Prep for Tonight’s Outcast Premiere with Robert Kirkman, Patrick Fugit, and More!
Staci Layne Wilson
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Comic genius Robert Kirkman has already transformed the zombie genre with “The Walking Dead.” Now he’s going to try his hand at demonic possession with the new Cinemax series “Outcast,” which debuts this evening.
The 10-episode arc of the first season follows Kyle Barnes (Patrick Fugit), a young man who has been plagued with demonic possession all his life. Now, with the help of Reverend Anderson (Philip Glenister), a preacher who has personal demons of his own, Kyle embarks on a journey to find answers and regain a normal life. Along the way he collects allies and enemies – Chief of Police Giles (Reg E. Cathey), his adopted sister Megan (Wrenn Schmidt), and a very innocent-looking but very dangerous little boy, Joshua (Gabriel Bateman).
We caught up with Robert, Patrick, Philip, and Reg in Beverly Hills the other day, where they gave us some of the deets on the new series and told us what horror fans can expect.
Related Story: Outcast – A Beginner’s Guide
“A lot of blood,” said Patrick. “It’s cool. But blood is a thing – as soon as it’s put on the actor’s face, it becomes a thing because it has to be matched.” He explained, “We might do a fight scene on one day, then two days later we shoot the scene of me walking out the door” and so every bloody bit has to match so it looks as though only moments have passed. “Productions tend to pussyfoot around the blood; they’re like, ‘If we just do two drops, then we’ll match it no matter what.’ And I’m like, ‘No! Cover my face in blood! I want spit and scars and everything!’ It’s fun.”
Robert said, “I think the same way ‘The Walking Dead’ is zombie-adjacent, and more a show about people surviving, this show doesn’t hang its hat on it being in the exorcism genre. I think it’s a big part of the show, and there’s an undercurrent of that in every episode, but I like to think of it as much more a character drama that has awesome exorcisms from time to time.”
Reg thinks viewers who like old-school horror will also like “Outcast.” “Horror fans can expect to be frightened in a very classic way. It’s very sophisticated. It’s frightening, the things they do with the effects, but it’s the acting – like that little kid, Gabriel Bateman, sets a high bar – that’s [the heart of it]. And Patrick, his intensity and his commitment to it, makes me believe these things do exist. So ‘Outcast’ is frightening in a sophisticated way that will sneak up on you. Especially the hard-bitten, ‘okay, try to scare me’ horror fans.”
What made Patrick so intense and committed, he said, was the shades and texture to Kyle. “I was drawn to Kyle’s struggle and Kyle’s darkness, but also the brightness and sweetness in the scenes between him and his wife before everything goes wrong.”
What was his reaction to seeing in the script Kyle has to beat up a small child? “I was like, ‘Finally!’” he joked. “I was alarmed, actually. But Robert created the circumstances leading up to that in the script. When I read it, I thought it was extreme, but it makes sense. This demon inside this little kid pushes the right buttons and is threatening enough physically; then it gets to the point where Kyle has no choice, is pushed over the edge, and is expressing years of pain. Yes, it’s violent, but it’s also very sad.”
“We want to have it all,” Robert said. “The jump scares are important, and that’s the kind of fun stuff you can’t do in comics. We don’t do it too often, but it’s a valuable tool in the toolbox. The real psychological and haunting stuff, I think that’s where the show lives. Stuff like seeing these possessed people manipulate their loved ones and seeing how people that you get to know on the show transform from helpful, valuable members of society to do the things they do… it’s really scary. It’s emotional horror.”
Patrick gives due credit for his performance and grasp of the lead character to Kirkman. “Robert is a comic rock star. I feel there’s a huge responsibly [as an actor] to have respect to the source. I thought it was important to get it right and reach for the tone. There were only five or six issues out when we started shooting, but Robert’s writing was good enough that it was easy to grasp the tone from the script.”
Robert in turn gives due credit to his co-conspirators. “We are staying faithful to the source material but pumping in new stuff from our brilliant writers and showrunner Chris Black – otherwise, we’d burn through the comic book stories way too fast, and nobody wants that.”
When it comes to the actors, we knew they looked to the comics and of course the scripts for their main direction, but sometimes other sources come into play. That was not the case for Philip, though. “I go with my instincts and go by what’s on the page more than anything. I looked at the comics, but I think they are more a blueprint for the director of photography and directors.” He didn’t look at favorite devil movies, either. “I like The Exorcist and The Omen, but I purposely didn’t look at those to play the priest. I didn’t want to be influenced by Max Von Sydow or Patrick Troughton.”
Patrick loved Philip’s work style and says it helped him up his own game. “Philip is a great actor. He’s trained – he’s a legitimate actor. He’s very loose, very humorous, a bit of a joker and clown, but he’s playing this very serious character. We have a lot of scenes in close quarters, which adds to the intensity. We got to bond that way. Kyle and The Reverend have a lot of tension, and both of their views and beliefs are challenged and start to crumble and they’re on different personal journeys as this small town is plagued with demonic possessions. Doing intense scenes like that with a total titan like Philip is amazing. I just have to try to keep up with him.”
Philip says, “Patrick and I are very different in many respects. He’s quite a quiet guy, but once you break through that, he is incredibly funny and dry.”
When asked what appeals to him about the possession genre, Patrick was quick with a quip. “Nothing,” he laughed. But then he said as he delved deeper into the comics and scripts, “It was interesting for me because Robert is good at… something I feel he’s been good at with ‘The Walking Dead,’ and is getting better at, is taking what we already know about the possession genre and using that to shift the perspective and shift the rules around – like how these beings interact with humans and… some really cool things I can’t spoil.” It is possession genre, he said, but it’s a different perspective now with what Robert’s done to twist the trappings and tropes. “Those are set up now to misdirect, which I think is really cool.”
Robert said there’s another aspect to why this genre will work, maybe even better than “The Walking Dead,” as a TV series. “99.9% of the population doesn’t really believe the zombie apocalypse is going to happen. But a lot of people do believe in demons and demonic possession. So that’s what makes ‘Outcast’ really scary and memorable.”
Patrick said, “Robert’s focus on the first season has been to create a slow burn and set up the characters in a way that makes us invest in them for the season,” and then things really ramp up, the actor promises.
Everyone agrees it’s the golden age of horror in television right now. Robert has some insights as to why that is: “You can only do so many doctor-lawyer-cop shows. People are always looking for something new. Because of the way cable has come to the forefront and premium channels are able to do everything you couldn’t do in a standard horror movie, it’s all available and those tools are there, so why not? People just aren’t going to the movies anymore; they are now watching television. A movie really can’t compete with a 10-hour experience you get to watch week-to-week [or binge] as opposed to a two-hour experience. It’s just bringing these well-worn genres everybody’s always loved into television in really cool ways. Horror is just the one getting the most notice right now.”
Be sure and notice “Outcast” when it debuts on Cinemax TONIGHT — or just watch Episode 1.01 below!
Based on the Skybound/Image comic title by Kirkman and artist Paul Azaceta, “Outcast,” which premieres on June 3rd, stars Patrick Fugit as Kyle Barnes, who has been plagued by demonic possession all his life and has sequestered himself from those he loves for fear of causing greater hurt. Now, with the help of Reverand Anderson (Philip Glenister), a West Virginia evangelist who believes he is a soldier in God’s holy war against the forces of evil on Earth, the young man embarks on a journey to find answers and regain the normal life he lost. But what Kyle discovers could change his fate — and the fate of the world — forever.
“Outcast” is created and executive produced by Robert Kirkman and executive produced by showrunner Chris Black. The series is produced for Cinemax by FOX International Studios (FIS) and also executive produced by David Alpert, Sharon Tal Yguado, and Sue Naegle. The pilot was directed by Adam Wingard (The Guest). Other cast members include Gabriel Bateman, Wrenn Schmidt, Reg E. Cathey, Kate Lyn Sheil, Julia Crockett, David Denman, and Brent Spiner.
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