Is there an indication of what the future holds for Connor and Oliver?

JGS: I can say that it is a hard time to be dating anyone in New York City, and carry any sort of relationship. Hard times for would-be lovers.

Has the show maybe made you look at the cyber world a little differently?

JGS: To an extent. While I believe that there’s truth to some of these dangers, personally, I tend to rebel against any sort of fear-based thinking. So I can’t say that I have allowed myself to feel any sort of fearful place, because I’m definitely resistant to that in anything.

Luckily, I’m not so, so involved with social media and those type of things. I don’t think I’m in a position where I am super aware of any sort of danger, but I do think that maybe there is a younger generation for who this type of material is maybe more effective. Again, not to say, 'oh, these young kids should be scared of what can happen online,' but there is maybe a more carefree attitude towards the Internet and the cyber world that younger kids have and to their own detriment, perhaps. I think that while I’m not personally touched by all the subject matter, I think that it is valuable, and for the right person I think it can be an effective reminder. Not a teaching tool, but kind of a reminder.

I do see that you’re on Twitter @johngaret, so what are you hearing about the show and about Connor and what people think?

JGS: You know, it’s funny. Going into episode three, people were, like, ‘we love Connor, but why is he taking those pictures of the crime scene? That’s when a lot of the ‘we think Connor’s the killer’ started. Then, when I published the article, I heard a lot of, ‘we love you, but why? We’re rooting for you. Why did you do that to Lindy?’ I have been getting a lot of really only positive responses to the character, except when he throws Lindy under the bus. They were torn. They were really torn.

I just call that ambition. Connor’s ambitious.

JGS: Exactly right. A lot of these fans might not have to keep a job. They might not be able to identify with the real-life paychecks coming in and having to pay bills at the end of the day. Although we don’t really know where Connor lives…

'Remember, bitches, I'm the pretty one.'

Sometimes you have to throw a friend under the bus for the sake of being able to pay the rent.

JGS: Yeah. Well, the other aspect to that, to him leaking that story. I tried to get in there, in some subtle way and you can see it in his dialogue, when, like, he and Lindy are sparring, he says ‘people have the right to know. I’m helping people so they can protect themselves.’ To me there is an element of truth to that. I mean, I don’t think that it’s purely selfish and to keep his job. That plays a part in it, maybe in the inspiration of him starting to think about the story as something he could write, but I do think that, at some level, there’s a huge danger kind of from the mind of a journalist. I don’t think that it’s absurd that someone would want to get that news out there. If it really is news, and it is news And Connor, it looks like, for the most part, he’s telling the truth. He’s getting something out there that people, yes, would have maybe an hysterical reaction to, but also to protect themselves. Maybe after his article, some people got off ‘Flirtual’ and that’s a good thing.

Connor can be snarky at times, but he’s also smart and there for his friends. What did you connect with as an actor with who he is?

JGS: That’s a very good question. Connor’s snarkiness, I wonder if it will be seen throughout the whole of the season, but I think it kind of ebbs and flows and maybe grew or shrank depending on the circumstances. I think there’s an element that he always brings a little bit of that attitude, but especially kind of episode five he becomes a little more directly involved with the crisis of finding the killer so we have more opportunities to see another side of him. I think in the beginning because he is a little bit on the outside, I think he wields that sarcasm a little more powerfully. I think it’s easier for him to kind of throw in his lot in that way because he doesn’t feel directly implicated or attacked.

In terms of me, and my sarcasm, that certainly lives in me. I think it lives maybe more in a high school version of me. I think I’ve kind of mellowed it out at this point. I don’t know if it shows, but when I think of playing Connor, and I think about his character, I feel like he’s a mix between Kevin Spacey, kind of in many Kevin Spacey roles, and Keira Knightley in a lot of Keira Knightley roles. If you can merge those two attitudes…not that I went in planning that but kind of towards the end of the season I kind of have that feeling that their essence is in me. I think both of those actors often play characters that are headstrong but also yield a certain amount of intelligence and that flows through me when I’m playing Connor.

So I’m thinking House of Cards crossed with Pride and Prejudice and that equals Connor?

JGS: [laughs] I didn’t mean Kevin Spacey in House of Cards specifically and Keira Knightley in maybe Pirates of the Caribbean. There’s a little bit of indignation in both of them, and a little ‘I know what the deal is.’

And that was definitely a discussion with Christian and MTV while we were filming was they do want me to bring a lightness to the story, especially in the early episodes. I do function as a lighter tone in some of those scenes. But I wonder, as a viewer, if my character can be challenging not only for what some of the things he does, but to have that kind of sarcastic, sardonic, energy upfront. I think you have to give him the benefit of the doubt, and then, maybe, you’re rewarded, ultimately, in the long run, towards the end of the season.

Eye Candy airs Mondays at 10pm on MTV.