Lisey’s Story is almost over on Apple TV+, as the Stephen King adaptation drops its penultimate episode this Friday. That means there’s no better time to get to know Clark Furlong, who portrays the young Paul Landon in the horror drama’s flashback sequences. I recently spoke with Clark to talk about his experience making the J.J. Abrams-produced series, and here’s what he had to tell me.
Brittany Frederick: Lisey’s Story is the first time that you’ve played a character over multiple episodes of a TV show. What was it like for you to spend more time with Paul Landon?
Clark Furlong: For a lot of the roles that I’ve done before, it’s been really quick. You’re only there for a couple of days; a week at most, if they’re stretching it out. But for this one, I was there long enough that I got to know a lot of people by name. I could go around and say hi to people and know their names. And it was nice to be able to say I know this character, and I was able to develop him for a longer amount of time than usual.
BF: You’re working on a Stephen King project that’s produced by J.J. Abrams. Did you get to interact with either of them, or what did it mean to you to be involved in something from such major names?
CF: I did get to meet Stephen, which was an absolutely amazing experience. He’s so sweet and so sincere. When I met him, he said, “Clark, it’s very nice to meet you. Thank you for being on my show,” and I was like “I should be thanking you for letting me say hi.” I was starstruck. I was blown away.
BF: What are the moments that resonated with you in filming Lisey’s Story? Whether it’s something we’ll see on screen or just something that was memorable off-camera?
CF: I spent two hours in the makeup chair some days before even getting on set. There are some pretty memorable moments,, and I don’t want to spoil anything for you but there were some moments where I was like dang, I just did that. I went up to Los Angeles to get my head, my arms and my feet cast at Fractured FX, which was really crazy. The time between getting the cast and getting on set was so long [because of] the delay of COVID-19 that I had actually grown. (laughs) My head had grown in size and so everything was super-tight.
BF: The miniseries is almost over, so for people who have enjoyed your portrayal of Paul and want to see something else you’ve done, what’s the next Clark Furlong project they should watch?
CF: Check out Euphoria. They’re currently shooting season two, and I personally love the show. The people there are so nice and the show itself is something that I find amazing. When we watched it with the rest of my family, everyone but my mother was like “This is amazing.” We just couldn’t stop watching. We wanted to binge it like three times in a row.
BF: What kinds of TV shows and movies would you consider yourself a fan of?
CF: Superhero movies. I’m a big Marvel fan. I’m a really big fan of Benedict Cumberbatch; his acting is beautiful. He did Doctor Strange and I was like, “Yes, my favorite actor in my favorite type of movie.” That was really exciting for me. If I can’t pick a superhero movie, I’d have to go with Monty Python and the Holy Grail and things in that genre, which I find hilarious.
Lisey’s Story is now streaming on Apple TV+ with new episodes premiering Fridays; the finale will be available on Friday, July 9.
Article content is (c)2020-2023 Brittany Frederick and may not be excerpted or reproduced without express written permission by the author. Follow me on Twitter at @BFTVTwtr and on Instagram at @BFTVGram.
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