The season finale of Robert Kirkman’s ‘Outcast’ on Cinemax airs Friday, August 12. The series about demonic possession is a slow, eerie burn compared to Kirkman’s other works on television, which has led to a very in your face, intimate, character driving horror-drama.
Wrenn Schmidt who plays Megan Holter on the show has one of the more compelling story archs, and her story comes full circle in Episode 9 ‘Close to Home.’ Things will never be the same for Megan. We spoke to Schmidt about the season, Episode 9, and previewed the season finale.
If you haven’t watched Episode 9 ‘Close to Home’ of ‘Outcast’ there will be spoilers ahead.
Schmidt first explained what it’s like to be possessed by a demon from the scripts point of view.
“With the possession, the cues that were the most import to me were the physical cues about what she was experiencing or feeling. So it was less about like ‘Ugh Possessed!’ and more about what’s the sensory overload that is happening for her in the moments when she’s not herself anymore,” said Schmidt.
Schmidt added that series showrunner, Chris Black explained the possession to her as ‘a cave man being in control of a rocket ship.’
“So there’s this entity or this thing that’s inside her that doesn’t really know how this body works, or this world works. And all the sudden there’s this perceived threat, which is Mark. Megan, when she’s not really Megan anymore, isn’t reacting to her husband. It’s this thing reacting to there being a perceived threat. Which is basically fight or flight,” said Schmidt.
When asked what her favorite episode of season one was, Schmidt previewed the season finale.
“I don’t want to spoil anything, but I would say the whole season finale was a tremendous challenge because it was all physical. So all of that was really fun for me. A lot of it was also deeply uncomfortable because when we were filming a lot when I was outside it was maybe 37-38 degrees and I was wet. There was a certain sense of achievement getting through some of those scenes. It’s kind of like I have so much adrenaline that when we finished I’d be like,”I CAN’T BELIEVE WE JUST DID THAT! OH MY GOD!”” said Schmidt.
One of the funnier moments of the interview was when we went off topic and pondered who would be Schmidt’s partner in a buddy cop film. The actor would love working with Brent Spiner, Brie Larson, Ellen DeGeneres, Mia Wasikowska, Janet McTeer, and John Oliver, maybe.
Listen to the complete Wrenn Schmidt interview below and watch ‘Outcast’ on Cinemax..
Based on the Skybound/Image Comics title by Kirkman and artist Paul Azaceta, ‘Outcast’ stars Patrick Fugit as Kyle Barnes, who has been plagued by demonic possession all his life and has sequestered himself from those he loves for fear of causing greater hurt. Now, with the help of Reverand Anderson (Philip Glenister), a West Virginia evangelist who believes he is a soldier in God’s holy war against the forces of evil on Earth, the young man embarks on a journey to find answers and regain the normal life he lost. But what Kyle discovers could change his fate — and the fate of the world — forever.
Other cast members include Gabriel Bateman, Wrenn Schmidt, Reg E. Cathey, Kate Lyn Sheil, Julia Crockett, David Denman and Brent Spiner.
