In the “Black Mirror” episode of the CBS series FBI: Most Wanted, the team went to Vermont to investigate the kidnapping of two teenagers and found themselves in the direct path of a wayward pastor and his brother. With Special Agent Remy Scott (Dylan McDermott) going undercover as a Catholic priest just after having attended a parole hearing for the man who killed his brother, the deeply sinister case pushes him to a boiling point that he needs to learn to better handle, moving forward.
During this 1-on-1 interview with Collider, McDermott talked about using The Exorcist as a muse for episode 412, the constant wound Remy experiences because of the death of his brother, the need to seek justice, wanting this case to be as gruesome as possible, embracing character work, the moment that was cut from the episode, whether Remy might ever be able to find closure, and what he’s looking forward to with the upcoming FBI crossover (between FBI, FBI: International, and FBI: Most Wanted) that’s airing in April.
Collider: This “Black Mirror” episode (episode 412) creeped me out. It’s awful, not because it’s a bad episode, but in the sense of it being horrific thing on top of horrific thing. How do you even get through shooting something like this? Did you get any prior warning about the content, or was reading the script the first time you were exposed to this episode?
DYLAN McDERMOTT: I really don’t wanna know because then I can just throw myself into it completely. I like to make quick decisions. So immediately, when I read it, I thought of The Exorcist and used The Exorcist as a muse. And I was able to use my own personal history with Catholicism, I was able to use that. I made those quick decisions. And then, obviously, his brother was looming in this case, as well, triggered at certain points for Remy, and that turned the volume up a little bit higher, in this episode. There was a lot at stake, for me personally. The parents really hit him hard, with these missing kids, and it was on his shoulders. The combination was really perfect, in many ways, for Remy to get a little bit unhinged.
Dylan McDermott as Special Agent Remy Scott in a car in Season 4 Episode 12 of FBI: Most WantedImage via CBS
Because there are these two components, with his personal life and this case, how do you approach doing an episode like that? Do you take it on, as two separate pieces of the story that you’re telling? Did you look at how one was affecting the other? How did you make sense of his behavior and actions, throughout the episode?
McDERMOTT: His brother is always looming. It’s a gushing wound for him, and it’s never quite been sewn up. It’s always leaking, if you will, in his psyche, so it’s always there. And then, if you poke at it, it gets worse, obviously, and it’s been poked at. And then, coincidentally, there was this case with these kids and their parents, and they’re kidnapped, and then all this religious stuff is going on. That’s why he goes undercover. He says, “Give me a Bible and a priest collar and an old car, and I’ll do it. I’ll handle this.” I think he wants resolution. He wants to know that there is justice in the world. Most of the time, Remy operates on that level. There has to be some kind of justice in this world. As Remy does, he finds a way to get it done, and he doesn’t stop. He’s a dog with a bone.
When it comes to this case, it was quite disturbing, on multiple levels. What was your reaction to actually reading the script? Was there anything that you were concerned with pulling off?
McDERMOTT: I really wanted it to be as gruesome as possible. I remember that we were shooting a scene, and there were pictures of the devil and horns, and all that. I walked into the room and I said, “No, this is not right. There should be animal parts. There should be horns and blood.” It was almost like American Horror Story, in many ways. So, they created this whole world, where the surgery is happening. That was what we needed to make it even more profound, if you will. I was involved in every aspect of this episode. I was really, truly invested. That’s why it’s my favorite of the season. There’s something about playing a character within a character, that that emotional component, all wrapped up. There’s something that you can’t stop, once that happens. The priest took over, in many ways. When I do that character work, sometimes you just have to get out of the way. They take over, and that’s what happened with this.
Dylan McDermott as Special Agent Remy Scott in Season 4 Episode 12 of FBI: Most WantedImage via CBS
When you read this, did you have a moment of, “Hey, wait a minute, I signed on to do this show because Ryan Murphy wasn’t involved. How did we end up back in American Horror Story?”
McDERMOTT: Yeah, exactly. American Horror Story never goes away. It’s always there.
