Stephen Graham wanted to create a serial killer in Apple TV’s Nocturne who could do anything, then threw viewers off by barely lifting a finger.
“I wanted to try and create someone physically strong who looks like if he wanted to, he could rip your throat out,” Graham told me exclusively for Where Is The Buzz.
I spoke with Graham and his co-star Rory Culkin ahead of the series’ premiere on Friday, Oct. 30. Graham plays Jurek Walter, a clever killer, while Culkin portrays Karl, a kind man who administers Jurek’s medication and food.
The series is a 10-episode adaptation of Lars Kepler’s crime novels Lazarus and The Sandman. Liev Schreiber plays Jonah Lynn, a former soldier turned homicide detective who moves from Philadelphia to a small town in Western Pennsylvania. Zazie Beetz stars as FBI agent Saga Bauer, whom Jonah sends to talk to Jurek.
As a fan of psychological thrillers, I was impressed by the screeners and curious to learn how these two actors created such intense chemistry on screen.
Jurek seldom uses overt violence to bring his opponents down. His strength is in his capability to read people better than they read themselves. So I asked Graham whether it is a lack of humanity or a deep understanding of other people that makes Jurek scary.
“Oh, what a great insightful question, I must say,” Graham responded. “I think you’ve done the observation for me there. Do you know what I mean? It’s basically that.”
According to Graham, he was trying to play two sides of the character. Beyond the physical threat, he wanted to show Jurek’s stillness and silence, which make you wonder what goes on in his head and make conversations with him uncomfortable.
“But he’s also reading you like a book, basically,” he added.
This trait is connected to Jurek’s past. “Because of his childhood and upbringing … you discover that later through his father… he has those abilities and those capabilities,” Graham noted.
“That’s a great observation,” he added. “Which kind of makes him uneasy because there’s a paradox to him. There’s a stillness and a calmness to him.”
Karl is among the first people Jurek works with, and their developing relationship becomes the source of the majority of the tension in the first episodes. Manipulation often begins with making a person feel understood rather than controlled, so I asked Culkin whether Karl is drawn to Jurek because of trust or because Jurek gives him something emotional he has never had before.
“I think initially Karl’s just fascinated by him,” Culkin said. “Not starstruck, but you know, he knows who this is, and maybe flattered that he was called upon to help.”
Karl comes into the picture knowing the danger. “So I think it starts with fascination, and you know, he’s warned that he’s going to be manipulated,” Culkin explained. “So there’s something a little exciting about it too for Karl, and it’s a challenge. I can get through to him. I can fix him, maybe.”
“And then once we lock eyes, I think it’s maybe even beyond Karl’s comprehension; he just feels a certain way,” he said. “So yeah, although he was warned he’s going to be manipulated, he doesn’t mind the feeling. He kind of enjoys it.”
“I think he’s excited by Jurek and the way he looks at him, and there’s some appreciation there,” Culkin said.
Culkin also sees something good in the killer. “He could have hurt Karl, but he lets him go,” he noted. “So there is good in him, I think.”
“But I think it all starts with fascination and excitement,” Culkin concluded, “and Karl’s life suddenly becomes very interesting.”
I finished the conversation by asking both actors what they want fans to take from the series when it premieres. Graham went first.
“I just hope that they, like yourself, like what you said; I hope they find it thrilling and exciting,” Graham said. “It’s an interesting, it’s a wonderful genre.”
“They’re based off an amazing set of books, but this one, particularly from ‘The Sandman,’ and that kind of Norwegian noir, kind of dense thrillers,” he added.
He also complimented the crew behind the camera. “I think our director who set it all off, Tim Van Patten, who’s magnificent, and John Hlavin, our showrunner, who’s written a magnificent piece of work,” Graham said. “There’s just so many characters to get into, and there’s so many different insights to this.”
Van Patten directed the first two episodes, and Hlavin is the showrunner, writer, and executive producer.
For Graham, Jurek’s intrigue is in its mystery. “What keeps it going, what hopefully brings you back week after week after week, is that you learn more about the depth of the story, and you’re really kind of hooked into wanting to know what has made Jurek like this,” he said, “and what is it that Zazie’s character and Liev’s character are trying to get to? What are they trying to find?”
“And I think ultimately they’re all in search of the truth,” Graham added. “And it’s that different perspectives of the truth to this particular situation.”
Nocturne premieres Friday, Oct. 30, on Apple TV, with its first two episodes. New episodes will come out every Friday until Dec. 25.
