CBS All Access’ upcoming adaptation of Stephen King’s The Stand will see Henry Zaga star as Nick Andros, one of the post-apocalyptic story’s main and in many ways beloved characters, but fans may recognize him from this year’s The New Mutants. Zaga played Roberto “Bobby” da Costa, aka Sunspot in the film, which was directed by Josh Boone, who developed and directed The Stand. And according to Zaga, it was working with Boone on The New Mutants that ultimately brought him to The Stand all because of Boone’s passion for the project.
Videos by ComicBook.com
In an interview with ComicBook.com, Zaga said that working with Boone on The New Mutants was an amazing experience and he spoke highly of the director’s passion for his work.
“It was one of the most amazing things that I had lived through at that point in my life. And now again, it’s the same feeling and it’s just a testament to Josh and his vision, and his heart, how he puts his body and soul, mind, everything into these projects because he loves the source material so much,” Zaga said. “And I guess he saw the same passion in me when we work together. And we wanted to regroup to tell the story. He called me one day and said, ‘Remember when you were reading the stand and you were just falling in love with this character Nick Andros? I just can’t get it out of my head. Like, it has to be you. You just have this.’ And then he just explained to me and then I saw how much that meant to him.” To have me say yes, I’m like, ‘Dude, it’s not even a part of saying yes, like, I just want to do it right. And I’d want to do it because it means so much to you.’”
Zaga went on to explain that doing it right meant doing his homework even before the role was his, something that makes his ownership of his performance so much more special.
“And you know, Nick is such a layered character and there’s so much homework that needs to be done here. So, before the role was even mine, I started working on it,” Zaga said. “That’s why it’s such a dear role to me and I feel like I understand him at this point, you know, to take ownership of this performance in that way, it’s truth. It’s true to me.”
The Stand stars Whoopi Goldberg as Mother Abagail and Alexander Skarsgård as Randall Flag, aka the Dark Man. The cast for the series also includes James Marsden as Stu Redman, Odessa Young as Frannie Goldsmith, Jovan Adepo as Larry Underwood, Amber Heard as Nadine Cross, Owen Teague as Harold Lauder, Henry Zaga as Nick Andros, Brad William Henke as Tom Cullen, Irene Bedard as Ray Bretner, Nat Wolff as Lloyd Henreid, Eion Bailey as Weizak, Heather Graham as Rita Blakemoor, Katherine McNamara as Julie Lawry, Fiona Dourif as Ratwoman, Natalie Martinez as Dayna Jurgens, Hamish Linklater as Dr. Jim Ellis, Daniel Sunjata as Cobb, and Greg Kinnear as Glen Bateman.
The Stand is set to premiere on Thursday, December 17. New episodes will premiere weekly exclusively for CBS All Access subscribers.
