'Deadly Class': Liam James On What Tonight's Mission to Vegas Means for Billy

Billy will face maybe the biggest challenge of his life on Deadly Class tonight, and series star [...]

By Russ Burlingame

Billy will face maybe the biggest challenge of his life on Deadly Class tonight, and series star Liam James is excited to finally get to see how fans react to the "Vegas episode."

Previously, James had said that Billy might have, in another world, turned out to be more like Shawn Spencer from Psych -- a character James played for a few seasons in the show's flashback framing devices. The difference, he said, was that his father -- a police officer in both -- is a corrupt and abusive one on Deadly Class. This week, Billy heads to Vegas with one goal: to murder his father, in order to free his mom and younger brother from the liability of the man. But even if he succeeds, it will not be an easy road.

"I think, how could it not [weigh on him]?" James admitted. "The thing about Billy is that he's such a strong character in that, for better or worse, he has from a very young age been forced to lose his childhood. He never had lvoing parents to look after him; he was very much out on his own. I think because of that, he has a very strong sense of his own moral compass and a sense of responsibility that young people shouldn't have to have, but also many just don't have. He takes charge a lot in a way that is unusual and very interesting for a young person, so you get to see what it's like when a young person is making these decisions, and the mistakes they make, and how they handle it."

Putting that weight on him is actually something that James welcomes; while it was fun to be the class clown for the first few episodes, he admitted during our interview that he enjoys the range of emotions he gets to play as things get more and more intense.

"The mystery of funny is an elusive thing, so a lot of the time I'm more comfortable with the serious stuff," James admitted. "There's a weight to when you're trying to be funny and nobody laughs. But I think it's a testament to what the show is about that it isn't just about one thing for these characters, but it shows that they are real people and what they're capable of."

Deadly Class airs at 10 p.m. ET/PT, Wednesday nights on SYFY.

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