Matthew McConaughey on Playing The Dark Tower’s Villain

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When The Dark Tower hits theaters in February, viewers will get to see Matthew McConaughey bring the nefarious Walter — otherwise known as the Man in Black — to life.

The film adaptation of Stephen King’s books stars McConaughey as the series’ undisputed villain — a role the 46-year-old actor has not often taken on in his career. “You know, he’s not literally the Devil, but I sure as hell think about him like the Devil,” he told Entertainment Weekly during a recent interview. “I think like the Devil would.”

However, McConaughey also noted that, despite all his evil doings, the Man in Black is still — as his nickname suggests — just a man. “He is a man, actually,” he said. “They wanted to go very human and grounded with this. Obviously there are mythical proportions of good and evil in Walter. But we didn’t want to go overly fantastic. That would drop the humanity. So Walter, for me, is a man who exposes hypocrisies.”

The Oscar-winner will face off against Idris Elba, who plays the film’s protagonist, Roland the Gunslinger.

Read more at EW.com.

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Write to Megan McCluskey at megan.mccluskey@time.com