Tom Ellis as Lucifer Morningstar. Photo copyright of FOX.
Feature films, television shows and, of course, various religious texts have presented the public with different images of The Prince of Darkness, varying in size, shape, and degrees of devilishness. These depictions have ranged from hulking beasts with cloven hooves to gentleman wearing red and sporting goatees, horns and a long pointed tail. In the new FOX TV series Lucifer, the title character is a tall, dark (naturally), handsome, well-dressed Brit with a penchant for nice cars and a more-than-healthy libido.
This newest small screen version of Beelzebub has turned his back on Hell and all its sulfur-drenched trappings. Calling himself Lucifer Morningstar, he has relocated to Los Angeles where he runs a trendy nightclub called Lux. As much as he wants to leave his old life behind him, Lucifer still retains his supernatural powers, including the ability to get humans to reveal their deepest, darkest and naughtiest of secrets. He takes great pleasure in using his talents as a consultant with the LAPD working to help flush out the bad guys and put them behind bars. Welsh-born actor Tom Ellis, who plays Lucifer, is looking forward to revealing new facets of his Satanic alter ego to TV audiences.
“During the shooting of the whole first season of Lucifer, there were so many moments where I thought, ‘My God, I’ve had such a good day at work today,” notes Ellis. “Some of the moments I especially enjoyed involved music. I’m a huge music fan – I have been my whole life – and one of the things that [executive producer] Len Wiseman and I talked about when we began filming the Lucifer pilot is music and my character’s appreciation of it. He opens a nightclub and there’s a piano right in the middle of the place. Lucifer has music all around him in his life. That’s one thing that he appreciates and something we have in common. So we had a few musical numbers in the program which were very, very enjoyable for me to do.”
While his Lucifer character was “born” into the job that he was supposedly best suited for, Eilis had his heart set on pursuing an entirely different career while growing up. “I actually stumbled into acting when I was 17 years old,” he recalls. “Up until then I was really into sport. I was never quite good enough, though, at the sports I played to ever pursue it professionally, but I still wanted to somehow be involved in that line of work. I was very interested in medicine, sports injury and things of that nature, so I was gearing up for a career in physiotherapy and sports rehabilitation.
“When I was in high school there was a subject that I wasn’t enjoying, so I chose to drop it and find another to replace it. I wasn’t sure which one, though, and it was my English teacher who came up to me and said she needed some more boys in her theatre studies class. There were 13 girls and only one boy, and that type of equation sort of pricked my ears up at the age of 17,” says Ellis with a chuckle. “So my motivation to get into acting in the first place might not have been the reason that I do it now, but after that I began taking more classes and just fell in love with it. I was lucky enough to be encouraged by my teachers, and then the mum of one of my school friends came to see me in a school play. She used to be an actress, and afterwards she phoned me up and suggested, ‘I think you should seriously consider doing this for a living.’
“So that’s where it all started. Straight after high school I auditioned for drama schools and got into the Royal Scottish Academy in Glasgow when I was 18. I did a three year acting course there, and in the final year we put on a show for agents, producers, managers, etc. I was spoiled for choice, which was lovely. I never in a million years imagined being in such a position, but I was taken on by an agent, began auditioning, and got my first job before finishing drama school. I then carried on working, so I was very, very fortunate in the way that my career began. I didn’t have to do anything else work-wise other than acting to supplement my income, and as a student at drama school, that’s all you can hope for, really.”
Along with a variety of made-for-TV movies as well as miniseries, Ellis has appeared on such other TV shows as Kiss Me Kate, Holby City, Midsomer Muders, Waking the Dead, EastEnders, Doctor Who, Merlin, Once Upon a Time, Rush and Miranda, while his big screen credits include Buffalo Soldiers, The Best Man and Miss Conception. Having logged countless hours working in front of the camera, what does he feel makes an acting career rewarding for him?
“I honestly believe that there are a number of people in this industry who spend a great deal of time worrying about what the next job is going to be, as opposed to not fully enjoying what they’re currently working on,” says the actor. “I don’t know how it happened, but a few years ago I had kind of an epiphany where I decided, ‘I need to enjoy where I’m at,’ because I think I’m at a good place on the career front. I also realized that the more work I put into whatever I’m doing at the moment, the bigger reward I can get out of it.
“So that’s my philosophy and how I stay happy. I’m extremely grateful to be doing what I’m doing and I love it. Humor is a big thing for me as well. At the end of the day I take the work very seriously, but I don’t take myself too seriously while I’m doing it, and I think that helps keep me going, too.”
Steve Eramo
As noted above, photo copyright of FOX, so please no unauthorized copying or duplicating of any kind. Check out the clip below from next week's episode of Lucifer, airing Monday, February 1st @ 9:00 p.m. EST.
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