Bradley - multiple "Damien" interviews (May 2016)
Interviews took place on Friday 6 May 2016 via Fox Studios in Los Angeles. Click on outlet name for full article.
[Click for interviews]Daily Dead: Exclusive Interview: DAMIEN Season 1 Retrospective with Showrunner Glen Mazzara (Excerpt below)
Combined with the writing, Bradley James’ performance humanizes the Antichrist and makes him a character to root for. Can you talk about how James really became this role and made viewers empathize with him but also be scared of him?
Glen Mazzara: Bradley had a really tough job in creating this role, and when I think about any show I’ve worked on in the past, I would say this is the toughest role I’ve ever seen an actor tackle. [snip] It’s a really, really complex journey. I don’t see any of the characters on TV having that kind of nuanced journey that also involves the baggage from a classic film. It was a really complicated thing, and Bradley is classically trained. He’s a total pro. He’s the sweetest guy. Hollywood legend has it that you never name a show after your lead character, because very often those actors end up becoming difficult as time goes on. Bradley is not that guy. Bradley is one of the kindest, hardest-working actors I’ve ever had the pleasure of working with, [snip] Bradley brought Damien Thorn to life in a way that I don’t think anyone expected, and he deserves a tremendous amount of credit for that.
SciFi Bulletin Damien: Interview: Glen Mazzara (post-finale) part 1
SciFi Bulletin Damien: Interview: Glen Mazzara (post-finale) part 2 (Excerpt below)
We talked last time about how Bradley became involved with the show. How much discussion did you have with him through the season about how much Damien is balancing his humanity and the Power around him?
Glen Mazzara: It was interesting. I spent a lot of time with Bradley early on in the process, defining his character and I would check in with him, if he had questions on a particular script. He went through his process and I would tell him what he needed to have at that time. [snip]
Most of my time was spent in Los Angeles with the writers, so I saw him as a leader on set [in Toronto]. He would call and we would talk things through. It was amazing how much work he put into his character, how well he understood the character and how he shaped Damien.[snip] He gave a really incredible performance because, think about it:[Spoiler (click to open)]this is an Anti-Christ who in our finale ends up committing mass murder and promising his soul to the Devil to commit even more mass murder…and your heart is breaking for him. That is just unbelievable that he could get you on his side. I think he deserves a lot of credit and I think his performance is totally outstanding.
Talk Nerdy With Us: Exclusive Interview with Damien’s Bradley James (Excerpt below).
Throughout the entirety of the series, I’ve been impressed with your capacity to make the antichrist ‘touchable,’ and to give a character in a supernatural setting such a realistic feel.
Well thank you so much for that observation - that’s blush-inducing! I would say a big part of that lends to my training, really. I went to a drama school that hammers it into you to find the truth. The truth of the situation is you can’t play an antichrist. In the same way that you can’t play a king. You can’t play a peasant. You can’t really play the status if no one’s given you the status. So you have to leave that to everybody else, but what you can do is you can play the humanity of the situation. You can play the human being you’re portraying and the by-product of being the antichrist is more because you’re being bestowed that by your other actors who are generous enough to give you that status as it were. That was certainly the case here.
Showbiz Junkies: ‘Damien’: Bradley James Interview on the Season 1 Finale
Were there any physically difficult scenes? (Excerpt below)[Spoiler (click to open)]The exorcism in the pit looked intense
Bradley James: “Yeah. We shot it all at night in Canada and the weather wasn’t always a balmy 70 degrees. I suppose you probably picked out what was the most intense, but it kind of helped, really. It was something I was able to use. I was walking around covered in prop blood and without a shirt on, no shoes, and strapped to a board, and then walking in a forest - all that kind of stuff. It helped because the sort of extreme nature of doing that at 3 o’clock in the morning just added something that you didn’t have to work for when you’re actually shoot in the camera because you’re out there in the elements uncomfortable and that helps. Again, what I mentioned earlier, you’ve got to try and get every advantage you can when it comes to performing and being the character working on a scene. That was an advantage I took hold of. I spent time taking on board the conditions and then absolutely dousing myself in bug spray because the mosquitoes out there…my god, they were relentless! So I was just bathing in bug spray for all the nights that we shot those scenes.”
Father Son Holy Gore: Exclusive Interview With Bradley James, Glen Mazzara From A&Es Damien (Excerpt below)
Most importantly, Bradley loves variety. [snip] he went on to say everybody here provided a great atmosphere for a conduit towards their respective chemistry in various scenes. Being amongst a diverse cast, Bradley acknowledges each actor was different, making for good energy and even better scenes. Morever, Bradley tells us he and Omid Abtahi (who plays Amani) are great friends now after shooting the show together. This helped the natural relationship between Damien and Amani onscreen, as they got closer offscreen. He also made sure to add he loves Barbara’s presence as Ann Rutledge. He “felt very respected in [his] process.” Bradley also says there existed a mutual appreciation for and understanding of one another. Only too evident in the final product; their onscreen chemistry is undeniable.
Oh So Gray: DAMIEN Season Finale Breakdown With Bradley James & Glen Mazzara (Excerpt below)
Bradley, what is your biggest challenge or favorite part playing Damien?
Bradley James: Essentially I describe is as a cathartic experience. Because Damien - as you are probably aware - he has something of a stressful lifestyle. He carries a lot of pain around with him. Whilst trying to get on with it - he doesn’t just sort of wallow in it most of the time. He’s seen a lot, been through a lot. He’s seen a lot more than most thirty year olds have. So the experience for me was having to very much dig into my own pain resources, and use those. And through that, exploring a lot about myself which is something you don’t get to do it other professions IN such a way that you can bring it to your job. But when you’re acting you can go through all manner of crap that’s happened in your life and use it to your benefit. I’m making it sound like a sad experience like I was going through a torturous time. But it was - again I use the word cathartic but it was a very enjoyable experience because I loved the character from the moment I read the script. I sort of related to him and felt for him, very early on. Yeah. Just got to use a lot of myself in certain moments where in certain life experiences had set me up quite nicely for certain scenes. So that was the challenge, connecting the two and relating that to the audience.
[Click for interviews]Daily Dead: Exclusive Interview: DAMIEN Season 1 Retrospective with Showrunner Glen Mazzara (Excerpt below)
Combined with the writing, Bradley James’ performance humanizes the Antichrist and makes him a character to root for. Can you talk about how James really became this role and made viewers empathize with him but also be scared of him?
Glen Mazzara: Bradley had a really tough job in creating this role, and when I think about any show I’ve worked on in the past, I would say this is the toughest role I’ve ever seen an actor tackle. [snip] It’s a really, really complex journey. I don’t see any of the characters on TV having that kind of nuanced journey that also involves the baggage from a classic film. It was a really complicated thing, and Bradley is classically trained. He’s a total pro. He’s the sweetest guy. Hollywood legend has it that you never name a show after your lead character, because very often those actors end up becoming difficult as time goes on. Bradley is not that guy. Bradley is one of the kindest, hardest-working actors I’ve ever had the pleasure of working with, [snip] Bradley brought Damien Thorn to life in a way that I don’t think anyone expected, and he deserves a tremendous amount of credit for that.
SciFi Bulletin Damien: Interview: Glen Mazzara (post-finale) part 1
SciFi Bulletin Damien: Interview: Glen Mazzara (post-finale) part 2 (Excerpt below)
We talked last time about how Bradley became involved with the show. How much discussion did you have with him through the season about how much Damien is balancing his humanity and the Power around him?
Glen Mazzara: It was interesting. I spent a lot of time with Bradley early on in the process, defining his character and I would check in with him, if he had questions on a particular script. He went through his process and I would tell him what he needed to have at that time. [snip]
Most of my time was spent in Los Angeles with the writers, so I saw him as a leader on set [in Toronto]. He would call and we would talk things through. It was amazing how much work he put into his character, how well he understood the character and how he shaped Damien.[snip] He gave a really incredible performance because, think about it:[Spoiler (click to open)]this is an Anti-Christ who in our finale ends up committing mass murder and promising his soul to the Devil to commit even more mass murder…and your heart is breaking for him. That is just unbelievable that he could get you on his side. I think he deserves a lot of credit and I think his performance is totally outstanding.
Talk Nerdy With Us: Exclusive Interview with Damien’s Bradley James (Excerpt below).
Throughout the entirety of the series, I’ve been impressed with your capacity to make the antichrist ‘touchable,’ and to give a character in a supernatural setting such a realistic feel.
Well thank you so much for that observation - that’s blush-inducing! I would say a big part of that lends to my training, really. I went to a drama school that hammers it into you to find the truth. The truth of the situation is you can’t play an antichrist. In the same way that you can’t play a king. You can’t play a peasant. You can’t really play the status if no one’s given you the status. So you have to leave that to everybody else, but what you can do is you can play the humanity of the situation. You can play the human being you’re portraying and the by-product of being the antichrist is more because you’re being bestowed that by your other actors who are generous enough to give you that status as it were. That was certainly the case here.
Showbiz Junkies: ‘Damien’: Bradley James Interview on the Season 1 Finale
Were there any physically difficult scenes? (Excerpt below)[Spoiler (click to open)]The exorcism in the pit looked intense
Bradley James: “Yeah. We shot it all at night in Canada and the weather wasn’t always a balmy 70 degrees. I suppose you probably picked out what was the most intense, but it kind of helped, really. It was something I was able to use. I was walking around covered in prop blood and without a shirt on, no shoes, and strapped to a board, and then walking in a forest - all that kind of stuff. It helped because the sort of extreme nature of doing that at 3 o’clock in the morning just added something that you didn’t have to work for when you’re actually shoot in the camera because you’re out there in the elements uncomfortable and that helps. Again, what I mentioned earlier, you’ve got to try and get every advantage you can when it comes to performing and being the character working on a scene. That was an advantage I took hold of. I spent time taking on board the conditions and then absolutely dousing myself in bug spray because the mosquitoes out there…my god, they were relentless! So I was just bathing in bug spray for all the nights that we shot those scenes.”
Father Son Holy Gore: Exclusive Interview With Bradley James, Glen Mazzara From A&Es Damien (Excerpt below)
Most importantly, Bradley loves variety. [snip] he went on to say everybody here provided a great atmosphere for a conduit towards their respective chemistry in various scenes. Being amongst a diverse cast, Bradley acknowledges each actor was different, making for good energy and even better scenes. Morever, Bradley tells us he and Omid Abtahi (who plays Amani) are great friends now after shooting the show together. This helped the natural relationship between Damien and Amani onscreen, as they got closer offscreen. He also made sure to add he loves Barbara’s presence as Ann Rutledge. He “felt very respected in [his] process.” Bradley also says there existed a mutual appreciation for and understanding of one another. Only too evident in the final product; their onscreen chemistry is undeniable.
Oh So Gray: DAMIEN Season Finale Breakdown With Bradley James & Glen Mazzara (Excerpt below)
Bradley, what is your biggest challenge or favorite part playing Damien?
Bradley James: Essentially I describe is as a cathartic experience. Because Damien - as you are probably aware - he has something of a stressful lifestyle. He carries a lot of pain around with him. Whilst trying to get on with it - he doesn’t just sort of wallow in it most of the time. He’s seen a lot, been through a lot. He’s seen a lot more than most thirty year olds have. So the experience for me was having to very much dig into my own pain resources, and use those. And through that, exploring a lot about myself which is something you don’t get to do it other professions IN such a way that you can bring it to your job. But when you’re acting you can go through all manner of crap that’s happened in your life and use it to your benefit. I’m making it sound like a sad experience like I was going through a torturous time. But it was - again I use the word cathartic but it was a very enjoyable experience because I loved the character from the moment I read the script. I sort of related to him and felt for him, very early on. Yeah. Just got to use a lot of myself in certain moments where in certain life experiences had set me up quite nicely for certain scenes. So that was the challenge, connecting the two and relating that to the audience.