Julian McMahon discusses playing the enigmatic Jonah and changing the game on Hulu’s Runaways.
Spoilers for all aired episodes of Runaways ahead!
What is your history with Marvel comics and film?
I’ve been a big fan of Marvel, I was a big comic-book/cartoon guy when I was a kid and obviously I played Doctor Doom in Fantastic Four a couple of times. I’ve been a big fan for a long time. I didn’t know about Runaways, I just wasn’t in the right place at the right time kind of thing, until I got the call to discuss the potential of working on the show, but obviously have since read the comic book and so I’m a new convert.
Your character, Jonah, is a new addition to the story that doesn’t come from the comics. What was it like to build the character from scratch?
Well, it kind of takes away a little bit of… I remember doing Doctor Doom, and okay, who is this guy? I had so many things to look at! And you want to incorporate the fans’ opinion, and your own opinion, and everybody else’s opinion and Marvel’s opinion… you know what I mean? There’s so many things to fulfill there, right or wrong — and I don’t mean right or wrong in your own perception of what I should or should not be fulfilling. But this was really cool, because I just came in and it was like, okay: You’re not trying to be anything but what you create, so it gives you a ton of flexibility to do what you want with it, to a certain extent, without encumbering any thoughts or process by having him be well-established.
Inquiring minds want to know: Did you play Jonah in the white-and-crusty phase too?
Does it look like me? No, I don’t do white and crusty.
Jonah’s involvement changes a few things from the comics, including the fact that he is Karolina’s real father. What was your approach to that new story?
Well, that kind of fact really shakes up the dynamics of the show — it does to everybody, not just to Jonah and that family… obviously, it’s going to throw a spanner in that dynamic, that relationship, with all of them. But it kind of does in regards to the show as a whole, I think. And Jonah has passed things on to Karolina that evolve throughout the show that are pretty interesting and dynamic, and so that effects everybody as well.
You’ve got the original thing, if you just take it for what it is without any Marvel-esque stuff to it, you’ve got the original dynamics of a family that is not exactly what they thought they were. And that’s interesting unto itself, and then you add the Marvel stuff onto it, the superhero-y, power-y, those kinds of things, and that adds another level to it. Then you go to the Church [of Gibborim] and all that kind of stuff, and you’re adding just layer upon layer. So it really adds an interesting element, I think, to the show, and to most of the characters in it.
As Jonah, you act as a hugely disruptive force in the show, even through relatively little action. What was that like to play?
Well, first as an actor you’re kind of, okay, I’m coming onto this show and I’m literally just tearing everybody apart. Like okay, get ready, because who knows who’s attached to what. But what a great cast they had, and just what great people. We all had fun working with each other, and all that kind of stuff. And then you’ve got this character who comes in and very demonstrably demands all this attention. And that was an interesting dynamic, I thought, to get on screen.
There’s a part of you as an actor that, I think that’s the interesting thing, right? You’ve got this whole thing cruising along, and everybody’s doing their thing, and all of a sudden this guy gets thrown into the mix and everybody goes, “What the hell is going on here?” You really want to get that out of everybody, you really want to get those responses, because that’s what makes him so interesting.
And of course, Jonah can be seen to be behind major recent developments with Victor Stein. How does that change the dynamic of the story?
The Victor thing definitely throws a wrench into a lot of things I think, particularly as we get closer toward the end of the season. But it’s interesting, because as much as [Jonah] comes into this and just effects everything, it was all kind of set up that way. Like the flashback that you saw from [episode 5] — they’re all making those choices to be a part of that. I’m not too sure that everybody was exactly sure what they were doing, but they were certainly making some conscious choices. It’s just when things started to move in a direction they were not prepared for that everything becomes so shocking.
So that’s an interesting thing unto itself — you signed on for something, but when you get asked to step up to the plate and you’re like, “Wait a second, I’m not sure I was ready for that!” And that’s an interesting thing to delve into too, because as you see from the show, everybody’s kind of gotten wealthy, have lived these lavish lifestyles, and most of them have some kind of influence from Jonah, to be able to do that. And so this whole thing now, this propulsion of what happens at the end of the season is kind of payback. It’s cashing in your chips.
How do you view Jonah’s interactions with the kids, who are just coming into their powers? Do the Runaways have a shot against him?
Well, he’s a pretty strong character. He’s a pretty strong individual, you know? And also I think, for the show, you want him to be strong, which makes the kids stronger, I think. I’ve always said, the stronger the villain, the stronger the superhero. You want both dynamics. For me it’s always interesting when you lose and then win, or when you win and then you lose, and so those dynamics are kind of played out throughout the show. But he’s certainly a force, and he’s not something that you can take lightly, he’s not something that any of them are prepared for.
In the spirit of Runaways, did you ever have a time when you thought your parents might be supervillains?
[laughs] Every day!
Runaways 1×07, “Refraction,” is streaming today on Hulu.
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