While Jason Diaz has brought many characters to life in the likes of The 100 and Charmed, The Institute is arguably his biggest role. It’s also been one that he’s had the most fun with, getting to play a villain in a Stephen King adaptation.
In some great news, King has given his blessing for the adaptation of The Institute. That’s sure to settle the minds of everyone involved, especially considering Diaz’s character of Tony isn’t the exact character from the novel. Instead, he’s a mash-up of multiple orderlies from the book, which allows for more character development and time spent on the one role in the TV series.
We chatted with Diaz about his role and the opportunity to tell this story. He also shared a little of what he’s learned about himself on set that he’ll take onto other projects.
Jason Diaz had a lot of fun bringing Tony to life in The Institute
Show Snob: I understand that Stephen King has given his support for The Institute, which he doesn’t always do. How does it feel knowing that he’s behind you and this production?
Jason Diaz: It’s so cool. He actually surprised us at the premiere. He had pre-recorded this message for us, just letting us know that he did, in fact, love the show. It’s cool, because I, at least, felt a bit of pressure of adapting a Stephen King project, and it comes with such an incredible fan base. So, you hope that the audience likes it, but you also hope that the author of the source material likes it.
So, to hear that he did like it, especially as you said, it’s not every adaptation that gets the love from Stephen King, that’s really cool. It’s a cool cosine for sure.
SS: I was going to ask if you felt any pressure in adapting it.
JD: Absolutely. Tony is not in the book as who he is in the show. I think in the show, he’s a kind of mashup of a few different orderly characters from the book, so it did kind of ease the pressure of doing a direct adaptation or bringing a direct Tony to life. But yeah, the pressure was there regardless because you want to make sure that it turns out well.
SS: Did you know The Institute before the show, or was it something you looked into afterward?
JD: I looked into it afterwards, if I’m being honest. Once I got the audition, I did start trying to read the book, and I got pretty far into it before they started sending us the scripts. Then I just started to confuse myself reading both fo them at the same time. So, I had to put the book on the backburner for a little bit, and then I finished it once we wrapped.
I love the story of The Institute. It’s very real-worldish, with the exception of the kids having their powers. I just love the fact that it didn’t rely on any sort of jump scare. Not that there’s anything wrong with that type of horror, but it’s just a different spin on what a traditional Stephen King is.
SS: I do always say that the humans make the scariest villains.
JD: Yeah, especially because it’s believably possible. At least when it’s like a supernatural or monster, you can say to yourself, ‘Well, this is very clearly fake.’ When it’s a dude who’s being an a*s to little kids, it’s like ‘Oh, shoot, that’s as real as it gets.’ I think it adds an extra element of authentic fear.
SS: You’ve played some unlikeable characters, but this is probably your darkest role so far. How was it bringing this villain to life?
JD: It is for sure the darkest character that I’ve brought to life. Honestly, it’s just a lot of fun. I think because it’s a Stephen King fantasy story, you can justify enjoying it a little bit more versus a very hard-hitting dramatic piece. Maybe that and mixed with the cast. The younger cast was so fantastic to work with.
I very quickly realized how much of a bully Tony was going to be, and I remember looking at Joe Freeman and the rest of the cast, and I was like ‘Oh, it’s going to be a long few months for you guys while I’m just finding ways to bully you around here while the cameras are rolling.’
SS: And then being nice to them when the cameras stopped?
JD: So, what’s funny is before I showed up to start filming, I wasn’t sure what the actual age of the actors was going to be. I remember talking to my wife, and I was going to be extra nice when [the cameras] stop rolling if the kids were 10 and 14. Thankfully, they were not, and there was no confusion on the part of the kids as to whether we were playing make believe or not.
It was a blast, but for the first few days, it was certainly a little bit of extra kindness, just so that I made sure everyone was cool.
SS: No method acting.
JD: Not on this one.
SS: What was it like to explore that side of you playing this bully?
JD: I think the funniest part for me is that it’s the furthest away from who I am day to day. I think it’s all the more fun to be able to explore, especially in this case, as Tony says and does some outrageous things in general, much less when you take into consideration that they’re to children he’s talking to. Luke is supposed to be 14, and Tony is saying some wild stuff. So, yeah, it’s interesting.
You also have to take a second to think it’s not entirely fake. There are people out there that are unfortunately like this. It does kind of for a second bring you down a little bit, and then you just gotta focus on the fact that it is filming. We were just out there in Halifax doing some awesome Stephen King show, and I just tried to find an enjoyment in it.
SS: I always think the nicest people make the best villains, because you get to have fun with it.
JD: Yeah, I guess.
SS: Apart from starting with the book, what other prep work did you do for this?
JD: You know, it was written very clearly in terms of what the intention was for Tony, or at least what the purpose was of Tony, and it really my focus was just committing to being as unlikeable as possible to these kids, and adding in that little bit of enjoyment into what he gets to do and say.
I did watch a lot of Stephen King adaptations. The thing is so wild, because he writes so many books, and so many different stories you can go in so many different directions, especially with a villain character in these worlds.
The priority was to make sure that Tony was at least a little bit physically intimidating, as well. I used a lot of physicality to really try to make Joe, who plays Luke, as uncomfortable as possible. That was really it. The rest was all in the scripts, and it made it very, very easy.
SS: I know the crew for The Institute is also the crew on From. What was that like to have them involved?
JD: Yeah, so you can tell right away they were the exact same crew, and it’s so nice working with people that have worked together before, because the camaraderie is all there, and everyone is having a great time. I think that’s also why it made it so much easier to not be depressing on set with the content, because everyone else is in juch a good mood and bantering and joking around.
I was an interesting shift, more or less, when we started filming, because it was really the moment [the director] yelled cut, everyone is just completely out of it and having fun. It just a funny little juxtaposition as soon as you start filming.
I’m grateful for that, because it is nice when you’re doing content like this to make sure that you can come out of the 14-hour day for four months and not be super dark or depressed. It is nice that everyone got along quite well.
SS: Is there anything that you will take as an actor or from onset that you will use on future projects?
JD: I think it’s always reaffirming whenever you can work on a set that allows you the freedome to explore and try new things without the fear of being reprimanded in some sort of way, and just trusting impulses and being okay with something now working. There were takes where it was a lot darker that didn’t end up making the final cut. It’s playing with that balance and having the trust in yourself and in the director and everyone that you’re working with. I think every job just kind of reinforces that a little more.
SS: The whole point of being creative is to being allowed to try something new.
JD: 100%. And it’s also the collaborative process. I’m gonna try something, and then I trust that if it doesn’t work, they’ll tell me.
The first three episodes of The Institute are now available to stream on MGM+, with episodes airing Sundays on the streaming platform.