As her incredibly dense resume reflects, the storytelling gods have been mostly kind to Helfer s characters and the casting gods have certainly been exceptionally generous. Helfer s been working near-constantly in genre and non-genre TV and film, playing a wide array of roles that have allowed her to assuredly avoid being typecast as that gorgeous Cylon. With
Van Helsing, she s even navigating uncharted waters as Bram Stoker s horror icon, Dracula. Not a bad way to make your acting mark, or help close out the epic narrative of Vanessa Van Helsing s destiny on the five-season show.
Following a very weird year for everyone, Helfer recently got on the line with SYFY WIRE to talk about how she s had the opportunity to reflect on her career filled with unexpected roles that have made her a beloved genre character actor. From
Wilbraham native Kelly Overton talks vampires, family and COVID as Syfy series ‘Van Helsing’ draws to close
Updated Apr 11, 2021;
Posted Apr 11, 2021
Wilbraham native Kelly Overton stars as Vanessa Van Helsing in the Syfy television series Van Helsing. (Photo by Brendan Meadows/Helsing S1 Productions/Syfy)Brendan Meadows/HELSING S1 PRODUCTIONS/Syfy
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Twenty five years ago, the kicking, jumping and throwing Kelly Overton did took place on the athletic fields of Minnechaug Regional High School.
Now, the Wilbraham native beats down vampires as the star of the Syfy television series “Van Helsing.” The horror series begins its fifth and final season on Friday, April 16. (Latecomers can binge watch the first four seasons on Netflix.)
In
Van Helsing, after a catastrophic volcano eruption, the last remaining underground vampires rise up through a dark, ash-filled sky to overtake America. Vanessa Van Helsing (Kelly Overton,
True Blood), a descendant of the legendary line of vampire hunters, awakens from a three-year coma to discover that she’s not only immune to the bloodthirsty predators – but also has the ability to make them human again. With this “cure” threatening the vampire’s existence and a target on her back, can Vanessa save humanity?
An original SYFY co-production,
Van Helsing is produced by Nomadic Pictures, which also serves as the studio. Executive producers are Chad Oakes and Mike Frislev from Nomadic Pictures, showrunner/writer Neil LaBute, Simon Barry (