From the Latin Post: 

"The Messengers" star Joel Courtney, who plays Peter on the show, has weighed in on the recent news regarding the departure of Nina Dobrev from "The Vampire Diaries."

In a recent article on Bustle, Courtney was quoted as saying, "She's the heart of the show."

"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," he added. 

He also stated that when it comes to the "Team" categories, he positioned himself as "Team Stefan." He explained that Stefan did not expect Elena to change. In the end, Elena did not have to regret being together with him. 

He said there was issues with Stefan. But it was arguably worse with Damon. 

"With Damon there was always this history, this baggage," he said. "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!"

Courtney also had a few things to say about dating someone he works with, obviously referring to the romance between Nina Dobrev and co-star Ian Somerhalder.

"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," Courtney said.

Thanks, Tara! From That Was Something:

My family lives in a small beach town on the outskirts of Los Angeles. The school, the shops, the houses and the beach are all about ½ mile apart so that the kids are fairly free range – and with cell phones, they can check in regularly so parents such as myself can keep tabs. Watching a film like Tom Sawyer & Huckleberry Finn reminds me just how much freedom and space kids used to enjoy and, at the same time, be grateful those days are over. Tom and Huck’s roaming, unsupervised behavior puts them in frequent danger.

Tom Sawyer & Huckleberry Finn is an appropriate name for this film, as it borrows from both “The Adventures of…” novels by Mark Twain and mixes them up a little and, at the same time, leaves a lot out. Therefore, this film will not work for kids looking to getting out of school reading assignments (teachers rejoice!). What might be a fun challenge, though, is for kids to see the movie, then read the novels and note the differences – and it might be helpful too, once they’ve envisioned it, to get through the “olden days” vernacular.

On the other hand, other than the villain being named “Injun Joe,” (and really, it would be so untrue to the novel to change it), the film avoids the political incorrectness of the era. Just like the books, Huck Finn still smokes a pipe and the boys witness a murder and see some dead people, and knives and guns are also put into use (plus side: Muff Potter's trial does show the purpose of the judicial system)! Unless your child is sensitive, though, I think it's appropriate and enjoyable for children as young as 8.

This film has taken its time getting to release, but perhaps that’s for the best as the movie’s stars will all be familiar to middle-schoolers - and as a parent, the actors are perfectly cast as I know I always envisioned them. Tom Sawyer is a wholesome scamp as played by Joel Courtney, whose CW series “The Messengers” premieres April 17. Huckleberry Finn is Disney heartthrob Jake T. Austin (now on ABC Family’s “The Fosters”), who comes off like a young Brad Pitt. It's understandable why Tom falls for beautiful good girl Becky Thatcher as played by Katherine McNamara (Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials) And, kids will appreciate realizing Ben Rogers is none other than Noah Munck, best known as “Gibby” on “iCarly” and now a recurring character on ABC’s “The Goldbergs.”

While Tom Sawyer & Huckleberry Finn isn't going to serve as the Cliff Notes version, it does work as a great intro into these wonderful American classics.

From Fangirlish: 

Joel plays Peter, a shy high school student and star swimmer who is just trying to blow off some steam in the pool when he gets hit by the shock wave, causing him to drown (and kickstarting his gift). In the pilot, Peter “is emotionally everywhere–not secure and not strong in any sense,” Joel said. “But he finds that through the stability of the Messengers, who become a family to him, an inner strength and confidence. He really regains control.” 

Obviously, a preacher and a high school student from different states wouldn’t normally have much cause to come together, creating immediate intrigue as to how the Messengers will be united. “I think that is one of the things that is very relatable about the show. This very heightened reality that they are in, it’s about people having to work together to achieve a common goal,” Jon said. “They are all from different backgrounds, different belief systems… It will be a struggle for all of them.” The struggles the Messengers face won’t all be external, either. “[The show] very much delves into everyone’s backstory, and that’s kind of the great thing about the show–it seems like the pilot is very personal journeys for them. Even when they come together and realize what the higher cause is that they’ll work together to face, they’ll still move forward and we’ll find out slowly as it unravels about each person’s personal story: how they ended up getting there, how this is affecting them personally and not just necessarily as the collective,” Jon said.

Joel also talked about how his character in particular starts off in a very different place: “It’s really funny. In the pilot, I never got to work with any other actors–it wasn’t until the second episode.” So what happened when the time came to shoot episode 2 (months after filming the pilot and waiting to hear that it got picked up)? “We come together and a bomb is basically dropped on us. So we go our own separate ways and come back together,” Joel said.

Speaking of going separate ways, each of the Messengers if introduced to the audience in their own individual worlds, with friends, family, or other established relationships that have nothing to do with their Messenger-status. While Joshua’s pre-Messengers ties are a little more complicated (to say the least), Peter and Alice, his best friend at school, have a great relationship. With Peter’s new Messenger status, we had to wonder if we’ll see him reconnecting with Alice, his friend and possible love interest, or learning about his family, since he lives in foster care. Joel shared that we won’t be seeing more of Alice in Season 1, but said that he is “actually looking forward to that in hopefully later on seasons.” He added that “family does come into Season 1 for Peter. He does learn his history, where he’s from, a little bit about his parents. In one episode, he learns all of this and it’s very rough on him.”

The Messengers don’t just have to find each other in order to prevent the apocalypse–they also have to learn to master the mysterious gifts apparently bestowed upon them by the shockwave. “We see all of the characters struggle with their gifts,” Jon said. “It’s not just now you’re strong and you can do anything. Consequences will come into play–something else that they will have to navigate while trying to save the world,” he said. The gifts also seem to tie into each character’s inner journey and personality. “When Peter’s gift kicks in, he loses control. So for Peter, that’s what he’s looking for: control,” Joel said.

The show’s pilot is impressively ambitious topic-wise as well, tackling serious issues such as suicide, bullying, and sexuality (and that’s just in one Messenger’s plot line). “It was actually really, really interesting,” Joel said. “Peter had a really dark past that comes back to play in later episodes. It’s a little bit of his family and you learn a little bit of his history about his first suicide attempt, which was also in a pool, which kind of leads them to believe that this was another one. But, he’s a teenager. Teenagers have problems. Bullies, everything. He’s a teenager; he’s learning how to navigate this horrible situation. It’s really awful,” he said.

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.