We talked about evil with the most evil man on Evil

Michael Emerson loves to laugh. He often does it, when making an observation of interest to him, as if a pleasant or provocative thought were his favorite form of amusement. It’s only creepy because he happens to have built a career playing some of the most gripping TV villains of the past twenty years.

This is only reinforced by Emerson’s current role as Dr. Leland Townsend in the Paramount Plus series Evil. Initially a manipulative forensic psychologist, Leland was eventually revealed to be in the employ of what appear to be literal demons, and in the final season dedicated to bringing about the birth of the Antichrist. For the viewer, Leland is perhaps the most fun you can experience watching a villain on TV, and that, according to Emerson, is largely by design.

Emerson recently got on the phone with Polygon to discuss the joys of playing such a delightful villain, the nature of evil, and the many substances he’s doused in while working for demons. He also laughed a lot. I tried not to hold it against him.

Polygon: You have a baby (of the Antichrist?) to care for this season, which adds another dimension to this role’s rich tradition of covering yourself in cloth.

Michael Emerson: It’s a messy role to play.

What’s the messiest thing you’ve done so far?

That moment when I’m working on the computer and the baby is in the crib and the projectile vomits on me off-screen. That pea soup, that’s what it was, came out of an air cannon and some of it went deep into my right ear. So it was days before I actually went to one of those walk-in clinics on the street corner and said, “Can you look in my ear?” Because I’m afraid there’s something in there that might be fermenting.”

That also sets up one of my favorite recurring Leland bits, where something that starts out as a joke, like the baby annoying Leland, resolves in a very sinister way.

And then one thing leads to another. Once he realizes that Kristen’s voice calms the child, he has to play all her tapes. And on those tapes she reveals her secret fears and desires. And then that is raw material for him.

That was terrible! That plot to hypnotize Andy into killing his own daughter. But it’s a nice twist when even the hypnotized Andy can’t bring himself to do it.

You’ve said before that you’ve developed a taste for being a crowd-favorite villain. Is it easier to do that than as a more heroic protagonist?

Well, it’s not a goal that I set for myself, but I do think that there’s more fun and more opportunity in playing a character that is, shall we say, an annoyance to the audience. Because I think they’re going to be on their toes a little bit and pay attention when I come on, you know?

The writers Evil have really served me well, and I hope I do too. By presenting me with these ambiguous situations, and letting me decide what the best – and by that I mean worst – tone of execution might be. So when I hypnotized Andy I thought: (speaks softly) Oh, this should be a lullaby. This should be like this, this should be so sweet. Butter wouldn’t melt in Leland’s mouth. It’s all so reasonable. It’s just what he has to do. Yes. And then everything will be fine. (cackles)

Elizabeth Fisher/Paramount Plus

I love that sound! Because it says he plays strategies. And his tone is at odds with his intentions. These are things you learn, I would say, as I have done a hundred times, that I learned from playing Iago a number of times in Shakespeare’s Othello. Because there’s a character who insists the audience warms to him. When you own that character on stage, it speaks directly to them. And then they become complicit in his villainy because they like him more. Despite his behavior.

Do you think Leland is scary because he thinks the world is black and white, and he’s firmly in the black?

Well, he’s scary because he doesn’t seem to have any remorse, hands down. He’d rather enjoy the mischief it causes. He also blurs the question on our minds today: Is evil an entity in itself? Is it just an accumulation of bad and selfish choices made by human actors? Or is it something beyond human? Is it an essence or vibration or electromagnetic force or something like that? So Leland is here for us to say: Oh, look, he’s a bad actor, who does he work for? How was he recruited? Who controls evil in the world? And I think that’s the conversation that the kings (Evil creators Robert and Michelle King) promote.

Do you have questions for the Kings about how literally you should play a certain scene? You share several scenes with a gigantic demon.

The first time I played with the giant demon, it was shocking to arrive on set and be confronted by him. But then I thought: Okay, how are we going to play this? The audience will find it strange and frightening. But for Leland, this is just a co-worker, or possibly a supervisor. And he is tall about this character, no matter what he looks like or what powers he has. So it is a daily annoyance to be with these demons. But you have to put up with them because they are in charge.

I was happy to play that angle of it. Because in a way, by demystifying the moment, it makes it stranger and more terrifying to someone who isn’t Leland — that somehow we can achieve peace and be on friendly terms with patent malicious. And that is of course a question that fits in with the spirit of the times. (chuckles)

New episodes of Evil Season 4 debuts Thursdays on Paramount Plus.