McTavish an actor in motion
Seated in a chair, Graham McTavish was trying to remain as motionless as possible as makeup artists morphed him into his evil character on the AMC series “Preacher”: the Cowboy, aka the Saint of Killers.
“Let me set this up for you,’’ the actor said by phone in his thick Scottish accent. ‘‘ I’ve got most of my costume on, and now they’re doing my hands, which are bloodied up for the next shot. I don’t look very pretty.”
“Preacher” — the wild, outrageous series based on the Garth Ennis/ Steve Dillon comic book of the same name — follows the exploits of Jesse Custer ( Dominic Cooper), a small-town preacher with a not-so-holy past.
Believing that God is missing from heaven, Jesse sets out to find Him. He’s accompanied by Tulip (Ruth Negga), both the love of his life and his ex, and Cassidy ( Joseph Gilgun), a 119- yearold vampire and his best friend.
On their own in New Orleans, Jesse, Tulip and Cassidy contend with all manner of trouble — none more fearsome than the Saint of Killers, who is brutal, immortal, unstoppable — and determined to rid Earth of Jesse.
( Another key “character,” Genesis — the spawn of a demon and an angel — has escaped from heaven and uses Jesse as its host.)
In the second season of “Preacher,” set to kick off Sunday, the pace and involvement of the Saint of Killers ramps up as his journey takes an interesting turn,” McTavish said.
“The first half of the season is very much the
same pursuit of Jesse — or, specifically, Genesis, trying to get hold of that — and so it’s not a personal mission against Jesse,” he said.
“But then something significant happens midseason which causes the Saint to take it all very personally, indeed, and so the relationship between him and Jesse will change — quite fundamentally, actually.”
These are complicated people, McTavish said, neither purely good nor purely evil.
“They try to do the right thing and, in doing that, often end up doing the wrong thing.”
McTavish’s work in “Preacher” follows his high- profile turn on the Starz series “Outlander” (2014-16) — in which he co- starred in the first two seasons as Dougal MacKenzie, war chief of Clan MacKenzie and uncle of protagonist Jamie Fraser (Sam Heughan).
The one-two combination has made McTavish something of an overnight sensation after 30- plus years of acting in films, television and stage productions in Hollywood, England, Scotland and beyond.
To his thinking, the extra attention means more work, meatier roles and the realization of a few dreams.
“I’ve performed plays to one person, and I’ve toured my own play around the world to thousands of people,” McTavish said. “I did the ‘ Hobbit’ trilogy ( 2012- 14) in New Zealand, and then I ended up going back to Scotland, where
I did all my theater, and on to a show like ‘ Outlander.’
“I’d say that I never really had a game plan, but I had ambitions,” he said.
Such experiences have taught him to enjoy every moment.
“You’re grateful for what has put you into that position, but also I’m looking forward to the next challenge, whatever else comes along,” McTavish said.
“I’m interested in directing myself, trying to get my own projects off the ground.”
His motto for work, he said, has become, simply, “Never stand still.”