Most children have an imaginary friend or two growing up, but "The Whispers" presents those make believe companions as a tangible force corrupting children's minds.
Barry Sloane stars in the new ABC series as Defense Department operative Wes Lawrence who must fight this invisible battle alongside his former flame Claire Bennigan (Lily Rabe). They must save the vulnerable children from this person or thing that is manipulating them to carry out unthinkable acts.
Sloan previews the new show and his character who is a far cry from his role as Aiden Mathis on ABC's "Revenge." He also talks about the challenge of playing father to his co-star Kylie Rogers, whose recently finished the film "Fathers and Daughters" with Russell Crowe as her on-screen dad.
How did you come to "The Whispers" after "Revenge?"
Barry Sloane: I'd already made up my mind that I wasn't staying with Revenge midway through the [third] season so I started looking at various scripts. As soon as I saw this one, I was attracted to it. I knew the cast they were putting together was good so it was a no-brainer really. And Steven Spielberg was involved! When do I turn up and what do you want me to do? They were fans of what I'd done before and the network had been very supportive [of me] since I got here.
What's been exciting compared to what I did on 'Revenge' with Aiden, who was quite stoic even though he wasn't a good guy and killing people, he was on the side of the person you were rooting for. Coming in with Wes, it's a very different feel. He's a guy who is unapologetic and not trying to make friends with everybody. He's trying to do his job. I feel as an actor, I get to show different sides of what I've done a lot of in the U.K. that people haven't seen here and seeing me flex a little bit.
What do you see as the Steven Spielberg imprint on the show?
BS: You'll see as it goes on. I was lucky enough to see most of the series and it has a '70s or '80s feel to it. It's something that reminded me of being a child and took me back a little bit. There's an innocence to it that I haven't seen in a lot of television. There's no gratuitousness about it. There are creepy elements and things that might make you think of like, 'The Blair Witch Project,' but not to the extreme. More the fact of 'Did I just see that? Did that happen?' We leave a lot to the imagination and in doing that we leave it up to what scares you. To me that's more terrifying. We don't really show anything, but I don't think it's necessary to.
That's a fine line to walk.
BS: I think you have to. Working with children, we don't want to show a kid that is throwing himself off a building. That's not the TV we're trying to make. We're trying to make a show about protecting the innocence of children, so it's a very pro-child show in that sense.
It's about keeping a family unit strong and if your business is not in hand and you aren't managing it strongly, these outside influences can get in. Most of the children that are affected by what goes on in the show are from family units that are breaking down or crumbling. It's all about the American family and families across the world. It's about being a tight family unit and if you're steady, there are not many things that can affect you.
As a father, is the parenting side of the show something that also attracted you to the part?
BS: Definitely. There are rolls for certain parts in your life that come along at the right time. I'm the father of a five-year-old so when this came about everything was there for me. Obviously, working closely with the child for some actors would be jarring, if you don't have that relationship instantly with the child. Kids can shut the door. We were very fortunate and we were all prepared to go the extra mile.
What kind of journey will your character, Wes Lawrence, take on the show?
BS: Not going into too much detail, you'll see the difference between Milo [Ventimiglia]'s character and mine is like chalk and cheese. One is very clean cut and together. The other is a man who goes into crisis, a Jack Bauer-esque type person, but you'll see him unravel into pieces. If you look at my knuckles, you'll see the marks from smashing things. This is to the extent that this man breaks.
Hopefully you'll be thinking, 'I'm not sure about this guy.' But hopefully you'll hold his heart close by the end of it. That's my hope. People will get something from my performance in this show that they never saw in Aiden. He didn't need vulnerability. He didn't need to be taken care of because he took care of people.
"The Whispers" starts tonight, June 1, at 10 p.m. on ABC.
