Brad William Henke – The Stand

By starrymag | January 21, 2021

By: Maggie Stankiewicz

 

 

Q) “The Stand” is a beloved novel, with the original miniseries holding its own cult fandom. Did you feel any pressure being a part of this revival? 

 

A) I knew that about Stephen King fans and the miniseries. I thought it was just an exciting pressure because of everything you said, and because Tom is a very tight-balancing act to play. Ben Cavell, one of the creators and executive producers, said that Tom and Mother Abagail were two characters that needed to be re-flushed and modernized the most. That makes me excited. I want to do roles where people think my character is either amazing or terrible. I want to do things that are challenging, that take all my effort and all of my ability. I was really just excited for it.

 

Q) What was it about the series that drew you to it? 

 

A) Ben Cavell and Taylor Elmore both wrote for me when I was on the show “Justified” and Ben also wrote for me when I was on “Sneaky Pete.” He called me and offered me the part. Then, he sent me all the scripts up to episode 8. I read all of them and said I would do it. After that I still had three months before filming, so I read the book. Whenever I was driving, I’d pick up where I left off with an audiobook in the car. I was in Pittsburgh filming “Manhunt” and then I drove to Vancouver, so I was listening to it the whole time.

 

Q) How was the character of Tom originally described to you? 

 

A) They didn’t describe him too much. Ben said that he felt like Tom was the most challenging role, but he just said to read it. When I read it I felt like Tom was the heart of the show. If done right and not a one-dimensional character – he could have levels to him and people would love him.

I think it’s different in the book, but in the script Tom had a head injury. In episode 3 he says that he hit his head falling off a grandma’s roof. I felt that was different than if he’d been born with a mental disability, so I rehearsed it like that. That’s how I did his voice. I talked to people who experienced head injuries like that and sometimes when that happens they forget how to talk have to re-learn it. A lot of them told me that they re-learned how to talk through song. I used a Dolly Parton song, “Coat of Many Colors,” because I wanted to talk in a higher register. I used the song to get me to that level for how Tom Cullen speaks.

I just felt like if it was something that he was born with, they should have found an actor who was born with that experience or challenge. Because this happened to Tom as an injury – I took the chance. For me, when you get into acting you want to play these roles who aren’t like you at all, but everyone deserves a chance. I want to win an Emmy, but I don’t want to win an Emmy until everyone has a chance at the role. If a character is written with a type of challenge, it’s my hope that people with that challenge get to audition. At the end of the day, I’ve lived through some things and when I auditioned and thought I was going to get the role, I didn’t get cast.

Just as long as everyone has a fair chance. It’s all about opportunity. As soon as women and non-white males have the same opportunities in this world, everyone will feel like they’re seen and won’t have as much frustration. From my side of it, from the acting side, you want everyone to have a chance and still get the job. That way when you do get it, you know you were just the best. It’s earned. That’s why everyone needs a fair shot.

 

Q) Did you do anything to prepare for the role of such a complex character thrust into even more complex situations?

 

A) I went to high school with a kid who was a couple years older than me. His name was Ed Reinhart Jr. and he got a football scholarship to play football at Colorado and then he had a blood clot break in his brain. For the rest of his life he was a lot like Tom. I ran into him a couple years later and he said to me, “In here – still me.” He was frustrated. You see a lot of these characters who can be like Tom but they’re very one dimensional – almost like Labradors. People who have gone through this have some angst and a lot of frustration, and a lot of people who aren’t nice to them. I tried to incorporate this into Tom.

I’ve been getting great feedback about him, which makes me feel really good. I’ve only had on bad comment online, but I think that was before the show aired. It’s been nice. Someone told me that their son saw Tom and said, “Hey, that’s like me!” That made me feel really good. I just thought about that. No one is trying to act not sharp or not aware in life. Everyone is trying to appear super smart, so I did that with Tom. He’s still serious. When a character pulls a gun on him, Tom says, “Guns aren’t toys.” He’s really firm. He has experience. People weren’t nice to Tom, even more so in the book – but when people believe in him, I found that as an opportunity to have Tom prove that to those who care about him.

When I read a book, I’m always thinking about why certain parts were left out. That’s why I was glad to read the scripts first – because then when I read the book, I thought about ways to fill in the script. I could create more context. In the book, Tom plays with a ’76 station or Chevron gasoline board game. In the show, when they were putting me on my bike, I mention a Loop de Loop game – a little race set. I was trying to bring some stuff from the book into the role. The book was kind of used to add little nuances to my character.

We were in Vancouver, when the sun doesn’t come out and it’s raining all the time. It’s really good if you want to be in a mood, you know? I don’t know if I’d want to live there forever, but for acting I loved it. I found this sleep meditation tape and I’d have to work all night long. So, I would listen to this sleep meditation tape until they called me. I found it helped me make my mind a little fuzzy, so I could try to be on and smart and with it. I gave myself a hurdle. Tom has challenges, and hurdles, so I tried to create them for myself.

Like I said, no one ever tries to act like they can’t do something. They want to show that they can. I think that’s what people are responding to. I was thinking about what could make me really go after my objectives instead of acting like I can’t go after them. It’s been fun. It’s the most rewarding acting job I’ve ever had. I’m excited to see them visit Flagg. It’s been a slow burn set-up and all hell is about to break loose.

 

Q) “The Stand” is about a deadly virus that overpowers most of humanity, and it just so happens to air in the midst of a pandemic. Do you think this has an effect on how viewers are receiving this story?

 

A) I don’t know. We were watching it last week and it looks like a lot worse than what we’re going through. In the book people are dead and dying for like three hundred pages – and then claim they just have a cold. I think it’s interesting how in our country and in the show we separate into two factions. I don’t think it’s so much as the disease as it is people’s beliefs. We literally found people who were saying what we wanted to hear and began following them. That’s a lot like the book. I read all the scripts and then I never read them again so I could just work on my scenes. I was lost in my Tom world, so I isolated myself. I feel like he’s an isolated character. I do really good work when I’m isolated.

 

Q) We are beginning to see more and more of Tom with each episode. Are there any episodes that you’re excited for viewers to see?

 

A) I was excited for them to see episode 4. It introduced Tom more and showed more about him. I loved the scene when they’re asking me questions and coaching me about going to see Randall Flagg (Alexander Skarsgård). I liked the goodbye scene too, with my bike and those two guys. It was fun because I would just improv as my character, and everyone would go along with it.

 

Q) What makes this retelling of “The Stand” different from the original?

 

A) I chose not to watch the original miniseries because I didn’t want to be influenced by it.

 

Q) With such intense, high stakes storylines, how did you shake off a long day of filming?

 

A) I was up there by myself with just myself and my two dogs. I didn’t try to shake it off. I didn’t care if I was in that mood – it was good for me. It wasn’t going to last forever and I could do it to make the most of the opportunity. Stephen King has ravenous fans and I was just excited to have the chance to really do something. But there were times where I’d be around a lot of dead bodies. When you’re shooting you know it’s all fake, but in your mind it still affects you. If you’ve ever seen “The Handmaid’s Tale,” I don’t know how they all don’t have ulcers from acting so nervous all the time in character. Your body doesn’t know you’re acting. I felt that way, but I just like being immersed in it.

 

Q) If you had to make a stand, would you rather follow Mother Abagail and Stu or Randall?

 

A) Myself, personally? Now, I’d go to Mother Abagail (Whoopi Goldberg). When I was younger, I would have gone to Flagg. Actually, I did! Now that I’m older, I’m just living a nice clean life.

 

Q) What are some other projects that you’ve been working on?

 

A) I had just done “Manhunt,” which was on Spectrum, then went to regular CBS and now it’s on Netflix. It’s getting some notice. That was really good. I went right from there to doing “The Stand.” We finished “The Stand” on March 12^th. I haven’t done anything since and it’s driving me crazy. Not a lot of the business is working again yet. I was working so hard for 10 months, so I was ready for a 1 month break but not a 9-month break. I’ve had a couple things that were going on, but then COVID spiked and it got pushed back. It’s still crazy now, so everything is up in the air with productions. I’m hoping they hurry up with vaccines so everyone can get back to work.

 

Q) What would you like to say to fans and followers of your work?

 

A) If they’re fans and followers of my work – I appreciate them having an interest in me. On Instagram and stuff, it blows me away when people tell me that they’ve been following me since Choke. I just want to say that I really appreciate them allowing me to play all these different roles on the spectrum and being excited and not wanting me to play just one role, like Piscatella on “Orange is the New Black.” I’m so happy that I haven’t been pigeonholed.