Damien star Bradley James and writer/executive producer Glen Mazzara (The Walking Dead) teamed up to talk about A&E’s new horror series at the 2015 San Diego Comic-Con. Premiering in 2016, the series will focus on Damien Thorn as a young adult coming to terms with the fact that he is the Antichrist. The cast of Damien includes Barbara Hershey as his mentor and Omid Abtahi as Damien’s close friend. Meganlyn Echikunwoke and The Walking Dead‘s Scott Wilson are also key players in this upcoming horror series.
During our roundtable interview at Comic Con, Mazzara confirmed this is a sequel to 1976’s The Omen starring Gregory Peck and Lee Remick and not a remake. “We are taking that as our starting point,” said Mazzara. “We’re ignoring the second and third films in that original trilogy. We’re just using the events of the original film.”
“In season one, Damien’s coming to grips with his life and trying to figure this out. And as he develops along a certain path where he’s supposed to bring about the apocalypse, that’s really the story of the entire show,” explained Mazzara. “What’s been fun is we really have spent a lot of time creating the character. And then I feel like the story that unfolds has to stay true to that character instead of some larger mythology, let’s say. I really feel like this is a character piece. It’s a thriller, it has a lot of great horror. But people watch TV because it has cool people doing cool stuff every week, and it’s about those characters that we care about, and that’s why we watch them.”
Asked if there are any particular relationships between characters in the series that he’s found particularly interesting, Mazzara said, “What’s been really great is when you start developing a show you’re thinking about these characters. You’re thinking about the stories and how they’re going to drive story. Then you bring in the actors. The way we work is I’ll have a lot of conversations with the actors and say, ‘What do you think about this character?’ And as you do your work, people call and respond to the material. I’ve had a lot of stories that have been inspired from those conversations. I feel like it’s all a process.
What’s really been exciting is working with Bradley and Barbara and the way that that relationship just felt so natural once we got it up on its feet. It’s a lot of fun to write. I’m not going to say it’s my favorite because I don’t want to play favorites, but that’s been something that has felt very, very satisfying to write, very natural. I feel like seeing these two on screen together, you guys bring out the best in each other.”
Mazzara said there will not be any flashback sequences to the original film, but the events of that film will be referred to. Fans of The Omen will be able to pick up on Easter eggs in Damien if they’re paying attention. Mazzara also revealed that we’ll slowly learn what Damien’s life has been like in the years since his parents’ deaths.
As for playing the title role in a TV series based on a classic horror film, James said he never felt any pressure. “It’s the difference between approaching going for a part and going, ‘I really, really want this,’ and approaching the part saying, ‘How do I achieve this?’ And so it’s not so much about the pressure of doing the job as just focusing on the work that you’re doing,” said James. “Reading the script evoked a lot of things in my imagination so it was more to do with that kind of level of inspiration as opposed to anything having to do with pressure.”
The trailer gives away the fact that the iconic line, “It’s all for you, Damien,” will be included in the series. Asked how it felt to have an actor say that line to him, James replied, “We’ve had a couple moments of people saying that and I think, again, it’s not so much approaching it as, ‘Oh, that’s an iconic line,’ it’s more approaching it as, ‘What the hell are you talking about?'”
So, is Damien an anti-hero in the series? Is it possible to make him a sympathetic character? “I think Damien and all of the characters are involved in a set of circumstances that is terrifying for all of them. He has a unique perspective, and what’s important is to make that character’s perspective understandable to the audience so that you care about him. You feel for him. I think part of what makes him sympathetic is that he has a great deal of humanity,” said Mazzara. “He may have evil tendencies. He may have an evil side to him…”
“Who doesn’t?” chimed in James.
“But he’s a complex character and I think Bradley’s done a great job of infusing that character with that,” said Mazzara.
Watch the full interview with Bradley James and Glen Mazzara on Damien:
