Wonder Con - "Damien" Interviews/Articles Masterpost
Masterpost for interviews/articles from the Damien Q&A panel and press room at Wonder Con in Los Angeles.
25 March 2016
[Click for articles/interviews]
Fandom: (1) WonderCon: ‘Damien’ is About to Get Crazy [Includes video interviews]
First of all, it’s important to know that The Antichrist is a big Batman fan. Huge Batman fan. Well, Bradley James is a huge Batman fan and he plays The Antichrist so that’s good enough. [snip] Chatting with the actor, I mentioned how he’s the most likable Antichrist we’ve seen portrayed thus far. His response was simple: “I guess you haven’t seen the next episode yet.” James credits his agents with forcing him to read the script for the show, one which could be a controversial and career-threatening one for a hot young actor coming off of Merlin. Whereas American agents may have steered the sinister material away from a client, his UK-based representatives pushed the meaty and complex role on the actor with leading man good looks. He’s sold us on the unassuming, good-natured man with a dark past. Now it’s about to get crazy.
[Click for full article and video interviews (spoilers)]
Hypable: Damien’ star Bradley James weighs in on his character’s moral compass
In short, the one thing we learned from chatting with James is that there are really two ways to look at everything and in Damien's case in particular, what we deem to be the goodness in him could just be a matter of perception. James may have a firm grasp on the workings of Damien’s internal struggle, but the actor fully credits showrunner Glen Mazzara for giving him such a substantial character to sink his teeth into.
We chat with the actor, who makes a hard case for why even Damien's "good choices" may be a matter of perception.
‘Damien’ star Bradley James weighs in on his character’s morBradley James: “Yes. The only thing that was missing was the train car. They were rushing above our heads, actually, and it sounded like whenever one came through it was like, ‘I’m pretty sure one of those cars is going to just fall through the floor.’ No, it was in terms of [that], one of the more enjoyable scenes was the whole subway stuff largely just because I got to run around and jump over stuff. It was fun. You can take your mind off of it a little bit more and just throw yourself at it physically. I love all that stuff. I love the physical aspects to the character. Like, ‘Get the stunt man out of here. I’ll do this.'”
How is it to see the finished episodes with all the effects added in?
Bradley James: “I’m quite happy. I’ve seen the whole lot. I’ve seen the ebb and flow of it and how it sort of finds its feet and starts to get stuck in. It has a great running towards the end and I’m very happy with the story that’s been told.”al compass
byPamela Gocobachi
Damien Thorn may have saved a little boy from a terrible fate in last week’s Damien episode, but here’s why actor Bradley James says you shouldn’t necessarily think the “good choices” his character makes are the right ones.
He may be the antichrist, but you’d be a fool for thinking Damien’s just one thing. In fact, one of the things that keeps us coming back for more of A&E’s newest horror series is the multifaceted nature of his character. But despite the darkness that lurks just below the surface, it’s easy to see the good in Thorn.
For one, he’s not exactly taking his newfound destiny lying down, and if last week’s episode with the young boy on the tracks is anything to go by, he’s clearly still got a conscience. But is he really making the right choices? Or are Damien’s “good actions” merely a matter of perception?
You’ve got none other than Bradley James to thank for that food for thought. And after chatting with him over the weekend at WonderCon 2016 in Los Angeles, it’s definitely got us questioning everything we thought we knew about Mr. Thorn.
“Say Damien is a human being. He’s multifaceted in terms of how he responds and reacts, but it just gets harder for him because he has baggage that no one else has,” James told Hypable.
So what happens as the darkness grows stronger? According to James, choosing to do what Damien thinks is the right thing is only going to get more difficult.
“[The Darkness is] closing in on him, making it tougher to have those moments where you can just make the easy, good decision, or what is perceived to be the good decision,” explained the actor. “You mentioned the boy on the tracks - who’s to say he’s not going to turn out to be Hitler 2.0?”
In short, the one thing we learned from chatting with James is that there are really two ways to look at everything and in Damien’s case in particular, what we deem to be the goodness in him could just be a matter of perception.
James may have a firm grasp on the workings of Damien’s internal struggle, but the actor fully credits showrunner Glen Mazzara for giving him such a substantial character to sink his teeth into.
“Glen’s been very clever - you couldn’t easily just do a show about the antichrist where he turns up and he’s just bad.” As James puts it, that’d be interesting for the audience, but only for a few episodes. “[He’s] essentially showing a very honest journey through some horrendous circumstances.”
For better or worse, we’ll be sticking with Damien to find out how he comes to terms with the sinister destiny that currently lays upon his shoulders.
First of all, it’s important to know that The Antichrist is a big Batman fan. Huge Batman fan. Well, Bradley James is a huge Batman fan and he plays The Antichrist so that’s good enough. Here at WonderCon James and many others from the A&E show Damien are here promoting it and it appears that things are about to go belly up.
In the first couple of episodes of the series, James has shown us a Damien Thorn who is troubled about the darkness around him and his fate is unknown to him. Chatting with the actor, I mentioned how he’s the most likable Antichrist we’ve seen portrayed thus far. His response was simple:
“I guess you haven’t seen the next episode yet.”
What that foretells is that things are about to go south for the young man and those around him. The actor is mum on what is about to unfold on the series from The Walking Dead and The Shield alum Glen Mazzara, but he’s not going to be so likable for long. James and co-star Barbara Hershey were quick to discuss the show’s place in this new “golden age of television” and that the dark and complex material really finds a foothold in today’s market. Hershey, who is as close to Hollywood royalty as there is, and a horror icon in her own right after The Entity and Insidious, thinks it’s actually a “golden age of darkness,” referring both to audiences having a sophisticated enough palate for material like this but also what is happening in the real world. In many ways to her, the show is truly a mirror held to society.
It certainly makes the scares that much scarier.
James credits his agents with forcing him to read the script for the show, one which could be a controversial and career-threatening one for a hot young actor coming off of Merlin. Whereas American agents may have steered the sinister material away from a client, his UK-based representatives pushed the meaty and complex role on the actor with leading man good looks.
He’s sold us on the unassuming, good-natured man with a dark past. Now it’s about to get crazy.
Fandom: (2) WonderCon: Is There a ‘Damien’ Curse… For Birds?
The panel showcased a great rapport between the stars and the creator, but the overriding takeaway was that Damien is a show that needs to get its hooks in before the audience really knows what they have. Monday night by all accounts, will factor heavily into that.
[Click for full article (spoilers)]
This Monday fans of Damien will get to see a man totally mutilate his genitalia. And that’s apparently not in the running for the darkest and strangest thing to be happening in the episode. They screened the first 21 minutes of the upcoming episode, but it appears that the private damage is only the tip of the iceberg. Things are escalating rather quickly on the show and for fans of the intrigue of the society within society, Barbara Hershey and Scott Wilson have a meaty scene between them that alludes to the machinations in place to bring the AntiChrist’s reign to the forefront. Because of the taboo nature of the show, there are always those stories of weird things that happen in real life that makes one wonder if there are larger forces at play.
Glen Mazzara, in addition to running the show, is also the premiere source for bird mutilation stories. Apparently, there has been a spate of avian deaths associated with the project from the beginning. Birds flying into windows, hawks devouring pigeons in front of a terrified crew, and a mutilated bird on the set with no explanation. Because the show features birds slamming into windows and bird embryos in bathtubs, perhaps they’ve invoked some odd curse. Or it’s a coincidence. We hope. The idea of a vengeful bird god is too much to bear.
The panel showcased a great rapport between the stars and the creator, but the overriding takeaway was that Damien is a show that needs to get its hooks in before the audience really knows what they have. Monday night by all accounts, will factor heavily into that.
SciFi For Me: WonderCon 2016: DAMIEN Cast Talk Season One, the Mind of the Antichrist
Bradley James (Merlin, iZombie), who plays the titular antihero, is excited to take on the many bloody tasks of the Antichrist. “I enjoy this role so much that I’ve never had any difficulty putting the work in,” he says (in his native British accent). “It’s a challenge, a wonderful challenge.”
He [Mazzara] adds, “Bradley James does a great job of injecting humanity into the character, while making sure he’s always taking one step down that path.”
[Click for full article (spoilers)]
WonderCon 2016: DAMIEN Cast Talk Season One, the Mind of the Antichrist
While only the first three episodes of A&E’s companion series to the 1976 cult classic film The Omen have aired, the season as a whole is what has the cast & crew of Damien really excited.
“The show’s gonna get darker,” assures Executive Producer Glen Mazzara (The Shield). “I mean, it gets really dark.” That’s saying something for a show that, by its third episode, has already had a man mauled to death by dogs and one escalator-related death. “We go into some pretty dark territory, so it will be interesting to see how the middle of the season plays, there’s some stuff that takes some risks, and then the end of the season is just a freight train. I’m really really proud of the finale, and I think people will be pleased when they see how it all comes together, and all the questions people have about Damien will be answered. I’m excited for people to see it.”
Promising closure isn’t something most execs are comfortable doing, but the enthusiasm and passion for this show extends to the cast as well. Scott Wilson, who previously worked with Mazzara on The Walking Dead, was excited to work with the producer again. “It just took the suggestion that he wanted me, and then I wouldn’t let it go.”
Damien, a cocktail of thriller, cable-airable horror and drama, boasts a delightful and enthusiastic cast. Omid Abtahi (Argo, 24) and Megalyn Echikunwoke (House of Lies, Vixen) both love their characters and their respective roles in the show. “For my character, I basically have creative license to build that backstory because she’s new,” said Echikunwoke. “I like that she wasn’t clearly defined, because it gives you an opportunity as an actor to really play.”
“I liked that he wasn’t a terrorist,” joked Abtahi. “I’ve played a lot of terrorists.”
“For me, to play a character who’s Middle Eastern, who’s not involved in terrorism at all, and speaks in my own accent, that’s a breath of fresh air,” he says. “I go, ‘You want me to speak Arabic or something?’ and [Glen’s] like, ‘No, why?'”
The stars are also very proud of the workers behind the camera. “The writing doesn’t really adhere to one genre. That’s one cool thing about the show, it kind of traverses genres,” says Echikunwoke.
The Omen was a 1976 horror film that spawned three sequels, all following the titular Damien Thorn. Damien, a child in the original story, has grown into a seasoned war photographer at the start of the series, who always seems to follow tragedy-or, more accurately, tragedy seems to follow him. Unbeknownst to Damien, he’s actually (honestly, literally) the Antichrist, destined to bring about the end of the world.
“He is half human, like Christ is half human. But the human part of him couldn’t handle the facts, and blanked it out,” explains Barbara Hershey (Once Upon a Time, Black Swan), “like people do when horrendous things happen in childhood. And he was always attracted to pain and became a war photographer, because what’s more painful than war?”
Bradley James (Merlin, iZombie), who plays the titular antihero, is excited to take on the many bloody tasks of the Antichrist. “I enjoy this role so much that I’ve never had any difficulty putting the work in,” he says (in his native British accent). “It’s a challenge, a wonderful challenge.”
Although the three sequels in The Omen franchise followed Damien into adulthood (and even saw his children), they aren’t part of the canon of the series. “In the second movie, I thought the child was very cognizant that he was evil and had a task, and I wanted it to play out in a different way. When you see what we do throughout the season, you’ll see what I’m going for.”
“Pretty soon in the show, he starts to realize that he has to sooner or later deal with the supernatural element in his life. That’s coming up very quickly,” previews Mazzara. “He’s going kicking and screaming down into hell, so it’s a matter of making that journey as interesting and as complex and as surprising as possible.” He adds, “Bradley James does a great job of injecting humanity into the character, while making sure he’s always taking one step down that path.”
The biggest takeaway is that in regards to Damien’s past and future, we’ll be guessing up until the very end. “I think the questions are more fun than the answers,” laughs Hershey. “Is there such a thing as pre-ordained destiny? Can you fight your destiny? That’s one of the questions of the show. Aside from ‘What would it feel like to be the Antichrist?'”
Showbiz Junkies ‘Damien’ - Bradley James and Barbara Hershey Interview
You said you’ve enjoyed the role. What is it about playing Damien that you’ve enjoyed?
Bradley James: “I’ve enjoyed - cast aside, I’ll wax lyrical about the cast - I had a fantastic time coming onto set and bouncing off these people. And also just an opportunity to explore parts of myself, parts of humanity that are not ones I as readily sort of delve into. You sort of have to tap into your own I use the word darkness and it’s not really the right word, but you just have to tap into those aspects of yourself which may be perceived as a bit negative or to use a crass word, evil. I think we all sort of have that within us and it can be somewhat cathartic to sort of explore that within yourself and just get a better understanding of it.”
[Click for full article (spoilers)]
Damien’ - Bradley James and Barbara Hershey Interview
Barbara Hershey and Bradley James star in A&E’s ‘Damien’ (Photo by Ben Mark Holzberg
Copyright 2016)
Damien‘s currently in the middle of season one on A&E but if you’re not already hooked, you still have time to catch on. Airing on Mondays at 10pm ET/PT, the series is a sequel to the 1976 horror hit The Omen and stars Bradley James (Merlin, iZombie) as Damien Thorn, the son of the Devil. Barbara Hershey co-stars as Ann Rutledge, a mentor/protector of sorts to the Antichrist. James and Hershey were part of A&E’s Damien panel at the 2016 WonderCon and also took part in interviews to discuss the horror series which finds Damien learning the truth about his background over the course of the season.
Bradley James and Barbara Hershey Interview:
Barbara Hershey: “The thing I keep hearing sometimes from people is how did the little boy who smiled with knowledge at the camera at the end of the original film The Omen, how did he get to this point? How come he didn’t [know]? How is this related to that? And what I just wanted to say is that he is half-human, like Christ was half-human, the human part of him couldn’t handle the facts and blanked it out like people do when horrendous things happen in their childhood. And he was always attracted to pain and became a war photographer - and what’s more painful than war? I’m sure whenever these ideas came in, little feelings, you’d push them out. That brought him to the present. That’s what I always thought was the answer to that.”
Is that what you thought, too?
Bradley James: [Laughing] “Yes.”
Is Damien sort of in denial right now as it becomes more and more clear to everyone around him that he’s connected to these terrible things?
Bradley James: “That’s probably a good way of putting it. I would say that anyone being informed that they’re the Anti-Christ would try and hold off for as long as possible before agreeing to that. Yeah, I don’t think that’s something that you hear and then go, ‘Okay.'”
How much of Ann’s ultimate plan do you know at this point?
Barbara Hershey: “Ultimate plan…I kind of am clear on it, yeah. How she gets there, I’m not so clear on. What her plan is, yeah. What her desire is, yeah.”
What has been the most taxing scene for you to play?
Bradley James: “I’m not sure if there is a specific scene largely because you find yourself mapping out… I mean, the difficult scenes are ones that are technically difficult. The difficulty of it is just finding the truth, being truthful, and that tends to be something that happens over the course of an episode so it’s difficult to sort of narrow that down into one scene. I think as long as you’ve done your homework. […]I enjoy this role so much that I’ve never had difficulty working, which makes it sound like I find it really easy which isn’t the case. It’s a challenge - a wonderful challenge.”
Barbara Hershey: “It’s not just one scene, it’s trying to come to something truthful, something real. And that can be in a simple scene as well, the challenge is hard.”
Bradley James: “There’s a challenge to it and that’s what’s brilliant about acting is when you get those challenges right and you take them head on. It’s what I get excited about it.”
You said you’ve enjoyed the role. What is it about playing Damien that you’ve enjoyed?
Bradley James: “I’ve enjoyed - cast aside, I’ll wax lyrical about the cast - I had a fantastic time coming onto set and bouncing off these people. And also just an opportunity to explore parts of myself, parts of humanity that are not ones I as readily sort of delve into. You sort of have to tap into your own I use the word darkness and it’s not really the right word, but you just have to tap into those aspects of yourself which may be perceived as a bit negative or to use a crass word, evil. I think we all sort of have that within us and it can be somewhat cathartic to sort of explore that within yourself and just get a better understanding of it.”
What do you hope audiences will take away from this show?
Bradley James: “I hope they ask a lot of questions of themselves. I hope they have a better understanding of the fact that we’re not all one thing, it’s not black and white.”
You played King Arthur in Merlin and now you’re playing the Devil reborn. Do you prefer the evil character?
Bradley James: “I prefer the variety. You know, acting always drew me as a kid. I got to be lots of people and have fun with it, and that’s what I’ve been very fortunate with with Damien because I did King Arthur obviously and then I was looking for something that was going to be completely different and fortunately enough Damien came along.”
Did you do all of the stunts in the train scene?
Bradley James: “Yes. The only thing that was missing was the train car. They were rushing above our heads, actually, and it sounded like whenever one came through it was like, ‘I’m pretty sure one of those cars is going to just fall through the floor.’ No, it was in terms of [that], one of the more enjoyable scenes was the whole subway stuff largely just because I got to run around and jump over stuff. It was fun. You can take your mind off of it a little bit more and just throw yourself at it physically. I love all that stuff. I love the physical aspects to the character. Like, ‘Get the stunt man out of here. I’ll do this.'”
How is it to see the finished episodes with all the effects added in?
Bradley James: “I’m quite happy. I’ve seen the whole lot. I’ve seen the ebb and flow of it and how it sort of finds its feet and starts to get stuck in. It has a great running towards the end and I’m very happy with the story that’s been told.”
How do you think Damien, with a journalism background, deals with the supernatural that he discovers is around him?
Bradley James: “That is the discovery that we’re about to make.”
Did you get to do a lot of cool stunts over season one?
Bradley James: “I wouldn’t say…obviously it’s not as stunt-heavy as some of the stuff that I’ve done. I’m trying to think if there’s one in particular that matches up to it. I think the set pieces are more of a mental play than a sort of action. There’s action in it; there’s certain moments like the train scene in episode three, but obviously I’ve had in previous jobs an intense level of stunt work to do that it’s sort of water off a duck’s back at this stage.”
In the original movie there were unexplained things that happened during filming. Did anything unexplained happen to either of you?
Barbara Hershey: “No, for me, but there was a lot of stuff with birds that was happening. Glen [Mazzara] was having coffee with his wife and we were shooting a segment the next day with this bird that was in episode two and this bird inside his house crashed into the window. He picked it up and it died in his hands. It’s strange because they couldn’t figure out where it came in. He went out and came back and there was another one there in the same spot. And then a lot of bird things happened to people during filming. One guy was attacked by ravens when he was working out, out running. There were a lot of those types of things going on, but nothing to me.”
Bradley James: “I think I get a hall pass for that, being Damien.”
Barbara Hershey: “I didn’t think about that. We’re on the right side! There are perks to the darkside.”
Is this the darkest character you’ve ever played?
Barbara Hershey: “I don’t look at the character that way. To me, she has a belief system and it’s the same as a Catholic person or someone who’s very steeped in their powerful belief system. Hers just happens to be the other side. From her point of view she’s not dark or evil. That has to do really with who’s talking. I mean, throughout history a lot of people from religions have killed a lot of people. Are those people evil? So I kind of think of it that way. She’s protecting him. Is that evil?”
So she believes she’s doing the right thing?
Barbara Hershey: “Absolutely. And she might be…”
Watch the full interview with Bradley James and Barbara Hershey:
Hypable: Damien’ star Bradley James weighs in on his character’s moral compass
In short, the one thing we learned from chatting with James is that there are really two ways to look at everything and in Damien’s case in particular, what we deem to be the goodness in him could just be a matter of perception. James may have a firm grasp on the workings of Damien’s internal struggle, but the actor fully credits showrunner Glen Mazzara for giving him such a substantial character to sink his teeth into.
[Click for full article (spoilers)]
Damien’ star Bradley James weighs in on his character’s moral compass
We chat with the actor, who makes a hard case for why even Damien's "good choices" may be a matter of perception.
Damien Thorn may have saved a little boy from a terrible fate in last week’s Damien episode, but here’s why actor Bradley James says you shouldn’t necessarily think the “good choices” his character makes are the right ones.
He may be the antichrist, but you’d be a fool for thinking Damien’s just one thing. In fact, one of the things that keeps us coming back for more of A&E’s newest horror series is the multifaceted nature of his character. But despite the darkness that lurks just below the surface, it’s easy to see the good in Thorn.
For one, he’s not exactly taking his newfound destiny lying down, and if last week’s episode with the young boy on the tracks is anything to go by, he’s clearly still got a conscience. But is he really making the right choices? Or are Damien’s “good actions” merely a matter of perception?
You’ve got none other than Bradley James to thank for that food for thought. And after chatting with him over the weekend at WonderCon 2016 in Los Angeles, it’s definitely got us questioning everything we thought we knew about Mr. Thorn.
“Say Damien is a human being. He’s multifaceted in terms of how he responds and reacts, but it just gets harder for him because he has baggage that no one else has,” James told Hypable.
So what happens as the darkness grows stronger? According to James, choosing to do what Damien thinks is the right thing is only going to get more difficult.
“[The Darkness is] closing in on him, making it tougher to have those moments where you can just make the easy, good decision, or what is perceived to be the good decision,” explained the actor. “You mentioned the boy on the tracks - who’s to say he’s not going to turn out to be Hitler 2.0?”
In short, the one thing we learned from chatting with James is that there are really two ways to look at everything and in Damien’s case in particular, what we deem to be the goodness in him could just be a matter of perception.
James may have a firm grasp on the workings of Damien’s internal struggle, but the actor fully credits showrunner Glen Mazzara for giving him such a substantial character to sink his teeth into.
“Glen’s been very clever - you couldn’t easily just do a show about the antichrist where he turns up and he’s just bad.” As James puts it, that’d be interesting for the audience, but only for a few episodes. “[He’s] essentially showing a very honest journey through some horrendous circumstances.”
For better or worse, we’ll be sticking with Damien to find out how he comes to terms with the sinister destiny that currently lays upon his shoulders.
Dread Central: WonderCon 2016: Damien Creator & Cast Shed Some Light on the Antichrist
I was eager to follow up with the cast to see what they had to say about all of this. First up after Glen was Bradley “Makes Watching This With My Girlfriend Awkward” James, star and portrayer of the titular “Damien”:
Bradley: While portraying Damien, it was crucial that I tap into that darkness that’s within all of us. We all have it, those thoughts in the back of our mind that if anyone heard we’d have a lot of explaining to do. For Damien, that darkness is closing in around him and becoming harder to avoid. He hasn’t lost his moral compass, but events keep happening that make the needle point ever more directly into this role as the Antichrist.
He went on to explain more about the grey area that both the character and show “Damien” inhabit:
Bradley: It would be very easy for Glen to have written a show about the Antichrist where he shows up twirling a moustache and sowing chaos and destruction. People would have fun watching it for a few episodes, but it would get boring. What’s compelling about Damien is that there’s a truth to his character. Evil in the show isn’t just pure “evil.” He’s given compelling reasons to turn to the darkness that we can all relate with. Even saving a child, there’s no telling what kind of person he’ll grow up to be. Damien isn’t just succumbing to darkness because it’s his destiny; we can see the reasons why. There’s a truth to that in all of us.
Wondering if Bradley James is as devilishly good looking in person? (Trick question, he’s even more gorgeous up close.)
[Click for full article (spoilers)]
WonderCon 2016: Damien Creator & Cast Shed Some Light on the Antichrist
So, turns out you’re the Antichrist. No, not the kind your mom called you when you decided to shave the side of your head and start wearing blue eyeliner. The literal inverse of Christ. For all that he’s holy and good, you’re unholy and bad. He’s rainbows and forgiveness, and you’re eternal damnation and violent dismemberment.
The kicker is that you didn’t even ask to be the Antichrist! And you thought inheriting your dad’s receding hairline was a bummer.
This is the story that A&E’s new series “Damien” aims to tell. If that weren’t enough to spark your interest, this also serves as an official sequel to the 1976 horror classic The Omen. Yup, we’re talking about that Damien. With the titular character now in his 30s, it’s time for him to take his rightful place as the herald of end times. The problem is that he doesn’t remember any of that being the spawn of Satan stuff and isn’t quite sure how to take it.
As if making a serial drama about the Antichrist as a sequel to a film that’s 40 years old wasn’t already a big enough task, this also replaces the canon that the second two films established. Even if you are of the opinion that this is probably a good thing, it’s still a monumental task.
So when the good people at A&E reached out and asked if I’d like some time to talk to a few of the cast members and the executive producer at WonderCon 2016, it didn’t require any divine prophecy for me to figure out my answer.
At the forefront of my questions was a simple one, “Why? After all this time, why make a ‘Damien’ show? What story do you hope to tell?” It’s a loaded question despite being simple, but one that I think most fans are honestly thinking. Luckily, I was able to address this right off the bat as I sat down with executive producer Glen Mazzara. Here’s what he had to say about the show:
Glen: When the people at [production company] Fox approached me, it was after the success of shows like “Hannibal” and “Bates Motel,” and they were wondering what they could do reviving their other iconic characters. They came to me and asked, “What would you do if you could make a show based on The Omen?” So I thought about it and realized that I wondered what that character was like now. With “Damien,” I had a chance to tell a unique story. You see all kinds of devils and demons in TV and movies, but I haven’t seen a really good telling of what it would mean to be the Antichrist. As a Catholic, I was taught that Christ was fully human and fully divine. With Damien, I wanted a character that was fully human and fully evil. Both of them are still men. They both have the capacity to doubt and have folly. No matter how much they might struggle against it, they can’t change what they are. It’s more than just destiny; it’s who they are incarnate.
I got the chance to ask him about the decision to disregard the second two films and what respect he had for the canon. Here’s what Glen had to say about that:
Glen: At the end of Damien: Omen 2, Damien is fully aware that he is evil and has a task. You get into this rhythm where he looks at someone funny and they get killed in an accident. I felt that would constrain me to a repeating style of storytelling. With the story that I wanted to tell, the struggle between the human and evil side of Damien, I needed to split from that formula. That doesn’t mean that I don’t have an incredible respect for the source material. We really thought about the world that “Damien” is set in. For example, the seven daggers of Megiddo. We thought about, “Where did these daggers come from, and who made them?” So we added to that mythology. In the Book of Revelations, there are seven original churches. In the show, each of the daggers bears the name of one of those original churches. Now that these daggers are in play, who has them, where they are, or if they are missing adds characterization to that story element. I felt that the original film was rich enough to just pull from, and my goal was to take that and deepen it.
A bit later, he went on to explain some more of the creative choices he made:
Glen: By about episode three or four, we are telling our own story. This isn’t just an appendix to The Omen. We took what we needed, built upon it, and are telling our own story now. We start in Damascus with Damien working as a war photographer so he already knows the dark depths of reality. A fundamental part of this story is that evil exists in the world already. I didn’t want this to feel magical and hokey, like the apocalypse was some supernatural event happening at midnight on this exact date, and it’s only a matter of getting the right talisman with the right spellbook to do the banishing incantation. We wanted this to be real, how people examine questions of good, evil, God, our nature, and all that. It’s about characters, not a plot. It’s grounded in the real world.
It was a fascinating discussion. If you were on the fence before, you should check it out with what Glen said in mind. There’s more to “Damien” than initially meets the eye.
I was eager to follow up with the cast to see what they had to say about all of this. First up after Glen was Bradley “Makes Watching This With My Girlfriend Awkward” James, star and portrayer of the titular “Damien”:
Bradley: While portraying Damien, it was crucial that I tap into that darkness that’s within all of us. We all have it, those thoughts in the back of our mind that if anyone heard we’d have a lot of explaining to do. For Damien, that darkness is closing in around him and becoming harder to avoid. He hasn’t lost his moral compass, but events keep happening that make the needle point ever more directly into this role as the Antichrist.
He went on to explain more about the grey area that both the character and show “Damien” inhabit:
Bradley: It would be very easy for Glen to have written a show about the Antichrist where he shows up twirling a moustache and sowing chaos and destruction. People would have fun watching it for a few episodes, but it would get boring. What’s compelling about Damien is that there’s a truth to his character. Evil in the show isn’t just pure “evil.” He’s given compelling reasons to turn to the darkness that we can all relate with. Even saving a child, there’s no telling what kind of person he’ll grow up to be. Damien isn’t just succumbing to darkness because it’s his destiny; we can see the reasons why. There’s a truth to that in all of us.
Barbara Hershey (Ann Rutledge) had more to say on this:
Barbara: With the quality of Glen’s scripts, we don’t have to look hard for our motivation. My character, Ann, is a true believer in the Antichrist. She isn’t some cultist in a robe; she truly believes that the darkness is more true than the light. She doesn’t believe that this is all “God’s” plan, but someone else’s. She’s devout. It’s why she fits in so well into this more subtle world. Even when falling on the extreme spectrum of worshiping evil, Ann is believable. It doesn’t come off as forced or fake because we can see her point. Even if we don’t agree with her, we can understand how she believes this.
If you haven’t checked out “Damien” yet, hopefully this will give you some insight as to what to expect. It’s a slower paced show that doesn’t sacrifice characterization for scares, and that alone might make it not for everyone. In my opinion, it’s exactly this kind of slower progression that makes it a worthy successor to The Omen.
A new episode premieres tonight on A&E, so tune in and see if it’s for you. You might be a little lost in the thick plot, but I think the quality of the writing speaks for itself.
Fan of the show? Looking forward to trying it out? Wondering if Bradley James is as devilishly good looking in person? (Trick question, he’s even more gorgeous up close.) Let me know in the comments below!
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