Evil's Kurt Fuller Teases Dr. Boggs Will 'Really Transform' This Season [Interview]
The third season of "Evil" is in full swing, with the show living up to past seasons by continuing to be one of the scariest and smartest shows out there. One of the characters who has already been on quite a journey on the series is the therapist Dr. Kurt Boggs, played by Kurt Fuller.
/Film had the chance to talk with Fuller about Dr. Boggs' tête-a-tête with Sister Andrea (Andrea Martin) in the show's latest episode, as well as what's in store for Dr. Boggs for the rest of the season, what's up with the character's wife (does she even exist?), and how Fuller thinks his characters from "Supernatural" and "Psych" would fare in the "Evil" world.
Read below for that discussion, which (warning!) includes mild spoilers for the series to date.
The interview below has been lightly edited for clarity and brevity.
'I felt afraid of her. I was trying not to show it, but she scared me'
I want to talk specifically about this week's episode, where you have a nice scene with Sister Andrea where you assess her. I know your character has a history with Sister Andrea and that he's seen a demon himself. But like a lot of people on the show, Dr. Boggs is trying to figure out what's real and what's in his mind, and Sister Andrea is a foil to that. What was it like shooting that scene where you're assessing her, and how did you approach it as your character?
One thing that struck me when you said that a lot of characters are trying to figure out what's real and what isn't, is that the one character who isn't doing that is Sister Andrea. She knows, and she's not in doubt or in conflict over anything. And here I am — a therapist who won't quite admit that he's seen something otherworldly or supernatural, or that can't be explained by the scientific method, or he can't look it up in one of his books — talking to someone who, if she's right about what she knows, will rock his world and make him change his worldview towards the end of his life.
I mean, people don't like to change at my age. You get tired of figuring things out. Dr. Boggs is very proud of his work and very proud of what he's done for people. For him to feel like he's been blowing it for all these years, and with Kristen, would be very difficult. So I felt in the scene, I felt afraid of her. I was trying not to show it, but she scared me.
And when she brought up that I had seen a demon, I couldn't hide it. I couldn't mask it, because Boggs right now is hiding. He's trying to lay low with this whole demon thing. And you can't do that with Sister Andrea. And then when she started describing the first time she saw something, the scales fell off Boggs' eyes. I don't know what takes they used, but there were times when I was just so sucked into her story, that my tongue was almost hanging out because it was resonating with the character so much.
'For some reason they were going to make T-shirts with 'Boop' on them'
And then later on at Sister Andrea's preliminary hearing at the church, she goes up to you and goes, "Boop." A nice callback to Dr. Boggs' demon encounter.
For some reason, they were going to make T-shirts with "Boop" on them. Everybody finds the word "Boop" charming. When she came up to me in that scene — and this is weird, sort of the third eye of the actor — and I was leaving the first time, and when she was looking at me, I thought, "Oh, she's forgotten the line. It's one word. How could she have forgotten?"
But she hadn't. She just threw me off because she was doing it in her own individual wonderful way. And so they probably used that take because I was confused and wondering if they were going to yell, "Cut," and then she went, "Boop." We did it three or four times, but I'll bet they used the first one because it was real, because I was sure she'd forgotten her line, but she had not. She's surprising that way.
'Leland tries to turn Boggs, using various and very interesting means, to the ethereal and supernatural side of existence'
One thing there's been a lot of fans speculation about is Dr. Boggs' wife. Does she exist? Is she a demon? Do you have any take on that?
I have a take. I think [the "Evil" showrunners, the Kings] don't think Boggs has a wife. But I think Boggs has a wife. I really do. I think the Kings are playing around and want to leave it open, but I think if there's ever a need for the wife as a character, she will exist. I don't think it's like "Psycho," where my wife's in a rocking chair up in the bedroom or something. I think Boggs is a traditional guy. I mean, he's not hatching nefarious plans.
But Boggs really transforms this year. I'm pretty heavy in the second half of the season because the Kings came up with a really great idea for Boggs.
Boggs has to start at a very traditional place so he can go to an untraditional place. I think it's more interesting for him to go from a place of banality — a therapist who sees his patients, believes what he learned in school — and then have him travel to a place where his world is rocked. And I think that's more interesting, and I think that's one of the reasons Boggs has a wife.
I know you can't give too many details, but can you tease any thematic themes or emotions Boggs goes through in the second half of the season?
Yes, I can. Here's what I'm saying to you: Boggs has seen a demon, okay? Leland [played by Michael Emerson] knows that Boggs has seen a demon. Leland sees a little weakness — "There's a disturbance in the force," as they say in "Star Wars" — and Leland tries to turn Boggs, using various and very interesting means, to the ethereal and supernatural side of existence. And it gets very hairy and really interesting and wild.
Oh, I can't wait to see. I'm excited.
I'm telling you. It was exciting for me to do it. I was thrilled.
'I think Woody could make an appearance in Evil if the Kings were a little less tasteful'
So you've played a lot of much-loved characters through your career, and there's two I wanted to ask you about and get your perspective on how you think they would fare in the "Evil" universe. The first is your character Zachariah on "Supernatural," and the second is Woody on "Psych."
I think Woody would fare extremely well because Woody, he's up for anything. Woody's up for anything. It might help with the ladies — if he could get more girls and maybe get rid of a few of the safe words that he uses in these relationships, I think Woody would do fantastic.
And I think Zachariah would do very poorly because Zachariah would lose control. Zachariah would not be the head dude — he would be overwhelmed. And I think contrary to what you would think, I think Woody would do much better than Zachariah. In fact, I think Woody could make an appearance in "Evil" if the Kings were a little less tasteful. But they're too good. They would never do it.
New episodes from season 3 of "Evil" drop on Paramount+ on Sundays.