(Ray iscurrently serving 60 yearsin prison.)
The real Larry Ray was a charming bald man, large in personality and physical size.
“I couldn’t resist this one because of just the curious nature of it.”
Tedra Rogers and Billy Zane in ‘Devil on Campus: The Larry Ray Story’.Ryan Plummer/Lifetime
Zane tells EW about transforming for the role of Ray (a.k.a.
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: You had never heard of the Sarah Lawrence “cult when you first read the script.
What intrigued you about playing the infamous Larry Ray?
Manuela Sosa, Frankie Warren, Billy Zane, Erin Walsh, and Tedra Rogers in ‘Devil on Campus: The Larry Ray Story’.Ryan Plummer/Lifetime
It was the cycle of trauma, right?
Clearly this is a recurring theme in our society.
Certainly, you’re free to’t help but judge anything.
Elisabeth Rohm and Billy Zane on set of ‘Devil on Campus: The Larry Ray Story’.Lifetime
But I was absolutely fascinated by the rationalization of how he arrived at these decisions.
I don’t think [he got] a maniacal satisfaction from it.
Gotta get money!
Billy Zane and Kate Winslet in ‘Titanic’.CBS/Getty
So, convince himself and convince someone else that they owe you money.
And if they don’t [have] it, they’ll get it from their parents.
Just keep the ball rolling.
You got to keep the lights on, keep the machine going.
You couple this rationalization with chemistry the guy was an Adderall addict.
He was running fromhis own demons, and his mother.
I’m not absolving.
I’m not whitewashing at all.
Getting a big belly.
He was obviously trying to feed something.
I think there was trauma eating going on there.
Then the accent, and the weird affectation of his lisp.
Its a lot to chew on, so to speak.
What’s your go-to move or meal when you’re trying to put on weight for a role?
I have two daughters, a 10-year-old and a 13-year-old, and they’re bottomless, my 10-year-old especially.
Shes skinny as a rail but a foodie.
So, I cook.
It didnt take much.
There’s a lot of sugar and crap out there, so I just leaned in on the stuff.
His was much more nasal and he had a very kind of serious lisp.
She got the best of all her wonderful actors.
It’s a phenomenal cast.
Actors should get emotional stunt pay.
[Laughs] The secondary experience encroaches on the primary.
Youre recreating much weird trauma.
That one with Claudia.
And hammer scene, the abusive scenes.
Ive played nefarious characters in the past and then shied from it for a while.
I couldn’t resist this one because of just the curious nature of it.
And I hadn’t gone there in a while like this.
I liked the platform a lot for it.
I have never done a Lifetime movie.
I hadn’t considered it.
You mentioned your daughters earlier.
While Larry preyed on boys, too, most of the students he victimized were girls.
It was completely stressful.
I’m like, Don’t go to college.
There’s nothing there for you.
Join the family business!
[Laughs]
Lifetime
As scary as Ray is, hes also pretty funny at times.
What conversations did you have with Elisabeth Rohm about finding the right balance between humor and menace?
Well, he had to be charming to keep them engaged.
And his issue with [calling it] prostitution, like there’s a difference.
[Laughs] It was about finding these dichotomies.
And it also led to the icebreaker at cut.
After you film those moments, we all laugh going, What a dick!
Oh my God, this guy!
you’ve got the option to say anything if it’s with a smile and funny.
The tragedy is how susceptible we are, what pushovers we are.
Its a cautionary tale at its heart, a really harrowing piece of drama, but entertainment as well.
CBS/Getty
Sir, I am legally obligated to ask you a question aboutTitanic.
I preferred the following line, which was, …or so I read.
I think he did.
It was a seemingly fitting cinematic comeuppance.
It was the age.
He was an absolute mirror of the age and the hubris of the age.
Cal carried the age in a very specific way.
The sinking was secondary.
It’s like,of coursehe’s getting off this boat.
What allowed for [his] level of absolute assurance that he’s going to be fine?
That was just awesome to play, and equally funny.
It was so pleasing to play.
The hubris, the arrogance was just so… wow.
Devil on Campus: The Larry Ray Storyairs Sunday, June 23 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on Lifetime.
