Over the last five years, A&E has created a horror television powerhouse, in the form of Psycho prequel, Bates Motel.
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Starring Vera Farmiga and Freddie Highmore, Bates Motel tells the tale of Norman Bates and his mother. The critically-acclaimed series is currently ending its five-season run this year, and it’s all leading up to the events of the original Psycho.
Kenny Johnson, who plays Caleb Calhoun on the show, took some time to chat with ComicBook about the ground-breaking series.
With the finale only a month away, we asked Johnson what fans could start to expect from the last episode. Without giving too much away, the actor teased a wild finish ahead.
“I would say mind-blowing and unpredictable. You know, everyone’s already guessing but I think, yeah, mind-blowing and unpredictable. I think Kerry [Ehrin] and Carlton [Cuse] did some really genius things with it. They have all the way through and they’re trying to stay into it. That’s all I can really say about it.”
Alfred Hitchcock’s classic Psycho film is regarded as one of the most storied horror movies of all-time. Living up to that legacy is certainly a challenge, but Johnson believes that the cast and crew have showed the original the respect it deserves.
“I really believe they honored the path that led to where it’s going to be. Where the movie actually exists. Prior to that, Freddie never watched Psycho, he’s never seen the movie, he didn’t want to because he didn’t want it to sway his performance.”
While discussing Psycho‘s legacy, and preparing for a role on the show, Johnson revealed just how badly he wanted to land a spot in this series.
“I saw it once, a long time ago, and I didn’t want to jump into it. All I know is when I was watching season one, it was the only show I watched, and I’m like, ‘Oh my god.’ I go, ‘This show is so f-ing insane.’ I go, ‘How could I be on this show?’ I kept thinking, ‘Detective? No. Cop? No. She had a cop boyfriend, I don’t really think boyfriend.’ Then, in my head, literally, I said, ‘What if she had a brother?’ Then I’m like, ‘No, why would she have a brother?’”
Once Johnson finally got the call about the role, he loved the unique role he was given the opportunity to play.
“I didn’t really know where it was going to go but she told me a bit about it and I was excited. She didn’t give too much away and then I got a call from the creators and really, Kerry, saying, ‘We want you to play Caleb and this is what I have in mind. You’re going to be the older son, Dylan’s father. You’ve been gone and you don’t know that it’s your kid.’ I just started jumping up and down. I’m like, ‘That’s so crazy!’ Insanely crazy because it’s going to be an uphill battle but, at the same time, I love to try to humanize characters and bring colors.
They cast it, obviously, Vera Farmiga, who’s a genius. I mean, she’s brilliant. You’ve got Freddie Highmore, who’s brilliant. Everybody who was cast in that was so cast perfectly well that all I wanted to do was, again, help their story along and to honor it. I thought it was on such a great pace of storytelling that it was doing something really special that I think never gets done on remakes of anything.”
Bates Motel is gearing up for its series finale on April 24, 2017, but there is plenty left until then. The newest episode airs tonight, Monday March, 13 at 9pm ET, on A&E.
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