Hypable caught up with Preacher stars Dominic Cooper and Ruth Negga to get the scoop on how they set about bringing two of Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon’s most unforgettable characters to life.
When AMC’s Preacher finally premieres, fans will get a chance to see what happens when a possessed man of God, his badass ex-girlfriend, and an Irish vampire team up. On the surface, the concept might sound like a great time for those who haven’t read the comics the series is based off of. Those who are familiar with Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon’s graphic novel however, will know there’s much more to the story than the adventures of a rag-tag trio.
Actress Ruth Negga put it best when we caught up with her back in April: “Preacher isn’t a lesson — it’s a question. It’s a big, fat, f***ing question,” said Negga.
She’s right, by the way. Just like the comics, as viewers move further and further into the series, they’ll discover that it deals heavily with the idea of faith, morality, and much, much, more.
At the forefront of the series is actor Dominic Cooper who brings the titular Preacher to life. Jesse Custer may be a man of God, but like many you’ll meet along the way as Preacher unfolds, you’ll soon realize he’s not as clean cut as his title suggests.
Cooper, who is no stranger to comic book adaptations (he’s portrayed Howard Stark in Marvel’s Captain America: The First Avenger and on Agent Carter), told Hypable that Jesse Custer is unlike any character he’s ever played before. Mix that in with brilliant source material in the form of Ennis and Dillon’s graphic novel and, as Cooper tells it, he was instantly sold by the originality of the whirlwind ride that is Preacher.
“This is unlike anything I’ve seen, and I went into a room of maniacs when I met Sam [Caitlin], Evan [Goldberg] and Seth [Rogen],” recalled Cooper with a laugh when we caught up with him at this year’s WonderCon. “They were so excited and so animated, and there were so many ideas about where this could go and what this could be.”
As we stated in our review of the first four episodes of AMC’s Preacher, if you’re looking for a page-for-page adaptation of Ennis and Dillon’s cult-classic, this isn’t it. Instead, Caitlin, Goldberg and Rogen have managed to create a series that captures the essence of the source material while delivering a more linear layout for the story. It’s a concept that works great for television because anyone who’s read the graphic novel knows that it would be impossible to jump from Texas to heaven and back without losing the casual viewer.
Regardless of the changes they’ve made, fans of the source material should rest assured in knowing that everyone involved with the project has the utmost respect for the comics.
In fact, Cooper himself revealed that he pulled almost all of his inspiration for his portrayal of Jesse Custer straight from the source material. The actor read the comics not once, but multiple times in order to hone in on how he wanted to portray Jesse Custer on screen. And even though we think you’ll agree that Cooper is a very convincing Preacher, the humble actor revealed when we spoke to him back in April that he felt as though there was still work left to be done.
“It’s a work in progress, and the more I immerse myself in the character, it feels more instinctive,” said Cooper of playing Custer, a role he says is one of the hardest he’s ever taken on. “Doing the pilot, it was an hourly challenge — I had to really get into a different mindset.”
Of course, there are other challenges that come with bringing something like Preacher to life, the first of which is trying to figure out how to fit such an expansive and colorful world into a television format. It’s one of the things that Cooper says both “excited and petrified” him at the same time when it came down to taking on the titular role. But the good thing is, Cooper has full faith that that task is in the capable hands of showrunner Sam Caitlin.
“The comics are just…one moment you’re in New Orleans, the next minute you’re in heaven. How are you going to turn that into a series that’s clear and has a distinctive storyline?” said Cooper of adapting such a tale for television. “[But] that’s exactly what they’re doing.”
Cooper’s Preacher isn’t the only interesting character we’re introduced to in the pilot. There’s also the scene-stealing Tulip O’Hare, played by actress Ruth Negga. We won’t spoil her entry scene, but we’ll leave you with this: you’ll be hard pressed to forget it!
Negga pulls Tulip off without a hitch and after speaking with the actress, it’s not hard to understand why her portrayal of the character is so wonderful. Negga has a firm grasp on who Tulip is and why she is the way she is, something that has been vital in helping her bring the beloved character to life.
“I’ve completely fallen in love with her because I admire her immensely,” said Negga of Tulip. “The great thing about her is everything is on Tulip’s terms. She sees the world through this kaleidoscope and it’s Tulip’s kaleidoscope. She has super strong morals, but they’re maybe not your morals. She has an idea of justice that is Tulip’s idea of justice, but not necessarily yours.”
Despite how well she knows Tulip, Negga does admit she had a few reservations about what super fans might think of her taking on the role.
“I think I was worried that I would get vitriol from people because she’s white and blonde,” confessed Negga.
Considering the comics deal heavily with the issue of race, Nega’s worries are justified. Even so, at the end of the day, the actress feels like portraying Tulip as a person of color only adds a more interesting dynamic to the storyline.
“Imagine Jesse’s grandmother knowing, or thinking, or fearing having a mixed raced grandchild. That only makes it more interning I think. I think it just amplifies the whole idea of what Garth [Ennis] is trying to say with these comics,” explained Negga. “He’s pushing and he’s knocking down…that’s why I love Preacher, because it makes you question everything you believe, and every stereotype you think, or every kind of belief you hold steadfastly. That interests me a lot.”
Preacher premieres tonight on AMC and when it does, Negga hopes that even those who haven’t read the graphic novel will recognize the brilliant story they’ve set out to tell.
“I think the great thing about Preacher is that it shows us in our truest, starkest light. That we are all fallible, that we are all ugly, but that we are all really trying to do the best we can,” mused Negga. “And we make huge, big, bad, f***ing awful mistakes. But they are not us. It doesn’t define us. Because every time I read it, it’s like ‘Oh, terrible! Lovely! Terrible!’ — it’s this constant merry-go-round, and I hope people watching it feel that way too.”
[additional reporting by Donya Abramo and Maj Elisabeth]
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