THE DEVILISH MR ELLIS

Welsh actor Tom Ellis’s dark brooding looks make him a perfect fit to play the charismatic Lucifer in the eponymous supernatural TV drama returning for a third season

Tom Ellis is on his cellphone, trying to conduct an interview, but he’s having a hellish time. Isn’t that appropriate, though? After all, the Welsh actor stars as the title character in the TV series Lucifer.

“I am currently in a field in Hampshire, in the English countryside with my children, on a glamping trip,” Ellis said, explaining the off-and-on connection and an interruption. “But let’s try. Literally, my eldest has just fallen asleep now on the couch inside the tent, so I’m ready to do it.”

A smart, sexy, often-creepy show, Lucifer follows the unlikely saga of Lucifer Morningstar, who opens a nightclub, Lux, in Los Angeles but winds up regularly helping Detective Chloe Decker (Lauren German) solve cases. She’s somehow impervious to his supernatural powers.

Lucifer, which airs on OSN HD in the UAE, debuted in January 2106 with, frankly, minimal expectations, but elicited strong reviews and a steady, loyal audience. Season 2 isn’t even over yet, but in February Fox announced that it had renewed Lucifer for a third year.

“I had a sort of a feeling about this show when I first read the script,” Ellis said.

“(Producer/pilot director) Len Wiseman would probably give you the same story, actually, because both of us were having to convince the people around us that this was the thing we wanted to do. Some people got it and some people didn’t get it, and I think that’s been the whole story about this show from the start.

“The show has always felt like that child that wouldn’t go away, but it’s been a great journey, because it’s something that I fell in love and …”

And nothing.

LITMUS TEST

“Sorry about that,” Ellis said as he got back on the line. “I would be naïve to think that doing a show called Lucifer wouldn’t have some kind of pre-judgment about it from certain areas, in the same way that I had prejudices about the script when I heard what it was called and before I read it.

“Those were quickly allayed by Page 3 or 4 of reading the pilot,” he said.

“I was like, ‘Oh, this is a really fun take on this particular notion.’ The pilot was a bit of a litmus test for me, and the show, I think, has grown and evolved, and people have caught onto it and loved it for the same reasons that I loved it and Len loved it in the first place.

“Now we find ourselves on the phone talking about Season 3 and the full-22 order,” Ellis continued. “I’ve never been this far in the process of a network TV show before, so, if you’re talking about success … This is all new territory for me, but I’m just very happy to be on the ride.”

NEW AVENUES

“From a professional side of things, Lucifer has really opened a lot of doors, and more and more people seem to be knocking on that door, and that’s great,” he said.

“I haven’t gotten an awful lot of time to do anything other than Lucifer, but that’s OK right now. I spend a lot of time away from my kids making Lucifer, so I feel like I want to spend time with my family when I’m not doing the show.”

With Lucifer wrapped for the season, Ellis doesn’t plan to work for the next few months. Production on Season 3 won’t begin until midJuly. “I’m basically just chilling in the UK this summer with my family and assessing whatever comes along as it comes along,” Ellis said, “but I’ve got no plans. I’m so used to people demanding me 24/7, so it’s quite nice not to be demanded for a while. Unless it’s my kids.”

Lucifer has really opened a lot of doors, and more and more people seem to be knocking on that door.” Tom Ellis