Versatile and Villainous Actor Xander Berkeley opens up about Breaking Out of the Bad Guy Mold
WARNING: THIS EPISODE CONTAINS SPOILERS FROM MANY OF XANDER BERKELEY’S MOST FAMOUS ROLES
Our guest today is another incredibly prolific actor. Xander Berkeley is best known for his roles in Sid and Nancy, Candyman, The Mentalist, and The Walking Dead.
Berkeley rose to fame playing all manner of villains on TV. He says it was a blessing and curse: it allowed him to have a career, but casting directors worried that giving him genuinely “nice guy” type roles would send the wrong message about the character.
I came to be a fan of his after watching The Mentalist where he plays Sheriff Thomas McAllister. I cannot recommend The Mentalist highly enough for you mystery lovers out there. It is on Amazon Prime right now. But be warned, this episode of TFT contains major spoilers for the series.
One would think it’s easy to play a villain, right? Show up, growl, scowl, collect paycheck, go home. Wrong. The work of finding the humanity and relatability in these nasty characters is the real challenge for Berkeley.
Xander is a true Actor’s Actor, and has done it all–stage, film, and television. As you’ll soon see, just like many of the characters he plays, there is more to Xander Berkeley than meets the eye.
Plus, Xander discusses his reasons to moving to a remote area of Maine, and what he hopes to achieve for the film and TV business by living there.
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