Luke James discusses the layers to Edmund in THEM: The Scare

THEM: The Scare brings plenty of intriguing and multi-dimensional characters. My favorite, especially from a creative point of view, is Edmund, played by Luke James.

Without giving anything away, Edmund is one of those layered characters. He holds his own secrets, and just as you think you’ve figured out who he is, you see another side to him. You learn more about him and his past, and you start to see him in a different (and sometimes scarier) light.

Luke James talked about bringing this character to life in THEM: The Scare. He also talked about how great it was working with Little Marvin.

Luke James talks the layers to Edmund in THEM: The Scare

Amazon Adviser: Edmund is such a complex character with so many layers to him. What was it like bringing that to life?

Luke James: It was fun. I would say it was fun as an actor, as an artist, to receive such an opportunity to play such a nuanced character. It is a dream come true.

And to be able to work with someone such as Little Marvin, who is very clear on what he's doing and what he wants? It was pretty, pretty fun. It was definitely challenging for sure. I think the challenging part was just to let go and just trust that I'm in a safe space and everything is okay. We're all here trying to get the same thing…I just had to lay into whatever Little Marvin was feeling and then trust my own ideas.

AA: It might have been harder for some of your scene partners!

LJ: It was great to transform. To be something other than yourself, something that is not so surface…Just the transformation of it was really cool. And yes, it was really awesome to be able to move [my] castmates.

AA: Without going into spoilers, some of those scenes are a bit traumatic for everyone. Did you get much preparation time with your scene partners?

LJ: No, I didn’t! It was crazy. It’s like two different worlds. There was Dawn Reeve’s world and then there was Edmund’s world. I didn’t know the rest of my castmates. Edmund spent most of his time alone.

When I did work with other castmates, for me, it was a matter of just us all knowing that we were in a safe space, and we were trying to reach the same thing. Everybody was just a gang. I mean, the crew, everybody was just game for this project. Everybody was just eager to make this magic happen for Little Marvin.

AA: Did you take any inspiration from anyone in the past or current day? Or did Little Marvin have everything laid out for you?

LJ: It was Little Marvin. I just leaned on him. He never gave me anything to look at or a list of names of the past. We’re both fans of the horror genre, and we have our favorite movies, but I just wanted to give Edmund breath. I wanted him to be his own entity, and I had to lean on the words. I had to lean on Little Marvin and also allow myself, my own inner child, and that need for validation, and love, and compassion, and a place to call my own.

Take a look at the full interview below:

THEM: The Scare is available to stream in full on Prime Video on Thursday, April 25.