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Devon Graye is an actor that is increasingly appearing on our screens as his career reaches new heights every day. From his roles as young
Dexter in Showtime's hit series of the same name, to appearances in
American Horror Story and movies with Hollywood A listers, Devon Graye is a name that is on everybody's lips. I sat down to talk with the wonderfully friendly and incredibly talented actor to discuss his time on everybody's favourite TV shows.
BOTR: Hi Devon! The first thing I want to talk about is the first thing I saw you in, which is Dexter. Such a brilliant show and a really interesting role for you as a young actor. It was your first gig, right?
DG: It was. I’d booked maybe a pilot before, so I quit my job at the Gap and was like, “Ok, I’m an actor now,” and then the pilot didn’t go so I was like, “Ok, what do I do now?” Then I went in for Dexter and had no idea what it was. I’d never read the books. I was kind of familiar with Michael C. Hall’s work but I didn’t really know much about what I was auditioning for and then it all kind of fell in to place! I got given the role and I thought it was only one episode, and then it turned in to a lot more episodes.
It was really thrilling to be involved but also terrifying because I’d never been given the opportunity to play something so deep and dark and with so much at stake for such a young character, so I think that was scary. I remember showing up to set every day feeling a little intimidated by everyone and a little afraid, and then I would continually second guess my performance for the next week thinking, “I should have done this, I should have done that.” I wasn’t seeing what Michael was doing on the show so I had no idea if our interpretations matched up or not or how it worked. It was a huge thing to be involved in.
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| Devon as teenage Dexter |
BOTR: You mean you and Michael were never on set at the same time? Did you guys not correspond on what direction you were going with the character?
DG: Not at all. Michael and I had one scene together where he’s choking somebody and then for a quick second it turns in to me, so that was the only time I interacted with him on set, but I’d already filmed two episodes before that. I think they kind of miraculously trusted that we were on the same page. I’m not sure, but we were playing Dexter at very different points in his life; the character that Michael is playing is very self assured and confident in a lot of ways, whereas the teenage version of Dexter is really struggling with not wanting to be this thing that he is, and feeling guilty and like a monster and like he wants to stop, so we were playing two different versions of the character but there does have to be a thread line that connects the two. Hopefully that managed to happen even though we didn’t get to correspond at all.
It absolutely did, the character is a huge success.
Thank you so much! To this day I feel so grateful for getting to work on such a smart show so early on in my career. It’s not a gift that everyone gets to have. It was also a really great training ground, working alongside such talented actors and on a show of that calibre. It was an amazing early stomping ground.
Did you find that any of the actors on the show took you under their wing and trained you or allowed you to come in to their process?
Because I wasn’t really on the set with the rest of the cast very much, that didn’t really happen but I can honestly say that they were so incredible encouraging from day one. I very specifically remember Jennifer Carpenter coming up to me my first day in the makeup trailer and giving me a hug and saying, “We’re so happy to have you here, we heard your audition was fantastic for this role, you’re going to kill it, we already love you,” and that for me, showing up and feeling so nervous and so out of place, was a huge thing to feel so at ease and wanted and needed; all of those things that most of us actors crave, to feel that acceptance. Michael was always very sweet to me. I wish we had had more interactions but given the nature of our characters we didn’t really get to.
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| Devon as Jed Potter in American Horror Story: Asylum |
You really don’t make it easy for yourself when every gig you do is opposite superstar actors. It’s intimidating, right?
(Laughing) I do feel like I’ve been so fortunate to book jobs with these great, amazingly talented geniuses. I think that in the last seven or eight years that I’ve been doing this I’ve learned so much from every person I’ve worked it, and have also had to get over that initial intimidation that creeps in there.
If we can just talk about Jessica Lange for a moment... I’m personally a huge fan boy, so when I was watching American Horror Story and saw your episode, I was freaking out as a fan, freaking out because of the acting, freaking out because the scenes were so scary - what was it like playing the possessed boy Jed opposite J-Lange?
I think that Jessica Lange is not only the most amazing actor, but the most amazing human being. I’m so drawn to her. On set she would just be sat there reading a magazine and I would just want to watch the way she turns the pages, or the way her head turns to the side - I find her so beautiful. This essence that comes out of her is so beautiful.
So true.
I was beyond intimidated to work with her because I am such a fan. I’m sort of a Jessica Lange junkie. I’ve seen almost everything she’s ever done so I felt very intimidated. Our first day on set together was maybe the cast’s first or second day back after season one so everyone was kind of in ‘go’ mode, getting everything done and not having much time to relax - it was sort of chaotic so I didn’t really get to talk to her the first day of filming, but the second day she came up to me and complimented my performance and said these things that, coming from the mouth of Jessica Lange - I will probably never get any higher compliment from anybody. The fact that it was her just absolutely flawed me, and still since then, on days where I’m sort of discouraged or feeling like I’m not where I want to be as an actor, I will remember that moment where Jessica Lange complimented me. For the rest of my life that will raise my spirits and I’ll think, ok, I have a little bit of a handle on what I’m doing.
Exactly! You know that when Jessica Lange likes you, you don’t ever have to worry again. You’ve got the seal of approval.
(Laughing) Exactly! Hopefully she’ll continue to like me in my career... knock on wood.
How did you find it working in that horror territory? You’ve kind of dipped your toe in a little bit of everything.
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| Devon and Zachary Quinto on set |
I have, and that’s another thing that I feel so grateful for. I haven’t been pigeon-holed in to any sort of genre. I’ve done a lot of darker things, but I’ve gotten to play so many other characters like the nerdy kid in high school, or the gothic psycho or possessed demon, or two films where I played autistic people - I’ve been able to cover this huge ground and I continually feel so blessed that I get to inhabit these beautiful, very different people. As for the horror genre, I don’t personally watch a lot as I’m very squeamish. I live alone and get incredibly scared at night if I’ve just watched a horror movie. I won’t get scared when I’m watching it, but the following two weeks it sort of haunts me and makes its way in to my dreams so I generally stay away from that for my own sanity. But when I’m playing it, I love it because I sort of gain a little control there, especially if I’m the thing [that] people are scared of such as the killer, or the possessed boy in the case of American Horror Story. I feel like I have the upper hand, so that’s a thrill for me. Especially in American Horror Story as I don’t think you can feel more powerful than when you’re playing a demon; there’s this great strength that comes in to your body when playing a role like that.
Such a fun role! I’m sat here smiling now, like, I want to do that! I’m so jealous!
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| Quinto, Lange and Fiennes on the set of Asylum |
(Laughing) It really is incredible. The first thing is that it’s so challenging to play it with any truth, because how often do you see a demon? When can you actually watch a demon and study it? You can watch movies and old church exorcism tapes on YouTube, but who knows if it’s real or fake? There’s so much of yourself that you have to bring to it; I had to connect it to something in me that felt manipulative and powerful, something that felt like I was toying with somebody - then you add in the voice, and the weird moves and the way that the character inhumanly does things. But I think the main thing was I had to feel really manipulative, like everyone else around me was a paper doll that I could just flick away. Once I had that feeling I felt so powerful and so strong. It’s incredibly hard to feel like Jessica Lange and Zachary Quinto and Joseph Fiennes are inferior to me because of course, in real life I think of them as far superior and just amazing, so it was definitely a challenge on that first day.
Some of the things you were saying to Jessica Lange, I’ve only said in my wildest dreams. Are you shocked when the script arrives at your door and you’re thinking, wow, this is me that’s going to be doing this scene?
(Laughing) Yes! I think when I first read it I felt like I didn’t know if I could do this; how am I going to do this? Then on the second read I thought I can’t wait to do this. Some adrenalin kicked in within me and I thought, I am afraid, I am intimidated, but there’s this over riding feeling of pure joy at the anticipation of getting to say these words that are so shocking and so vile, but not just shocking for the sake of shock value - there’s a purpose to all of it. It drives the story. So much of my character revealed Jessica Lange’s [Sister Jude’s] past, and that also makes a big difference. When you feel like you’re saying sort of vile, disgusting things and it has no purpose, then I have a harder time with that but when it drives the story in a good direction, all bets are off.
It was such a shocking role and the scenes were so great, I really loved it.
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Thank you so much. It wasn’t that long ago but I look back on it and think, ‘That is the most fun I’ve ever had as an actor.’ And I wonder if I’ll ever have that much fun again, because the freedom that you’re given in a role like that is magical.
Well you don’t want to peak at 25...
(Laughing) No! That’s my biggest fear! I still have a lot of ground to cover.
There’s kind of a Six Feet Under vein that runs through your work; you’ve worked with loads of awesome Six Feet alumni from Frances Conroy to James Cromwell, Michael C. Hall, Patricia Clarkson - there’s kind of a theme!
I feel like the most privileged person alive to get to work with, or even be in the same room as some of the actors from that show. It’s my favourite show that’s ever been made and I don’t know if there will ever be a show as good as that. About a week ago I re-watched one of Patty Clarkson’s episodes and I just thought, ‘She is amazing on this show!’
I’ve gotten to become quite good friends with [Patricia Clarkson] over the last four years since we did Legendary, and I just did another movie with her called Last Weekend that we shot this summer in Tahoe. To get to work with her twice is the most amazing gift ever. She’s an incredible human being; she lights up the room when she arrives, and is full of so much child-like energy that’s mixed with this wisdom - I don’t know how to explain it or put her in a box because she really is a one of a kind human being, and that’s why the characters she plays are so endearing and why we love to watch her. She brings so much of herself to the roles.
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Devon and Patricia Clarkson as mother and son
in Legendary (2010) |
Patty’s probably been one of my favourite actresses for the last ten years, so the first time working with her on Legendary, when I found out I was going to play her son in that movie, I felt so much joy and excitement. And also the recurring theme of that intimidation was there. But on day one she called me from New York and we were working on the accent together over the phone, and I felt so loved by her instantly that all of the intimidation went out of the window and I felt like I’d found a home with this motherly figure that is so beautiful and full of life.
We’d go back to her room and talk about the day and eat a bag of potato chips. I will never forget that experience and how much I felt like I grew as an actor by watching her. I carry a lot of that in to my work even today, and it makes me so much stronger.
The thing I think about acting is you can’t just be truthful and honest in a performance, you have to bring strange and interesting nuances to every character you play because that’s what makes people watchable, and not boring and keeps us tuning in and liking a character. That’s really something I learned from her. She doesn’t keep it simple or play it safe, she really pushes the envelope and goes there, and that’s why we love her.
Do you find that friendship with other actors on set can help or hinder your performance?
I never think friendship hinders anything; I think that it will always make something stronger. If you have a scene with somebody where you’re yelling and screaming at someone, I would much rather do that with a friend, and feel like I’d do it better with a friend, because at the end of the day we’re going to go back and have a beer and laugh about it. I strive to be friends with anyone I work with. In this industry, or any industry, getting along makes the world go round... as cheesy as that sounds.
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That’s a great attitude, and obviously works for you as you never stop working!
Thank you. I definitely have times where I feel like I’ve stopped for a bit. I’m like, ok, let’s see, am I going to work again? Is this the end? (Laughing) Every time I leave a set, I think, is this the last time I’ll ever leave a set? Is this over, is this done? Was that my last job?
Does that spur you on to squeeze every last drop of experience out of every job you do? Acting can be such an unstable career.
It definitely does. I never take a single moment for granted. Ever. Ever on set. I constantly turn up in awe of the cameras and the lighting gear and I’m just thinking, wow, how exciting to be here. I’ve always dreamed of doing it and now I am and I’m so grateful.
I’m trying not to make this interview too much like, “I loved you in this role!” and “I loved you in that role!” but it really is true, I’m a huge fan, and one performance I particularly enjoyed was your work on Alphas. How exciting to work in that kind of sci-fi role.
Thank you so much. First of all, I’m so glad you mentioned Alphas because nobody ever mentions Alphas and I loved that role. [I] had such a fun time playing that character and being in that sci-fi world.
There are some sci-fi things that I’m very, very drawn to and others that I’m not as connected to but I love mutant things [like] X-Men and that whole idea, so for me Alphas was such a cool show. I remember I auditioned for the pilot, I forget which character, and I didn’t get it. I felt so bummed because I was like, oh, I would love to be involved in a show like that about these X-Men type characters.
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Then later on when I eventually got a role in a later episode in season one. I loved having a super power. Even though it was an evil power, it was just so cool having a super power. I think that’s something that I’ve wanted ever since I was little. I got to play this guy that had these [spores] released from his fingers that created chaos and it was, again, such a gift to get to play a childhood fantasy out.
With a role like that, I’d watch it back when it airs on TV and think, ‘Oh my God, I’m a superhero!” Do you watch your own work?
I do, I definitely watch my own work. I watch everything at least once just so I can learn from it, because I’m incredibly self conscious, and I’m criticizing myself every single moment of everything I’ve ever done - my heart is racing with me wanting to leave the room, but I make myself watch it because I know that I can always grow. I want to learn from my mistakes. I’ll look at a moment and think, “Oh, I could have done that better - next time I’ll do it this way,” so I definitely watch it.
With Alphas, because they add so many special effects in afterwards, it’s so fun to see all the CGI that’s there so I definitely watched that. I watched it and was so happy with the show over all, but I don’t watch things too many times because then I’ll get depressed and pick apart my performance and get too ‘actory’ about it.
Well you work on the best shows on TV, so if you didn’t watch your work, what the hell would you watch?
(Laughing) Yeah, that’s true! I feel like with Dexter, I still watch it sometimes, but after you’ve worked on it the magic is taken out of the show because you know what the sets look like. It’s like, ‘I know that police station, I’ve walked through it a million times and in real life it doesn’t look at all how it looks on screen!’ so I can get pulled out of the show. Or with American Horror Story, which I love - I watched the entire season and was so enthralled by it - I’m always a little bit taken out when they’d be in the mental hospital, and I always remembered what it looked like on set and on set it never looks as real as it does when you’re watching the episode.
That’s the down side of being an actor, I guess - you can’t appreciate TV and film in the exact same way that us civilians do!
Exactly, exactly. I love the show The Walking Dead and I was thinking the other night, ‘If I was ever on this show, I could never watch it the same way again!’ I [love] the way they kill these zombies, it looks so real, and I don’t ever want to go and see that they’re not real zombies, it’s people dressed up as zombies. I’d love to do the show but it kind of steals that magic.
You have to decide what you love more, watching it or being in it!
(Laughing) I think being in it. Being in it always wins.
Other than The Walking Dead, what shows and movies are you feeling at the moment?
I just finished watching House of Cards which Netflix released with Kevin Spacey and it’s sort of my new obsession. I think it’s the most brilliant thing. The writing is so spectacular and the acting is spot-on perfect. Anyone who hasn’t seen that is missing out.
I’m also a big Homeland fan. It’s so good; I just finished season two and now I’m desperate for season three. It’s an addiction, I need the next show ASAP.
As far as movies, I feel like I haven’t gone to the movies in ages. I loved Amour. I think Amour was my favourite movie of last year. It was so heart wrenching, and so beautiful. I think when I see a film, as an actor, I’m always drawn to the performances and that movie just brought me away from even seeing them as actors. I felt like I was watching a real couple the entire film. That was a highlight of cinema going.
I know you’re friendly with your Dexter co-star James Remar. Did you see him in Django?
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| Graye and Remar as on-screen father and son in Dexter |
I didn’t see Django! Django is one of the only movies of last year that I didn’t get to see yet. I need to see it because I love watching James’ work, I think he’s spectacular. As soon as it’s on DVD I’ll be renting it.
What should people be looking out for you appearing in?
I have two movies coming out. One of them is Last Weekend which I talked about earlier; it’s sort of a family drama at a lake house where the family get together one last time and chaos ensues as you get all these different personalities in one place together, and I play the boyfriend of Patty’s son’s character. He’s this New York Guilliard opera singer who’s sort of timid and the youngest person at the party, which was a really fun role as that’s something I’ve never done before. The cast is amazing, there are so many brilliant character actors - it’s a big ensemble piece so I’m very much looking forward to that.
The next film is a movie I did right after that in New Orleans called Angry Little God. That was with Ron Pearlman, Mark Webber and Rutina Wesley.
Oh my God, I love Rutina Wesley! That’s amazing.
She was in both films with me actually! Last Weekend and Angry Little God. It was so incredible to work with her twice in a row, literally back to back. We had two days after the first movie and then I was in New Orleans with her for the next movie.
It’s going to get to the point where you just form an ensemble of Patty and Rutina and the cast of Six Feet Under and travel around working on different movies together.
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I know! I actually worked with Madeline Martin twice, who is a very dear friend of mine that I did Legendary with, and then also a film that’s in the festivals right now called The Discoverers where we play brother and sister, and she’s another person that, like you said, one day I want to assemble all these wonderful people and write something where we can all work together. It’s nice when you start getting to see those familiar faces.
You should do it!
I would love to. It’s a dream. But yes, the second film is called Angry Little God and it’s sort of a dark thriller where I play this autistic twenty-something brother of Mark Webber’s character. I can’t say too much about the story as there’s a lot of surprises but it was so much fun to do. I worked with Daniel Stamm on that who is incredible; I’ve admired his directing for so long so to get to work with him was kind of a dream.
- Olly Cromack is a freelance writer and journalist with no understanding of the concept of editing interviews. Only the brave make it to the end; we are a loyal and gifted few. You can watch Devon in Last Weekend from May 1st in the USA and Angry Little God later on in 2013.
Follow Devon on Twitter at @dgraye and find us at @BlogontheRails
Let me make one thing clear: I live and breathe America's Next Top Model. The mixed up facts, wrong names, hateful slurs about Tyra and not having a clue what 'cycle' a picture is from does not detract from this. I know my shit. I was but a young teenager when ANTM first burst on to Living TV with it's flashy rainbow credits and 'wanna be on top?' mantra, and make no bones about it, I wanted to be on top. I was hooked from the first sight of Yoanna's 'fresh face' and Robyn's impassioned Christian preaching, all with a killer smize and bible to boot.
