Deadly Class: Tom Stevens shares all about playing Chester and future plans

Chester — also “lovingly” known as F**kface — quickly cemented himself as the villain of Deadly Class. Now that the first season is over, Tom Stevens breaks down the character and goes into the research he did for the role. And yes, it was a lot!

As a word of caution, there are major spoilers in this interview from the Deadly Class season finale.

Wayward Pines, The Order, Supernatural, and Deadly Class. They all have one thing in common but you’ll barely realize it. Tom Stevens is a chameleon actor. Literally. He can take on a role and be completely unrecognizable.

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And that certainly works for a show like Deadly Class and a role like Chester — more “affectionately” known as F**kface. Despite adoring the actor, there’s no way that you can confuse him for the character. Yet, you can’t really hate the character, especially Chester who had a ridiculous amount of depth and I feel we only really got to scratch the surface.

With the Deadly Class Season 1 finale now over, you all know how it all ends. Those who had already read the graphic novels knew that Chester wouldn’t live forever. Now Stevens has shared about Peppermint’s betrayal, the research he did for the character, and future projects that we’ll get to see him in soon.

Hidden Remote: I’ve got to say how unrecognizable you were in Deadly Class compared to everything else you’ve been in!

Tom Stevens: Yeah, that’s a big one and I think others are blown away by it. When you start out, you can’t promote the show. When I started promoting it, everyone looked at my F**kface [Chester] post and then me and were like “Holy s**t! That’s what he looks like!”

HR: I was watching The Order this weekend and I was like “Oh no! That’s not the same guy!”

Stevens: It’s full testament to the guys in makeup and behind the scenes. Usually, I would turn up and go straight into makeup. On my last day shooting, I hadn’t been put in makeup yet. I showed up and met the dog first, and I ended up hanging out with someone I’d been speaking to all season as Chester. Then he asked me what I did on the show.

And it wasn’t just the makeup. He said I walked differently. He said I walked like a guy who would steal money from me in high school. This is a guy you can tell could work out and I wondered whether that bully inspired him to become a bigger and stronger person. My stamp of approval was getting into the guy’s psyche.

HR: What was it like actually bringing this character to life from the graphic novel and going deeper?

Stevens: It was incredible! Very rarely do you get a visual aid like that. The story is laid out for you. Obviously, there was stuff in the show not in the graphic novels but the way it played out, the way you get to see this guy, the way you see this world, is similar.

My trainer and good friend, Roy Duquette, he looked at the graphic to get a workout schedule for this character. The image he saw was when Chester pats the goat of the ass and he was like, “Okay, you need to look like a grafter. Big strong back, big arms, small legs. We did these upper body shrugs and worked out this bad posture, so I got this shoulder slopy posture to play him.

Then I did the research into serial killers and mass murderers. Luckily, I had Jason Higgins [Wayward Pines] in my past, so I knew a little about research people that could demand control, like Hitler, Che Guevara.

When I really got into the character and just before a shoot, I made this audio file that I would listen to in my prep. It was a song that meant something to me, slowed down, doubled up in the track, and shifted off-set a little so it sounded like this trancey, stompy music. I’d monologue as Chester and read quotes from Jeffrey Dahmer and these horrible people from history.

I’d listen to it for five minutes before an episode. I used it as my process for finding the character.

HR: So much work went into that research!

Stevens: Yeah, the graphic called for it. He was something further than I’d ever had to play before. I’ve done some out-there characters in theater, but knowing I’d have to do this on film, I had to be completely in it.

HR: I know he was crazed and evil, but you looked like you had a lot of fun bringing him to life. What was your favorite part?

Stevens: The first scene I did, I realized I couldn’t take warm-up takes. My first take wasn’t “let’s feel this scene out.”

HR: You just went straight in.

Stevens: Yeah, if I didn’t go straight in, I felt like I was doing a disservice to the character. I started saying, “your first take is your fifth take, your fifth take is your 10th take.” I would just do s**t right off the back and then directors would say, “this was amazing.”

I couldn’t go too far with him. I’d go crazy and do what I wanted and the directors were like, “that was great! That was amazing! That’s perfect. I’m totally going to use that.” I think my favorite part was that I could never do too much.

HR: What did you think about the exit? I saw that foreshadowing so even without the graphic novels, I could tell that dog was going to be a crucial part of the exit. What was that like for you playing all that out, knowing the dog he thought was his friend, wasn’t?

Stevens: I was happy that they went that way. Not happy to lose the character, but happy with the exit.

We had expanded from the comics a lot in many good ways. I’m glad Rick [Remender] and Miles [Orion Feldsott] did that because it gave me a huge opportunity to do some crazy s**t. When I learned I was going to be killed by Peppermint, it was fitting. Sometimes you have to stick to the cannon.

HR: Yes, and it was seeing Peppermint come to Marcus’ defense without necessarily meaning to. Animals are vicious when they feel attacked.

Stevens: Yeah, and I hope what came across was that Chester felt betrayed by Peppermint.

HR: Yes!

Stevens: Nothing he’s doing is malicious to animals. He views what he does as a loving relationship. That’s what a predator does.

HR: What will you miss the most about him?

Stevens: I think he’s probably one of the most fun guys to play. I’m trying to bring more of him outside of the character. I think the mask, doing mask work, was absolutely enthralling. I want to find that when I don’t have the piece on, so I can let loose as Tom playing a character that doesn’t have full facial disfigurement.

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HR: Can you speak about any role or projects you have coming up?

Stevens: I don’t know if I’m allowed to announce it. There’s a Netflix show that I’ve done at the end of the upcoming season. The prospect is that my guy will be bigger during the next season if they get the next season.

I’m shooting a Hallmark thing right now and there’s another thing that shoots in Eastern Canada but I’m not sure if that one’s happening. As an actor, when one thing ends, you just start grinding again. And who knows. Maybe flashbacks of Chester. Or drug-trip!

HR: Well they managed to bring Chico back.

Stevens: Yeah, and Rory. I really want Chico, Chester, and Rory to follow Marcus around the next time he’s on a drug trip. [As Chester] “What ya doing boy. You really think that’s a good idea?”

HR: I would have loved to see Chico as the hallucination to throw everyone over the edge. To have Chester back as that hallucination for Marcus would be perfect.

Stevens: Yeah, as the devil on his shoulder. Marcus has no angel. Chester and Chico on one side:

"[As Chester] “Where’s the other guy?”[As Chico] “We killed him!”"

HR: If you could do any role at all, what would it be?

Stevens: Any role at all? I would love to play the two different characters like Tom Hardy got to play in Legend. I would love to play twins.

HR: You’ve already shown you have the ability to switch so much between characters. I would love to see you do two different characters opposite each other.

Stevens: Thank you so much!

What did you think of Chester’s exit? Had you expected it to play out as it did? What would you have loved to see if he was in the second season? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

Deadly Class has finished its first season but keep an eye out for a renewal or cancellation notice.