A Hero Among Angels

“The more that I’ve worked, and the more roles that I’ve been involved with, the more I’ve realized how fundamentally important it is to have an understanding of self before you can have an understanding of others.”

Elliot Knight’s professional philosophy has allowed him to transition from being a household name in the U.K. — to making history on the small screen in Hollywood when he played Merlin on the ABC fantasy series Once Upon a Time.

Knight currently stars as the diligent Detective Brady on the new CBS murder mystery series American Gothic. Brady has reopened a grisly cold case that his wife and her family may be connected to, and according to Knight, his character prefers not to function according to the nepotism playbook while investigating the crime.

“When you watch the show, if there’s any one character that you were watching it through their eyes, it would be Brady. I want him to come from a good standpoint because he is very much the eyes and the heart of the audience,” Knight said. He also described Brady as someone with characteristics similar to his own.

“A reliable, honest, caring person who at the end of the day is trying to find the truth. I definitely have a very similar want and desire for justice in the world. It’s something that’s important to me. I try my best to be a good person, and that’s an element that I was really keen for Brady to have as well.”

The first season of American Gothic revolves around the Hawthornes, a prominent Boston family who discovers that someone in their midst may be a serial killer. At this year’s Comic-Con, the cast — which includes Virginia Madsen, Juliet Rylance, Justin Chatwin, Stephanie Leonidas, Gabriel Bateman and Megan Ketch — teased that the season one finale will be very satisfying.

Audiences love TV crime dramas primarily because they play on and in some cases relive our fears. Knight said American Gothic has a “pretty twisted” plot that certainly plays on a common fear held by many, including himself.

“I don’t know anyone who wouldn’t fear someone in their family potentially being a serial killer for the whole time that they’ve known him. This show is filled with so many dark themes, and I love how it sort of delicately handles them with a touch of cynicism and comedy.”

The first season of American Gothic recently wrapped filming in Toronto, and Knight revealed that he was “lucky enough to go on a ride along” with local police to “see how it is that they have to do work, not just when they’re on the job but also how they have to have a very particular mindset and mentality to be able to cope with seeing the kind of things that they do every day.”

“They need to be equipped to respond efficiently and effectively all the time, on a constant basis, and that’s the thing I found most fascinating about getting to play Brady,” he explained. “It’s not just that he’s a cop, but he’s a family man. He’s a normal guy who has a work life and a personal life, like we all do. And you get to see him, more than anyone, tread the line between both of those two worlds.”

In order to fully occupy the headspace of Det. Brady, Knight spoke to many cops who stressed how important it is for them to “compartmentalize the two different lives” that they lead; one for family and one for work. Should the two worlds bleed into one another, “That can become pretty destructive.”

“I did a lot of research into serial killings in real life, particularly the BTK killer and watching his video confession and looking at the crime scene, because it’s a very similar model to how serial killers operate, and how the fictional one in our story does,” Knight said.

The physical preparation of a character comes second to the most important question Knight asks himself before taking on any character: “Who Am I?”

“It’s a very difficult task to try to create and build a whole character — a whole person, on a foundation that you’re already unsure of. The deeper an understanding you can gain of that, then the richer the work will be that you produce when trying to be and create other people.”

American Gothic was created by Corinne Brinkerhoff, and Knight made his U.S. network debut in 2014, in the critically acclaimed ABC series How To Get Away With Murder, created by Shonda Rhimes. In terms of how varying the creative energy is that men and women foster on the set, Knight acknowledged that working with female directors has been some of his “favorite filming experiences,” and this season on American Gothic has had many women calling the shots on several episodes.

“I’ve chatted with Corrine a lot over the season but particularly about how wonderful its been to get to work with some female directors because it’s just not an experience that I really had that much exposure to up until this point. I really enjoyed getting to experience the different perspective and energy that a female can bring to this very much male dominated workplace and industry.”

Knight made history playing the first black Merlin on ABC’s Once Upon A Time, and he hopes his interpretation inspires more diversity and inclusivity in the world of fantasy and adventure because “there really aren’t many people of color celebrated as heroes.”

“Race doesn’t need to be a barrier to prevent you from being inspirational or being a hero or being included.”

The mixed race actor is known for playing the hero in the hit British action-adventure series Sinbad, and it’s a performance he believes resonated with viewers not because he’s a man of color, but because fantasy and adventure is a “human theme” that appeals to everyone.

“My mum’s black, her parents are from Jamaica. My dad’s white, his family hails from England. I have always loved fantasy adventure because any child would. It’s not because fantasy adventure is a Caucasian theme. It’s a human theme. It appeals to everyone, so therefore everyone has these fantasies of being a hero, and being adventurous and in their own stories. I was lucky enough to get to do that on my first job that I ever did, Sinbad.”

His transition to the City of Angels brings much criticism, and the star of the new indie film Take Down says that despite the growing concern about black British actors invading Hollywood and taking away opportunities from their African-American counterparts, Knight simply feels, “Fortunate to even be considered or included for potential work in the U.S.”

“I’m in L.A. right now and there are so many people that are trying to get work, and I can definitely understand there’s a large spotlight on foreign talent coming to the U.S. and getting work.

"I wouldn’t agree that people are taking jobs away from people, because at the end of the day, if someone is right for something, and if someone from the U.K. comes over and does a good enough job and the people making the decisions like them for a role, I don’t think they’re getting it cause they’re British. I would like to think they’re getting the role because they’ve proven that they will do what’s right for it.

"I don’t think you’re entitled to work just because you’re from a certain place. None of us are entitled to any of this. It’s all about working hard to get it and things working out right for you.

"So as far as invading Hollywood goes, it’s never been my intention. I would like to think that American actors would be just as welcome to go to the U.K. and try their luck at getting a role on a show there, than anyone from the U.K. would be to do the opposite.”

American Gothic airs Wednesdays 10/9c on CBS.