Superhero franchises are a mainstay in the 麻豆传媒映画film and television industry, but the local screen scene hadn鈥檛 seen anything like FX鈥檚 when it rolled into town last year to film its first season.
Legion is based on a Marvel Comics Universe (MCU) character of the same name (we won鈥檛 reveal 尝别驳颈辞苍鈥檚 dad except to say he鈥檚 an integral 鈥� and, ahem, gifted 颅鈥� mutant in the MCU) first introduced in 1985.
Unlike other superhero shows, Legion is highly stylized, borderline surreal, sporadically chilling and altogether quirky. Its aesthetic is early 1970s; its pace, dialogue and music are evocative of Stanley Kubrick, The Wachowskis, Wes Anderson and David Lynch 鈥� and something else that is distinctly showrunner Noah Hawley.
was up for the challenge. The veteran 麻豆传媒映画actor was already a familiar face in superhero film and television 鈥� his lengthy filmography includes Legends of Tomorrow, Smallville and Man of Steel 鈥� when he was offered the recurring role of The Eye in Legion by Hawley, with whom he鈥檇 worked on Fargo.
鈥淚 knew it was Marvel, but I wasn鈥檛 sure if it was going to be one of those off-shoot things that just takes off and dies,鈥� recalls Gray in a recent interview. All Hawley would tell him about The Eye going in was that he was a mystery man with an iconic look: curly hair, a green suit and a milky eye.
The television series follows a troubled man named David Haller (portrayed by Downton Abbey鈥檚 Dan Stevens, who recently played opposite Emma Watson in Beauty & the Beast) as he learns that his lifelong schizophrenia is actually untamed supernatural abilities. The series boasts a long list of established and emerging stars: Rachel Keller, Aubrey Plaza, Bill Irwin, Jeremie Harris, Amber Midthunder, Katie Aselton, Jemaine Clement and Jean Smart.
鈥淎s soon as we started filming [Legion], it was so different, and so specific, you just knew it鈥檚 going to be good,鈥� says Gray. As for the over-arching story arc 鈥� which involves David discovering his powers, making mutant friends and enemies, and eluding The Eye 鈥� 鈥淣oah wouldn鈥檛 tell us what was coming, just 鈥業 have great things for you, you鈥檙e going to see: it鈥檚 going to be a wild trip,鈥欌�� says Gray. 鈥淎nd then you鈥檇 get the script and go, 鈥極h my God, what?!鈥� And then you鈥檇 read it again.鈥�
Legion premiered in February and is now available in its entirety on iTunes.
In the first episode, The Eye is positioned as a sinister figure, adversarial to David but with unclear motivations. The Eye, contends Gray, was 鈥渁bout meanness and the anger of somebody who doesn鈥檛 feel like he鈥檚 ever been accepted or part of it.鈥� Gray approaches sci-fi characters with the same mindset he brings to roles in every other genre, he says. 鈥淪ci-fi is no different than anything else, except it lives in a different world,鈥� says Gray. 鈥淚 take each role as if it鈥檚 a real thing.鈥�
The Legion role arrived during a time of profound sorrow in Gray鈥檚 life. His mother, Mary, died in February of last year; Gray had just returned from cleaning out his mother鈥檚 Toronto home when he got the call to slip into The Eye鈥檚 bespoke suit and begin filming.
鈥淏ecause the series had been right after she died, I thought I鈥檇 really love to have her with me in some way,鈥� says Gray. With permission from director Michael Uppendahl and Legion鈥檚 art department, an urn containing some of his mother鈥檚 ashes is present, albeit hidden, in a key scene. 鈥淲hatever Legion becomes or was, it was a very special place for me,鈥� says Gray, who also scattered some of his mother鈥檚 ashes when the show filmed at a lake in Squamish.
What does the future hold for The Eye? Gray is tight-lipped; the only thing that鈥檚 certain about Legion鈥檚 next season is that it won鈥檛 be shot in Vancouver. Legion is one of two series (Lucifer being the other) shifting production down to LA.
Gray says he鈥檚 sad to see Legion go. 鈥淚t had nothing to do with the quality of work here, because look at this series: it鈥檚 impeccable,鈥� says Gray. 鈥淎s for me, am I going down? I can鈥檛 say. I鈥檓 not allowed to say. With anything in Legion, it鈥檚 open-ended.鈥�
2016 was a busy year for Gray. In addition to Legion, he appeared in two other freshmen series: as a coroner on The CW鈥檚 Riverdale and as a glam rocker on BBC America鈥檚 Dirk Gently鈥檚 Holistic Detective Agency.
Gray will soon be seen as the male lead in Heart of Clay, a locally-made feature film about a dying painter who must make amends with women he hurt in his past before he can journey to the other side. The film was written and directed by Ned J. Vankevich (with creative input from Gray) and features a parade of powerhouse actresses including Elysia Rotaru, Jessica Harmon, Johannah Newmarch, Carrie Anne Fleming, Sarah Deakins, France Perras, Mieke Verhelst, Lorea McFarlen, and April Telek. Heart of Clay is currently beginning its festival journey.
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On his toughest episode of Legion: 鈥淓pisode 4 was one of the toughest ones we did. It had a lot in it. We had 18-hour days. It was physically brutal for a lot of us. I tore the tendons in one leg doing a running scene that I had to do 22 takes of because it had to be just right, disappearing into the mist. I ran 110 meters 22 times, and walked it back and I already had a pulled tendon. It was a beautiful bit.鈥�
On how Legion鈥檚 attention to detail extended to costuming: 鈥淎ll of the costuming, everything was so specific in this show. There was nothing of, 鈥楪o to Moore鈥檚 and buy some suits.鈥� They made everything. Even the colours when we were the patients, the piping of our orange jumpsuits: red meant dangerous, yellow meant benign but troubled and white meant pure. David got white piping, and Syd had yellow and I had red. It was down to that kind of detail. I even had red socks, which you rarely saw. Every component of me was red.鈥�
On Legion co-stars Bill Irwin and Dan Stevens: 鈥淏ill Irwin is one of the nicest men I鈥檝e ever met. He鈥檚 so insanely talented. You know the scene in Episode 5 where we鈥檙e all doing our little bits of madness and Bill is falling asleep? Dan and I watched on the monitors. I鈥檇 been doing something else and Dan said, 鈥楪et over here! It鈥檚 a masterclass!鈥� And we watched Bill take 10 minutes to close his eyes, or however long it was; everything he did, we would always stay on set to watch him work. He plays ukulele; he鈥檚 got a little pocket one from his clown days, and I play guitar and I had a ukulele that was George Harrison鈥檚, I bought it many years ago, so I brought it in for Bill to play, and Bill loved it. In one of the episodes, Dan has to play 鈥淩ainbow Connection鈥� on a banjo, and he was learning it for two weeks: every time you鈥檇 go by his trailer, you鈥檇 hear the banjo. He was working very hard, so Bill and I recorded a version of 鈥淩ainbow Connection鈥� called 鈥淒ownton Connection,鈥� and it was, 鈥榃hy are there so many scenes about David?鈥� In the end, we played it for Dan and got a laugh. It was quite an earworm.鈥�
On the challenges of working on a show when you don鈥檛 know the whole story: 鈥淵ou had to work within the tight confines of what they wanted to get. You have to open yourself up to that and say, 鈥榃ell, if I鈥檝e got to stay in this little box, can I go here, can I go here?鈥� That was a challenge, because sometimes you鈥檇 say, 鈥楥an I play it this way?鈥� And they鈥檇 say, 鈥楴o, you really need to hold the teacup here,鈥� or whatever. And understanding how to play something when you didn鈥檛 know much detail of what they鈥檙e playing, and it鈥檚 not based in any reality because it鈥檚 all David鈥檚 perception, so what is The Eye? My final scenes, the event happens twice, and I thought, 鈥榃ell, is it real, or not real?鈥� It doesn鈥檛 change how you play it, but that鈥檚 always hard to read those things and say, 鈥榃ell, what happens now?鈥� Nobody could tell me. All John Cameron, the producer, said was, 鈥楧on鈥檛 leave town.鈥� And then Legion left town.鈥�
On 尝别驳颈辞苍鈥�s comic book roots:鈥�Legion is an intelligent offshoot. I鈥檝e gotten to know Bill Sienkiewicz, who created it [with Chris Claremont]. He鈥檚 a lovely, lovely man, and he said that what Noah [Hawley]鈥檚 done is taken their concept and given it a whole new world, but its roots are completely honoured, and he鈥檚 so delighted by it.鈥�
On possible reasons why Legion has moved to LA for its second season: 鈥淭here are two shows that left Vancouver: Lucifer and Legion. Lucifer makes total sense. It鈥檚 set in LA, and they kept having to send second units down to film. It鈥檚 very costly, and they got $11 million on top of tax credits, pure cash, so if it鈥檚 a million an episode, that鈥檚 11 episodes. Legion, I was a little surprised, but I know that it was very tough on Noah doing Fargo, which he oversees completely. He鈥檚 writing a novel, he鈥檚 got another series on the go, and he鈥檚 got Legion, so he鈥檚 never home. It鈥檚 very trying. He鈥檚 got a young family. So I think that they were worried that Noah was burning himself out, and he was pretty exhausted at the launch when he flew back from Fargo. He鈥檇 been shooting until 3 in the morning, and so maybe, to keep the quality of it, it鈥檚 better for Noah to be in a better situation. I don鈥檛 know that that鈥檚 what went into the decision or not, because you can鈥檛 replicate our crews. Our crews were very special, and I know that the producers and Noah and everybody loved our crews. I鈥檓 personally sad to see them go. I鈥檓 personally sad that our crew 鈥� we had a crew of 250 people, all of the cutters, the sewers, the landscapers, everyone. We created something really amazing, so I鈥檓 hoping that some of the crew can work down there, and I hope that they keep the quality. Our crews did 18-hour days, and they were keen all of the time. There was never any malaise. They were willing to do it, and I just hope that they can keep it.鈥�
On the strong female characters in Heart of Clay, an upcoming feature film Gray stars in, story-edited, and produced about a dying painter facing visions of women he hurt in his past: 鈥淸The women in Heart of Clay] may have had some victimization at some point, but their visions are about their strength or being vulnerable. There鈥檚 a difference between being vulnerable and being a victim, and we worked really hard to make sure we took the victimization out. I鈥檓 proud that we wrote good stuff for them. There鈥檚 a responsibility to that you have to take seriously, and I don鈥檛 think all writers do. I鈥檝e seen some stuff written 鈥� I know one, I won鈥檛 say his name, but there鈥檚 a screenwriter and he boasts about how well he writes women. 鈥淚 write these great female parts.鈥� He writes, really, clich茅s, and it could be a man or a woman in that part for what its function is in the script. Just because you鈥檙e putting a lot of women in your script doesn鈥檛 mean you鈥檙e writing well for women. There鈥檚 a responsibility to that, if you鈥檙e going to be honest. Ned [Vankevich, Heart of Clay鈥檚 writer and director] and I took that responsibility seriously.鈥�
On success at this point in his career: 鈥淚鈥檓 59, and you have waves. In my early 40s, I had a big career leap when I landed a US TV series [The Net] and I was one of the leads. In the States, you would always build on that. In Canada, we never do. You do feel on a CBC series, you can become a Canadian star, but out here, we鈥檙e a bit adrift. You can have all of the success, but you have to work on it yourself to make it continue. I think what happens is you become familiar, and people go, 鈥極h, he鈥檚 in everything, we鈥檒l go with someone else,鈥� or, 鈥極h, yeah, we鈥檒l use you.鈥� It can be an advantage and a disadvantage at the same time. When I did Man of Steel, we shot in 2011 and it came out in 2013: that鈥檚 a big enchilada, that鈥檚 a big movie, and I had a big role in that, and it did some stuff for me locally, but it didn鈥檛 do anything else. I went down to the States and said, 鈥楲ook, I did Man of Steel,鈥� and that鈥檚 it. So it鈥檚 very odd to manipulate success when you think it should naturally happen. In our country, we don鈥檛 do that. We don鈥檛 celebrate that success, so you have to either leave, or just be complacent.鈥�
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