From Bustle:

 

You’re not the only one who’s still drying her eyes over the announcement that Nina Dobrev is leaving The Vampire Diaries. Star of the CW’s upcoming The Messengers, Joel Courtney, is also up in arms over the news. “She’s the heart of the show,” the 19-year-old actor says. “I hope that the show can go on, but I’m not sure what they can do. I look forward to seeing what they do, do.” 

The ginger-haired star of the new CW series, which premieres April 17, weighed in on a controversial topic: Is he team Stefan or team Damon? With Dobrev having dated her on-screen co-star Ian Somerhalder, many fans are still trying to ship Somerhalder’s Damon with her character Elena. But for Courtney, it’s all about sexy Stefan. “Because when Elena was with him, he didn’t make her change. She never regretted being with him,” he says. “With Damon there was always this history, this baggage. Yeah, Stefan was a ripper, but… She didn’t like [Damon] because of the crap he kept pulling. With Stefan he was always there trying to help her. Team Stefan!”

But unlike costars Nina Dobrev and Ian Somerhalder, Courtney says it would take a lot for him to date someone he works with. “It’s definitely a rough area to go into just because if things do go wrong, things don’t work, things go badly, that’s just drama,” he says. “And honestly, I can’t stand drama other than that which I perform myself on camera. So I would be very hesitant to… unless it’s the right girl.”

 

The last time a large audience saw Courtney was in J.J. Abrams supernatural drama Super 8, where he played a small town boy sucked into unusual circumstances — involving aliens, of course. While his CW show doesn’t have aliens per se, it does involve angels and the rapture. Inarguably heavy stuff for the teen-slanting network. ”A lot of shit’s gonna go down,” Courtney says. “It’s gonna hit the fan.”

Courtney plays Peter Moore, a “regular teen” with a history of baggage. “Foster home to foster home, he was moved around a kid,” Courtney says. “He has a previous suicide attempt, it’s really dark for him. When a meteor crashes, there’s an energy pulse that goes through him and he dies, then he comes back to life. People think it’s another suicide attempt. It’s a misunderstanding and he’s brought together with The Messengers. They become kind of a family for him.”

So what does the show’s version of the Rapture entail? “Billions and billions of people die,” he says.  

Intrigued? Us too. Tune in April 17th on the CW to catch the pilot episode of The Messengers. 

From The Collective:

With the April 17 premiere of The Messengers, the Apocalypse is nigh on the CW. At WonderCon on Saturday, April 4, the network premiered the pilot episode in full to lucky audiences and held a short Q&A for fans after. The ensemble cast is diverse and the creators are excited about a project that explores different individuals, races and genders all through the lens of religion, science and personal motivations. I sat down with executive producer Trey Callaway (Revolution), co-executive producer/creator Eoghan O’Donnell(Teen Wolf), and cast members Shantel VanSanten “Vera” (One Tree Hill), Jon Fletcher “Joshua” (City of Dreams), J. D. Pardo “Raul” (Revolution), Joel Courtney “Peter” (Super 8), Diogo Morgado “the Devil” (Son of God), Anna Diop “Rose” (Everybody Hates Chris), and Craig Frank “Alan” (Mixology) to chat with the nicest devil you’ll ever meet, 5 wayward angels and discuss the hope the messengers might bring to humanity.

...

Diva: Joel, the pilot deals with suicide, bullying, homosexuality and foster homes. [Those are] really heavy…important teen issues. How did you deal with that?

Joel Courtney: Peter has a really dark past. I mean, he’s a teenager, teenagers have problems. He’s really just learning how to navigate that horrible situation. 

Diva: So we see [the messengers] interacting in [their] own little worlds. Are we going to see [them] coming together with some of the other characters? 

...

Joel: It was really funny, because in the pilot, I never actually got to work with any of the other actors. It wasn’t until the second episode. I knew these people in Albuquerque but I never actually got to work with them until three months later. We go our own separate ways and then we come back together.

From TV Equals:

Over Easter weekend the new drama The Messengers, which will debut on The CW on April 17, took to the stage at the Anaheim Convention Center as part of the 2015 WonderCon.

The cast of the show who participated in the moderated panel last weekend included Shantel VanSanten (Gang Related and One Tree Hill), JD Pardo (Revolution), Joel Courtney (Super 8), Diogo Morgado (The Bible), Anna Diop (Everybody Hates Chris), Craig Frank (The Lizzie Bennet Diaries) and relative newcomer Jon Fletcher as well as executive producers Eoghan O’Donnell and Trey Callaway.

The premise of ‘The Messengers’ is about what happens when a mysterious object plummets to Earth. The blinding explosion it causes sends out a shock wave that instantly connects five strangers who awaken after the pulse with extraordinary gifts they can barely believe. Most mysterious of all is a figure known only as The Man, who brings death and suffering wherever he appears. The wheels of Revelation have begun to turn, and these five newly christened Angels of the Apocalypse may be the only hope for preventing the impending Rapture.

The following are excerpts from the press room discussion with the cast and creative minds behind the show:

...

Joel Courtney: I play Peter Moore. He’s a regular teenager who has regular teenager problems. He has a past, being moved from foster home to foster home. He’s had a previous suicide attempt so when the object crashes from Heaven the energy wave hits us and we die, but when that happens (Peter is) swimming in the pool so people think it’s another suicide attempt, and I’m trying to convince them that it’s not. This is when Peter really finds out who he is and really finds his voice.

Question: Your characters are very different with different powers, do (their powers) manifest differently based on their personalities?

...

Joel: Peter’s emotional life is just rocked. From his childhood, because of the whole foster home to foster home situation, and at the end of the pilot when…Peter’s gift kicks in, which is strength…he loses control. In later episodes, Peter finds that his…control (of his power) comes from within.

From Collider: 

A meteor crash in the New Mexico desert brings unexpected and supernatural gifts to a group of strangers in the pilot for the CW’s new show, The Messengers. The stars and creators sat down with us after their panel to talk about what makes this show worth watching and what distinguishes it from other apocalypse-based shows currently on the air.

During our round table interview, we discussed everything from the original concept of the storyline to what drew the actors to the script, and learned a thing or two about the characters they are playing. Hit the jump to read more about what to expect when the show premieres on April 17th.

...

Joel Courtney explains that his character, Peter, has had a very rough upbringing. Being gifted with strength will be a struggle for him, especially after a fateful incident that occurs in the pilot. “Peter is looking for control over something that he has none. He did something that will follow him the rest of his life,” says Courtney, “He finds through the stability of the messengers to gain control.” 

From BeliefNet: 

Meet Peter Moore, a main character in the upcoming show “The Messengers.”

In The CW’s new drama “The Messengers,” Joel Courtney plays Peter Moore, a foster kid and bullied high school student who ends his constant harassment by lashing out with inexplicable strength. Peter soon embarks on a journey where he is mysteriously connected to four other strangers, who also have miraculously come back to life, each possessing a strange new ability.

“The Messengers” centers around five individuals who die as a result of an earthly phenomenon. When they return to earth as Angels with unique abilities, they must band together to stop the devil who has come to earth to destroy mankind in the days of Armageddon.

Be sure to check out the new faith series, premiering April 17 at 9:00 p.m. ET on the CW.

From Just Jared Jr. Go over there and check out the video and the photos!