Christian Slater currently stars in Roku’s The Spiderwick Chronicles as Mulgarath, an extremely powerful ogre who can shape-shift into any form he wants, whether human or animal. The actor recently revealed that he had no idea about the creator’s inspiration behind the character, but it turned out to be something that he loved for years.
The franchise was helmed as a movie in 2008 starring Freddie Highmore and was based on the book series The Spiderwick Chronicles by Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black. It received generally favorable reviews, though it’s quite sad that it has long been forgotten by people as the years went by.
Christian Slater Discovers Inspiration Behind Mulgarath
During Screen Rant’s interview with actor Christian Slater, he found out that the creator of the show looked into Jack Nicholson’s character in The Witches of Eastwick (1987) for inspiration in molding Mulgarath.
“The Witches of Eastwick, I didn’t know that, and that’s one of my favorite movies, and one of his, I think, greatest performances, that really did stick with me. So, through, I guess, osmosis, we were connected in that way.”
He remarked how Nicholson was evidently passionate about the role since it’s a character that gave the actor so much freedom to portray it the way he envisioned.
“And I’m glad that was his image. I think if you look at The Witches of Eastwick, Jack is definitely having a lot of fun playing the Devil. There’s no doubt about it, and you can see why. You have free rein, everything is acceptable, everything is okay, and you can overact, and underact and just go as nuts as you want to go.”
Slater mentioned that he is very grateful every time he gets an opportunity to play interesting characters like Mulgarath. He also praised the entire production team and expressed how much he enjoyed working with them.
The Spiderwick Chronicles Is A Complete Departure From The Movie
In his interview with Comic Book, Slater promised fans that the new series is very different from the beloved 2008 film. He also acknowledged Nick Nolte, the actor who originally portrayed Mulgarath.
“Nick Nolte is definitely one of my favorite actors. You know, he’s incredible and did a fantastic job in the movie. But I felt like this was really a complete and total departure from the movie.”
He added that the new show aims to explore more of the storyline and introduce his villainous character in a new light.
“I think obviously the characters were able to be greatly expanded upon, and that whole storyline of Mulgarath trying to weave his way into this lovely struggling family was a nice element, I think, to introduce into this story.”
With the revival of The Spiderwick Chronicles, fans will get to meet various enchanted creatures such as fairies, goblins, elves, ogres, and many more.
Apart from Slater, the ensemble cast includes Joy Bryant, Lyon Daniels, Noah Cottrell, Mychala Lee, and Jack Dylan Grazer. All episodes of The Spiderwick Chronicles are now streaming via Roku Channel.
