Reaper - Ray Wise
Small tidbit from the National Ledger:
THE DEVIL YOU SAY: Ray Wise, who plays the Devil on the CW's "Reaper," has become an aficionado of devilish actors since taking on the mantle himself. "I'm a great admirer of Walter Huston as Mr. Scratch in 'The Devil and Daniel Webster,' he says. "And then there was Ray Walston in 'Damn Yankees,' Nicholson as Daryl Van Horne in 'The Witches of Eastwick,' Pacino in 'Devil's Advocate' … so many good ones." However, "After viewing all those Devils, I prefer mine." Notes Wise, "My playing the Devil has developed to the point I think like him. He's very vain, you know." Wise, who is obviously enjoying his reign over hell, is going to be more in evidence in the second season of "Reaper" -- launching March 3 -- than he was in the first season of the show about a young slacker-turned-Devil's bounty hunter (Bret Harrison). "I think people enjoy seeing what the Devil is up to," he says. "They're interested in that whole mythology."
Also, I transcribed the CW Connects interview with Ray Wise, for our friends who don't have access to the video:
RW: Hi, I'm Ray Wise, and I'm...the Devil on the CW's Reaper
KneelBeforeZod: What's happening in the new season?
RW: Where do we pick things up? Well, you know, I'm the Devil. Sam is this 21 year old slacker who's parents sold his soul to me before he was born, and I came back to collect, and I don't want to take him back to Hell with me, I want him to be my bounty hunter here on Earth. So that's what he's been doing for the first 18 or so episodes, been trying to capture escaped souls from Hell, trying to keep a romance going with his girlfriend, and exist at the Work Bench - his work place.
So he's trying to juggle all of that stuff, and of course I'm... I'm not trying to juggle anything. I'm perfectly capable of handling everything that goes on in the show, and oh, all over the Earth really.
Well, of course you know Sam's father was, he was buried in the Earth and he was supposedly dead. But now it seems he may have a life after death. And I think you're gonna see a bit more of that.
satanISmyCHEERIOS: There seem to be a lot of "father/son" moments between Sam and the Devil. Is there anything to that?
RW: Oh sure. There's something to it. I can sum it up probably in one short sentence, and you can make of it what you will: The Devil is very prolific.
sheriffmeatball: Do you find yourself in "Devil Mode" when you're NOT acting?
RW: Well, you know, you'd really have to ask my wife that I think, probably. She thinks I'm in "Devil Mode" quite a bit of the time, but I...no, I'm joking of course.
He and I do share many traits in common. We like to dress alike. We like our hair a certain way. We like to keep our teeth brushed.
I do feel a, an increasing sense of confidence and power from the character. I feel that I can influence other people's lives more fully.
NotGoogle: Has anyone ever pointed at you across the street and shouted "SATAN"?
RW: Yes! They come up and they say "Gosh, you're a, you're a great Devil. You're the greatest Devil I've ever seen." And I don't know how many Devils I've seen, but I've seen quite a few Devils, and I have to say that I'm my own favorite choice.
NotGoogle: Does Jerry Belvedere have a middle name?
RW: Um, does not have a middle name to my knowledge. And I think the name "Jerry Belvedere" is bad enough without having one.
sugarbeeps: Is this your favorite role?
RW: I would have to say so, yeah. It's kinda a one-in-a-lifetime deal, you know. And to have the opportunity to play it week after week after week is just incredible. And I hope that it continues, you know. It would be a shame to put Mr. D to bed early on, you know. And I think that there's so much more to be enjoyed.
RW: I don't want you to miss the season premiere of Reaper, March 3rd, 8 o'clock, 7 Central, on the CW Network. Don't you dare miss it.
ETA, because the CW finally put it up on youtube:
Click to view