Runnin' with the devil

“This is Ray Wise calling,” seeps suavely through our receiver, a reminder that we’re speaking to the man who makes evil look so damn cool. Best known for his disturbing turn as the father of a murdered prom queen on Twin Peaks, Wise also played the second-baddest guy in RoboCop and a suspected terrorist insider on 24. But then he upped the ante and took on the role of the devil on the CW’s Reaper—in which hardware employee Sam (Bret Harrison) learns his parents sold his soul to Satan; as payback, he’s enlisted to hunt down spirits who’ve fled from hell. We had a few questions for Wise before Reaper returns Tuesday 22 to finish its freshman season. (Warning: Don’t read if you’re still avoiding Twin Peaks’ spoilers.)

Time Out Chicago: What makes for a good villain?
Ray Wise: Oh my. Let me see. I think it’s one that you can relate to and see a little bit of yourself in. In other words, not somebody who’s so completely and blatantly evil that you can’t identify with him at all. It makes him more human, more real. Inside of everybody, there’s a little bit of good, a little bit of bad, and it’s all in the choices that we make as to which direction we go. I guess what I’m saying is, my character, the devil, is very charming and has a good smile, and he makes you feel good about yourself. That’s the way he gets you to do what he wants.

TOC: You said “him” when talking about villains. Why do you think we tend to think of them as men?
Ray Wise: Certainly, evil is not the sole domain of the male. There have been some pretty evil females in history, too. I suppose the devil could just as well be a female—I have a feeling that we haven’t found out everything about my devil. And, oh gosh, even to assign gender to that kind of iconic character might be a little bit presumptuous.

TOC: Judging by the most recent episode, it seems Sam’s gearing up to plot against the devil.
Ray Wise: Yeah, to put it in quotes, “a lot of revolting developments.” [Chuckles]

TOC: Uh, sure. Changing the subject…what’s it like being, perhaps, the oldest person in the cast?
Ray Wise: [Laughs] Perhaps? There isn’t any doubt. I often joke, “I have shoes older than you guys.” But they look at me as a man of a little more experience. My goodness, half of their lingo, the way they talk, I was unaware of. All these terms and phrases. Not a single one pops into my mind at the moment because I’ve tried hard not to memorize them. I don’t indulge in computers and cell phones, iTunes and iPods and that stuff. I’m old school, and I like that.

TOC: Did you know throughout the entire Twin Peaks process that Leland Palmer was the killer?
Ray Wise: No, no. Not until a couple of days before I had to shoot the episode that revealed the killer. David Lynch and Mark Frost called me in for a meeting. It was dark, there was a lava lamp in the corner, and we sat on the floor cross-legged—Mark, David, Richard Beymer (Ben Horne) and Sheryl Lee (Laura Palmer). And David leaned over, touched my knee, and he said, “Ray, it’s you. It was always you.” And my heart just sunk. I didn’t want to be the one. I certainly didn’t want to leave town—once the killer was revealed, I would probably be killed off or sent away. But then David and Mark explained how my last episode would go, so it wasn’t so bad.

TOC: You weren’t excited to play a killer, but you were okay with the devil?
Ray Wise: Exactly. But the tone is so different—Reaper’s a kind of uplifting, light-hearted fantasy. I call it a “horramedy.” It’s horror, drama and comedy.

TOC: So how do you stay so tan?
Ray Wise: Ah! Well, there we go. I’ve suffered from the George Hamilton complex for the last 30 years. So any opportunity I have to be in the sun, I take, and if I can’t, I’ll seek out a tanning parlor or try to spend a weekend down in Mexico.

TOC: It wasn’t part of the character?
Ray Wise: That was me, and they made it part of the character, as well as my taste in ties and suits. But they wanted him to be rather elegant, well dressed and very sophisticated—kind of a cross between a really good game-show host and a very fine used-car salesman.

TOC: Coming back after the strike, was it hard to get into character?
Ray Wise: Not really. Just had to put the suit and the tie on, and I was right there again.

Don’t fear Reaper, returning Tuesday 22 at 8pm on the CW.