The Insider.com

There would be no Revenge without the betrayal that sent David Clarke to prison and Amanda Clarke to juvenile detention, but that creates a bizarre working experience for James Tupper since all his scenes are flashbacks. Translation: he's never worked with star Emily VanCamp, who plays his daughter.

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"Yea, but most of my scenes are in bed with Madeleine Stowe ... it's good work if you can get it," he laughed to Insider.com during a recent chat about the show's phenomenal success, its homegrown fans (wife Anne Heche is obsessed) and what's coming up after tonight's mid-season finale.

One of the biggest developments James teased was the convergence of past and present timelines. "There's a lot of surprises coming up and [creator] Mike Kelley is going to start playing with the timelines," he tells me. "We're going to get later in my life and earlier in Emily's."

But will that timeline rejiggering lead to the reveal that David is actually very much alive (a theory of mine that I know many of you share)? "That's my secret theory too," James chuckles. "I don't know, the writers are so tight-lipped about what's happening in the future. But I would love to see David get his revenge on the people who sent him to jail."

Including his former lover Victoria? "I don't believe Victoria had any part in the conspiracy," James reveals. "She might feel guilty for it, but I think they had a real true love, and I'm fighting – as James – to keep believing in her."

That blind faith may be rewarded with episode 13 (airing 2012), according to James. "The 13th episode reads like a series finale – there are so many big twists and shocks in it. Every single character is in jeopardy. I worried they wouldn’t be able to keep it up, but Mike has such a brilliant plan. He's a big picture person and that episode has surprises in every single scene."

Revenge airs Wednesdays at 10 p.m. on ABC.