Matthew Rhys reflects on his The beast in me character Nile Jarvis.
Rhys believes Nile enjoys the awkwardness around him, and the actor enjoys the dynamic between Nile and author and grieving mother Aggie Wiggs (Claire Danes).
“Nile enjoys the discomfort around him and he thoroughly enjoys it,” Rhys, 51, said. People. “And I think sometimes he does it for his own entertainment, for pleasure, for his slightly sadistic nature.”
“But then when he finds a kind of tennis partner in Aggie [Claire Danes]and he says, ‘Oh, wow, this is someone who can return the ball at a much higher speed and with much more skill.’ “That’s always fun,” he explained.
Aggie and Nile are “just one impulsive step away from being perfect for each other,” Rhys added.
“And it’s very fine,” he said of the difference between them. “The kind of membrane between them is paper thin and therefore the grace of God is transmitted to the other. And I think they see that in each other, that at any given moment, given how impulsive they both are, the stories can be changed very easily.”
“And that’s when it’s electric,” Rhys said.
