With less than two weeks until the highly-anticipated debut of The Stand on CBS All Access, new photos have arrived along with details about the main characters.
The show’s cast and showrunner Benjamin Cavell spoke with Entertainment Weekly, ahead of the show’s December 17 premiere, which shares eerie similarities with 2020.
For example, Alexander Skarsgard portrays the nefarious Randall Flagg, who was described by co-star Fiona Dourif as ‘sort of sexy Trump.’
Sexy Trump: Alexander Skarsgard portrays the nefarious Randall Flagg, who was described by co-star Fiona Dourif as ‘sort of sexy Trump’
The similarities between the villainous Flagg, who is featured in other King books such as The Dark Tower series, are quite vast.
Both Trump and Flagg enjoy holding ‘raucous rallies’ with the producers adding a ‘Trump-ian’ touch to the setting of New Vegas, where Flagg rules over.
‘We fell in love with the idea that Flagg would want to essentially block out any logos – and Vegas is obviously a place with a lot of logos – but that he would want to block out any branding that’s not him with a Flagg symbol,’ said showrunner Cavell.
Similaritiess: The similarities between the villainous Flagg, who is featured in other King books such as The Dark Tower series, are quite vast
‘It’s a bit terrifying when you’re with hundreds of extras chanting insane profanities at Alexander Skarsgard lording over us as Randall Flagg,’ adds Katherine McNamara, who plays Flagg loyalist Julie Lawry.
Surprisingly, though, Skarsgard’s take on Flagg is not as bombastic as the producers expected from a role most actors would ‘go big’ with.
‘He’s able to be so still and quiet, which was a brilliant choice and not what any of us expected,’ Cavell added.
Terrifying: ‘It’s a bit terrifying when you’re with hundreds of extras chanting insane profanities at Alexander Skarsgard lording over us as Randall Flagg,’ adds Katherine McNamara, who plays Flagg loyalist Julie Lawry
The cast also includes Amber Heard, who portrays Nadine Cross, described as a ‘schoolteacher with a dark destiny.’
‘She’s one of the most nuanced of King’s female characters and not an easy part,’ Heard said, who, as a fan of King’s work had wanted to play Cross for many years.
‘She owns and uses her sexuality, but that’s just part of her repertoire, not something that defines her. She also represents for me a kind of a balance between someone who is a villain and a victim,’ Heard added.
Teacher Amber: The cast also includes Amber Heard, who portrays Nadine Cross, described as a ‘schoolteacher with a dark destiny’
Another similarity to 2020 is that he show set amid a pandemic where a killer virus known as Captain Tripps has killed 99.4% of the world’s population.
In New Vegas, even in this hedonistic world, those who inhabit it realize that limits are needed so a deadly pandemic doesn’t happen again, which Dourif finds interesting.
‘The freedom to ‘do whatever you want’ has a nice quality to it, The problem is, that doesn’t really work,’ she said.
The Stand, which also stars James Marsden, Whoopi Goldberg, Jovan Adepo, Nat Wolff and Ezra Miller, debuts on CBS All Access on December 17.
Debut: The Stand, which also stars James Marsden, Whoopi Goldberg, Jovan Adepo, Nat Wolff and Ezra Miller, debuts on CBS All Access on December 17