'Outcast' Star Patrick Fugit on Failed Pilots, and the Process of Comics to TV
Patrick Fugit takes on his first lead role in Cinemax's Outcast, an adaptation of Robert Kirkman's most recently launched ongoing comic book series set in the world of religion and possession.
The series has a second season order even before it's seen its official premiere, though the pilot has been made available for U.S. viewers two weeks early. And the reception is positive.
Fugit has played roles in failed pilots in the past, and expressed a disappointment in that. Comparatively, he's walked into a sure thing. Robert Kirkman's name along the top of this new series was probably enough to land that premature renewal.
"I've been around for a little while and I've sort of watched the evolution that TV's made and it's much more like filmmaking now... just with a lot less time and money... and higher expectations.
"And so I guess for a long time I've preferred to do film because you get to sit with one story and you see the beginning, middle and end of it and you get to express it and then you're sort of done with it and you get to show it to people."
On landing the role, Fugit describes it as a pretty by-the-books audition. "It's tough because Kyle, especially through the firs few episodes, doesn't say a lot. But that's part of why I like him because he's expressing a lot but he's not actually saying it."
Robert Kirkman revealed that he wrote the script for the show and the first issue of the comic concurrently, and Fugit agrees that "they are pretty similar."
"When I heard it was a comic I went out and I got the issues that were out at the time... and through those five issues, you know, the way that Paul Azaceta draws the comics illustrates a bit of how Kyle carries himself and the tone and sort of shadow that hangs over Kyle...
"It's imagery so you get some notes on physicality... but in terms of the actual character it was Robert's writing in the pilot that was more fleshed out because there's a lot more time to build Kyle's story."
The series premieres on June 3.
Source: Collider
