If you’re familiar with the work of actor Dane DeHaan, there’s no denying the man has a talent for being pretty damn creepy. He’s no stranger to bringing to life some truly dark characters over the course of his long career. Well, even if you think you’ve seen DeHaan play scary roles in the past, perhaps nothing beats his role as Jim Dooley in “Lisey’s Story.”
In this episode of The Playlist Podcast, Dane DeHaan joins us to talk about his new Apple TV+ series, “Lisey’s Story.” For those that don’t know, “Lisey’s Story” is a series based on a Stephen King novel, but is a unique adaptation as it is actually written by King himself, a first for the author. The series is directed by acclaimed filmmaker Pablo Larrain and tells the story of a woman (Julianne Moore) dealing with the aftermath of losing her husband, a famous author (Clive Owen). Not only does she have to deal with the grief, but she has to deal with a predatory publisher and at least one scary fan, both of which want the author’s unpublished manuscripts. And that’s where Dane DeHaan comes in, as the terrifying uber-fan, Jim Dooley.
And if you’re a fan of Stephen King’s works, DeHaan thinks “Lisey’s Story” might be the best yet, considering the author actually penned the adaptation.
“I think what that shows is how much he loves this story and cares about this story,” said DeHaan. “[‘Lisey’s Story’] is complicated. There are some intense human aspects that deal a lot with grief and loss and family. And at the same time, there’s a fantastical element and a horror element. So it really is the best of his stuff because it has a little bit of everything in it.”
DeHaan is probably most famous for his film work in features such as “Chronicle,” “Amazing Spider-Man 2,” and “Valerian.” In Lisey’s story, he once again tackles a pretty dark character. But for DeHaan, just because Dooley is creepy doesn’t mean he isn’t loveable.
“I might be the only person in the world, along with the director, who truly has a soft spot in my heart for him,” said DeHaan. “I love him a lot.”
Another villainous character that DeHaan is known for is Harry Osborne in “Amazing Spider-Man 2.” And though it appears that some of his ‘Spider-Man’ co-stars might be heading back to the franchise in “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” DeHaan doesn’t appear to be ready to rejoin the Marvel world just yet.
“At this point in my life, I’d much rather do something new,” he explained. “I love making those kinds of movies. They’re super fun to make and an incredible thing to be a part of. But I don’t think I’d want to go back and do something I did seven years ago…At the time, it seemed like something I was going to be doing for a very long time. That seemed really cool and exciting—where we were told they were going with it, and everything that was supposed to happen with it and ultimately didn’t. That would have been awesome, and it would have been a really cool, amazing thing in my life.”
“But at this point in my life, I’d like to be a part of a different comic book movie,” he added. “I just don’t see a reason to rehash a character I did seven years ago.”
So, while we might not see him in “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” you can check out Dane DeHaan in “Lisey’s Story,” which arrives on Apple TV+ on June 4. And you can hear our full conversation below:
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