Erik LaRay Harvey: From 'Luke Cage' to 'The Charnel House'

ERIK LaRAY HARVEY has been a familiar face in episodic television and movies for two decades, but his breakout role came in 2011 as gangster Dunn Purnsley in HBO's Boardwalk Empire. Now, he's being binged as Willis "Diamondback" Stryker in the Marvel/Netflix hit Luke Cage. And on Friday, he stars as Devin Pyles, a man searching for answers about his father in the slaughterhouse suspenser The Charnel House (opening at the AMC Loews Cherry Hill and on VOD and streaming platforms).

Harvey said he came to The Charnel House when producer Sandra Siegal saw him in Boardwalk and sent his agent a copy of the script.

"I'd never done a thriller before and always wanted to," he said by phone last week. "They're so popular, and everyone enjoys a good thriller."

What Harvey liked about Devin was his relentless pursuit to find out what happened to his father when he was a boy. "He never got answers as a kid, so he went through his whole life wondering what happened to Dad," Harvey said.

"So he returns to this place, looking for answers. To the town that he grew up in, that his father grew up in, that his father's father grew up in. He's been around the world, but it always ends up at home."

As for whether Harvey bought into the movie's supernatural elements, he said he did.

"My grandfather was a Baptist minister," he said. "He had nine kids, and six of his kids became ministers. So I grew up with a good understanding of God and the devil and everything in between.

"My views have changed a bit since I was a little boy, but there are some things you just can't explain. You can call it God, you can call it devil, you can call it ghosts, but I think there are forces out there. I do believe in forces that are unseen and unknown."

Harvey grew up in the United States and in Africa, country-hopping as the son of U.S. government workers.

It was before leaving for Africa, however, that he was bitten by the acting bug.

"One Sunday, the family went to a matinee at Howard University," he said. "That's where I saw my first theatrical performance, and I was like, 'What's that?' You don't see people dressed up in costumes with lights and singing and dancing in the inner city.

"I got so into that show. When we went to Africa, one of my teachers wanted us to put on a school production, and no one in my class had seen a play except me. So I just re-created The Wiz for the class. I was the actor and director. That's where the journey began."

That journey has now taken him to Luke Cage and another killer role as Diamondback, Cage's Scripture-spouting, villainous half-brother.

Even before creator Cheo Hodari Coker knew of Harvey's church upbringing, the Bible was part of the script, Harvey said.

"Cheo came to me and said, 'We're thinking about making Diamondback Luke's brother, and the reason people don't know that is because it was hidden. You have the same father, and your father was a Baptist minister.' And I was like, 'Man, that's just so nasty.'

"A Baptist minister having two kids and denying one would have been a scandal when I was a kid, and I knew what that would mean for a person like Diamondback, the son who was denied.

"People always ask me why I play a villain so well," Harvey said. "It used to bother me, but now I understand. It's because of this understanding of love, from all those Bible teachings growing up, and all those aunts and uncles that preach tolerance and God and understanding. I understand what the opposite of that is, so it's really easy for me to tap into the opposite of what I've been hearing being preached all my life."

Because he spent so much time out of the U.S. as a boy, Harvey was not a fan of the Luke Cage comic book growing up. Being part of the series, though, has been a revelation to him.

"Luke Cage is the first black superhero ever on television," he said with a bit of shock. "Ever. In the history of television. Ever. It's historic. It's a big deal to be part of a first, especially in 2016.

"But we weren't out to set any records or send any message. We were just out to do good work in a project that happened to be set in Harlem. And I'm so glad it's doing well, because it's beautifully done. If I wasn't in it, I'd still be like, 'Damn, that's a really good show.'

"I think Luke has had the advantage of having two seasons of Daredevil and Jessica Jones. We had the advantage of having a well-trained crew that had been through this before.

"By the time they got to us, they were like, 'Yeah, we know what this is.' They know what their world is, and it doesn't really change from Daredevil to Jessica to Luke. The Marvel world doesn't change. The same rules apply. You'll see that with Iron Fist. It's still a Marvel show, and you've got Marvel rules."

Working simultaneously in film and television has led Harvey to see how the two processes are so different.

"Working on a film, they give you A-to-Z from the get-go," he said. "You have the script, and you can go from page one to the last page, and you know what your character is, what the arc is going to be. You might have some minor changes along the way, but you have a good idea.

"With a television series, when you start the process, they give you Point A. They sort of know what Point D might be, but when you get to Point D, it might have changed. Definitely, you don't know what Point Z is going to be. You sort of learn as you go ... You really don't know what to expect next.

"But as an actor, my job is just to keep the character honest and be true to the character. Even if I don't have all the information about the character available from day one, I have to know the character from day one."

The changing arc of television is especially true with Luke Cage. Harvey still does not know whether he's coming back for the second season.

"I'll put my hand on the Bible and swear," Harvey said. "I hope Diamondback returns. I think there are some issues that need to be worked out."

gensleh@phillynews.com

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