Bree Turner Goes ‘Skin Deep’ in ‘Grimm’s Plastic Surgery Nightmare (VIDEO)

Bree Turner at the 2014 Comic-Con International Convention
Maarten de Boer
2014 Comic-Con International Convention Photograph by Maarten de Boer Bree Turner of Grimm

NBC’s Grimm has gone to many creepy and shocking places during its five-season run but it’s now venturing into the most horrifying territory yet—the world of face lifts! The April 1 episode of the NBC crime drama, titled “Skin Deep,” has an ancient and deadly creature—known as the Musasat Alsh-Shabab—prowling the shopping malls of Portland and luring young, sexy millennials to their deaths. Turns out this monster is associated with a local doctor (Better Call Saul star Patrick Fabian) who is peddling a miraculous beauty treatment—for $5000 a pop—that de-ages his clients instantly. But getting to the bottom of all this is no job for a Grimm. It’s Rosalee Calvert, the delightful apothecary owner played by Bree Turner, who is sent in to bust the doctor. Not only did Turner give us the dish on this Nip/Tuck spoof, she also shared the absolute best on-set prank story ever.

This episode has lots to say about society’s obsession with youth, and we even find out your character is insecure about her own looks. That’s so not our Rosalee!
You’re so right. She’s always so together, so earthy and chill, but then she gets an appointment with this doctor and he starts pointing out her flaws. She falls right into his trap. Suddenly she’s, like, “What? I have imperfections?” It’s very funny. When I read the script, I emailed the writer, Michael Golamco, and said, “Are you trying to tell me something? Sending me to the plastic surgery office? Gee, thanks!” [Laughs] I seriously had to check my vanity at the door when we shot that stuff. There’s a moment where Patrick’s character is looking at Rosalee through a big magnifying glass, and it’s all done under that horrible fluorescent lighting they have in doctors’ offices, and our Steadicam operator, Timmy, is right up in my face to capture my crow’s feet and make them look super huge. It was so unforgiving.

And then you add HiDef.
Oh, my God, yes! Even worse. We’re seen in HD! All I could do was release. What was my alternative? Freak out? Our show is always about terror and danger, so I love it when we add some comedy.

The doctor is also obsessed with looking youthful and is using his own treatment, which starts backfiring right in front of Rosalee. How did you keep a straight face?
It was crazy. Usually our monsters are CGI so we’re just faking it, but Patrick was covered in prosthetics that got crazier and crazier as the episode progresses, so I didn’t need any imagination to be in shock. Patrick is so good that he raised everyone’s game. He was all in and having so much fun! Barney Burman, who does our prosthetics, did some amazing and really subtle and frightening work on Patrick, but not completely outlandish and unrealistic. [Laughs] I’ve seen a few people on Brighton Way in Beverly Hills looking the same way. I actually never saw Patrick without his prosthetics—he had to report to makeup two or three hours ahead of the rest of us—but I know his work so I know he’s this totally gorgeous man. But not on our show. He got the full Grimm treatment.

RELATED: David Giuntoli’s Behind-the-Scenes Photos From the 100th Episode

How are you feeling about the Nick-Adalind romance? Could any of you actors have predicted this?
Well, on one hand you might think that nobody could have seen this coming, but I remember a scene in the pilot—one of my most favorite Grimm scenes ever—where Nick is at his car and he spots Adalind walking down the street and he’s checking her out, and then she morphs into the Hexenbiest. So that was a hint right there. His attraction to her was in place from the beginning. It’s the same way with Juliette. Her demise was always her path. I love that about our show. It’s kind of Shakespearean in that way. Juliette was never going to come out of this unscathed, just like Nick and Adalind always had a connection. And I’ll tell you this: From this point on until the season finale, the Adalind–Nick storyline will get very complicated and very juicy.

GRIMM -- "Skin Deep" Episode 515 -- Pictured: (l-r) Bree Turner as Rosalee Calvert, Silas Weir Mitchell as Monroe, Russell Hornsby as Hank Griffin, David Giuntoli as Nick Burkhardt -- (Photo by: Scott Green/NBC)

Team Grimm is ready for action

Rosalee bonding with Adalind has also been pretty trippy.
Rosalee has always been about second chances. She’s a reformed person, herself. She has compassion for people who need another shot at life, and Adalind has more than proven she’s on Team Grimm. And, above all, Nick has a child with her, and Rosalee would do anything for Nick. He’s clearly in love with Adalind so, as weird as it is, Rosalee is making it work in her own mind. Besides, who can resist a hunky guy holding a baby? Between that and the episode where Nick was shirtless in the tunnels, Grimmsters all around the world are getting a little sweaty.

Do you think the show will be renewed? What’s the vibe on the set?
The morale is high, but this is the stark reality of our business. Each season it’s, “Will we get picked up or won’t we?” We’re really cooking right now, the storylines are getting more exciting and our ratings have been steady, so we’re feeling really hopeful. We have just two more weeks of shooting for this season so I hope we’ll get word about a renewal before we wrap the last episode. I would love to come back and squeak out at least one more season and end Grimm the right way. We’ll see.

PHOTOS: Goofing Off With the Cast of Grimm

One last thing. David Giuntoli recently gushed about you to TV Guide Magazine, saying you are “a wonderful force for good on the set” and that you brought the cast together as a group with your “warmth and compassion.” He also said, “We’ll be friends for life.” Can we discuss these magical powers of yours?
I love that man, but I think he’s being way overly generous. David and I have had a special connection from my first day on the show. I have three brothers and David is like the fourth brother I should have had. He makes me laugh harder than anyone I know, especially when he pulls one of his pranks.

Like what? Give us an example. How cruel can he get?
Just last night we were shooting a scene where we’re all freaking out about something and David had to be all sweaty. He had this little Evian spritzer hidden in his pocket to mist himself before “Action.” I’m a big germaphobe—shamelessly so–and just as I was walking past him he pretended to sneeze and squirted the Evian mister toward me and nailed me right in my open mouth. And then he just walked away. [Laughs] The horror! I’m, like, “David Giuntoli just sneezed directly into my mouth! He might as well have just inoculated me with disease!” In the chaos, I went directly to our Purell station and started Purell-ing my hands like crazy, like that was gonna help. David could not stop laughing! Finally, he came over and showed me the Evian bottle. He’s such a goof and such a sweetheart. And he’s right about one thing: That kid and I are definitely friends for life.

Grimm airs Fridays, 9/8c, on NBC.