Bradley James of A&E’s “Damien” on Bringing the Antichrist Back to Life

In an inspired touch &#8220;Damien,&#8221; which runs Monday nights on A&amp;E after &#8220;Bates Motel,&#8221; very effectively utilizes clips from the original 1976 &#8220;Omen&#8221; movie starring Gregory Peck and Lee Remick. Fans of NBC&#8217;s &#8220;Merlin&#8221; and The CW&#8217;s &#8220;iZombie&#8221; will recognize British actor Bradley James in the title role.&#8220;I was in working in Vancouver and had a handful of scripts sent my way,&#8221; James tells MediaVillage in an exclusive interview. &#8220;I really didn't have time to read them all so I kind of ignored them. Eventually someone said, &#8216;Have a look at this one.&#8217; It was &#8216;Damien.&#8217; It didn't take me very long to understand why it had been nudged in my direction.&#8221;According to James the smart writing immediately grabbed his attention. A meeting in Los Angeles with the producers followed, cementing his interest. &#8220;I finally got to meet the warped minds that had created the show,&#8221; he says. &#8220;It was a great match, and I was hooked.&#8221;James was relieved that the series focuses solely on the original film (and ignores its two sequels), as it is the only one in the series he has seen.&#160; He opted to not watch the sequels (&#8220;Damien: Omen II,&#8221; released in 1978, and &#8220;Omen III: The Final Conflict, released in 1981) given that they have no bearing on the adult Damien Thorn of today that he is portraying.&#8220;I&#8217;d really only seen the first movie, not the second or third, sort of purposely really, and not to influence any decisions I might make consciously or subconsciously,&#8221; he shares. &#8220;I really needed a fresh and original kind of take on it.&#8221;Of course, revisiting the original film seemed mandatory homework. &#8220;I saw it when I was young; probably too young to understand what it was,&#8221; he recalls. &#8220;So I re-watched it and understood fully why it was so popular. Suddenly I realized there was this fan base there for it, which you don't really think about. I was surprised when [I] mentioned &#8216;Damien&#8217; [that] people are very aware of it.&#8221;James also says he had to catch up on &#8220;Damien&#8217;s&#8221; companion piece &#8220;Bates Motel.&#8221; &#8220;I was a little concerned when I saw that it was set in modern day and kind of wondered what was going on here?&#8221; he admits. &#8220;But it's a show that has created its own life away from the movie. [Series lead] Freddie Highmore [who portrays the murderous and mother-obsessed Norman Bates] has done a terrific job.&#8221; James says the &#8220;Damien&#8221; team has also &#8220;taken a classic and, with no disrespect and for the sake of getting the story right, essentially set up our own rules for the story we want to tell.&#8221;James refers to himself as a &#8220;casual watcher of horror movies, mainly as a good excuse to cuddle up on the sofa with a girl and pretend to be frightened.&#8221; While &#8220;The Omen&#8221; was very violent and terrifying in its day, he feels it was the non-gory aspects of the original film that set it apart in the genre.&#8220;That's part of &#8216;The Omen&#8217;s&#8217; class; it's not a straight up horror fright-fest,&#8221; he says. &#8220;It really tries to create a grip that tightens because you care about Robert Thorne, you feel this grip tightening on his life but it&#8217;s too late before he realizes he needs to escape it. I think that's really a testament to Gregory Peck; Robert is just hoping to make his way out, but doesn't.&#8221;As for personifying the Antichrist and any associated social stigma, James laughs, &#8220;That's the challenge of an actor. I spent five years playing King Arthur on &#8216;Merlin.&#8217; The challenge is to escape the limitations of other people's minds and do something else. This is something else, something very different that I&#8217;ve put my heart and soul into.&#8221;James also admits that being &#8220;branded&#8221; with the iconic &#8220;Number of the Beast,&#8221; 666, did leave him feeling cold. &#8220;There&#8217;s something really ominous about having &#8216;666&#8217; drawn on the back of your head,&#8221; he says. &#8220;But I have this cap with the 666 in place, so if I do want to feel like I have it I can. In fact at the end of the show they pummeled us with all of this merchandise with &#8216;Damien, 666&#8217; all over it. I am set for Halloween for the rest of my life.&#8221;And what about women fleeing the Antichrist at the local supermarket? &#8220;That happens to me anyway,&#8221; he says with a laugh. &#8220;So, no change there.&#8221;The opinions and points of view expressed in this commentary are exclusively the views of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillage/MyersBizNet management or associated bloggers.

Bradley James of A&E’s “Damien” on Bringing the Antichrist Back to Life

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Steve Gidlow

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