Lisey's Story, a limited series based on Stephen King's most personal novel and adapted for screen by the author himself, premieres through Apple TV+ on June 4. The 8-episode story delves into the aftermath novelist Scott Landon's death, and how his wife Lisey comes to understand the world of imagination and horror he left behind.
Two years after her husband's death, Lisey Landon (Julianne Moore, Dear Evan Hansen) has not been able to bring herself to go through his unpublished works and organize his things. This leads to several parties banging at her door, like the ambitious Professor Dashiel (Ron Cephas Jones, This Is Us). Meanwhile, she must venture through her memories and his private world to unlock the secrets of their marriage for herself.
Cephas Jones spoke to Screen Rant about the Professor's claim on Scott Landon's work, and how he feels toeing the invisible line of moral ambiguity throughout the story.
I'm fascinated by Professor Dashiel's antagonistic dynamic with Lisey thus far, and it only gets more antagonistic as it goes on. What is the claim he feels to Scott's work and to Scott as a person?
Ron Cephas Jones: I think that it started out as a power thing for his whole university, this idea that it's prestige that he's going to have the silver cup; the golden chalice, if you will. I think it's that dangling of the gold that he gets hypnotized by. It's that whole thing that Steven King creates so beautifully with this character; a good man that gets that gold dangled, and he gets hypnotized by it and driven by it to the point to where it starts to go into a darker place.
Finding that balance between when and if and how is the challenge of the craft of it as an artist and an actor playing between these two brilliant other craftsmen. And then the writing coming specifically from Mr. King just heightened everything.
Absolutely. You got to read the lines, as written by Stephen King. Did you get to pick his brain or go to the book as well for additional information, or was the script like a new start?
Ron Cephas Jones: Twofold. One, unfortunately, the other actors got a chance to actually see him on set. Due to the way my scenes were structured, I didn't get a chance to actually see him on set. But with the information that we just talked about, you can feel his presence all over. So, that was fine. You know what I mean? You could feel like he was there, because you knew that every word that you were reading came from his pen; it could have been two nights, three nights before.
The book reference came in between. I knew I didn't have to settle on the book, because I had specifically his words. So, then the book came a little later, but I did make reference to the book prior to [filming] just to get a sketchy idea of him. But I knew that it was going to be his word, so I didn't have to rely on that too much. I could just dive right into the meat of it, or the original thing. That was the way I approached it.
Dashiel seems like a good man who gets in a little over his head, and I think that's reflected in his potentially accidental unleashing of Dooley. How does he feel about that situation spiraling out of his initial control?
Ron Cephas Jones: Well, that was the thing. It was like, how do I feel about that? Keeping that ambiguity was essential to not giving it away, and I think that's what makes the professor so interesting. You're not gonna know what's going to happen, and you're caught in the middle of it with this guy.
It starts out like, "Okay, he's an ambitious professor." He's cordial and intelligent, but then, when that other character comes into play - that he draws into things not understanding what he actually opened the door to. And then something else comes in the door, and it's too late. The door's open now, and how do I get it out and close it? That's going to be the journey of the character.
Lisey's Story premieres on Apple TV+ June 4.