Luke James is back on television screens as a cast member in season two of “Them: The Scare.” James plays Edmund Gaines, a pizza shop worker who has dreams of becoming an actor.
James has played different roles in his acting career and is mostly known as a singer and songwriter. He said he hasn’t played a role like this that’s based on horror and is set in the 1990s. The multihyphenate spoke with rolling out about his role and what he wants people to take away from the show.
What do you want people to take away from the show?
I want them to take away the experience that they had watching it. Were you scared? Did it move you? Little Marvin is paying homage to the classic 80s and 90s horror films and the noir of it all. I think he nailed it from what I can tell, and I just hope that people resonate with it like they resonate with all the other classics, like The Silence of the Lamb and so on. I think this [show] is in that realm, and I hope that people resonate with it [similarly].
Is there something that you may have done in this role that you haven’t done in any of your previous roles?
I’ve never done any of this in any manner. This is the craziest ride I’ve ever been on. This ride has been like no other. I’ve never driven this car before. This is like a motorcycle — that’s what this was. Out of control. It’s also a dream come true. As an actor, as a performer, we all yearn for an opportunity to really pour ourselves into something, something that would ask a lot of us and to challenge us, depending on who you are.
For me, that’s what I want, and I’m so grateful to be blessed with this opportunity, to have this much fun playing such a complex character that asks a lot of me. It was really gratifying to do, and even right now to pinch myself and say, “Man, you did that.” I’m grateful. Thank you, Little Marvin.
What is your favorite thing about your character?
He’s a Black man. I love it. He’s a man in search of purpose and love. Where he ends up going is something else, but I think for all of us, we’re all in search of love and acceptance and a space to call our own. … I really resonated with that humanity in him to be seen.
