Season 2 of Sugar, which is streaming on Apple TV, has a lot to live up to when it comes to the antagonistic force set to oppose Colin Farrell's titular private investigator and surprise alien. Thankfully, audiences don't have anything to worry about because the show found the perfect villain for the role: Tony Dalton's Ray Vega.
Season 1 of Sugar pitted John Sugar against Eric Lange's Bryon Stallings, a vile criminal and human trafficker who did unspeakable things. Then there was Jason Butler Harner's Henry Thorpe, a fellow alien and trusted friend and confidant of Sugar's who, in a twist reveal, turned out to indulge in human cruelty and to have kidnapped Sugar's long-lost sister.
Cut to Season 2, with Daredevil: Born Again and Hawkeye star Tony Dalton joining the picture. John Sugar is up against the devilishly intelligent Ray Vega, a corrupt sheriff whose nearly all-encompassing influence in the police department lets him get away with narcotics crimes and various trafficking conspiracies.
The Direct spoke with Apple TV's Sugar star Tony Dalton, who broke down why he feels Ray Vega is the perfect foil to Colin Farrell's John Sugar.
"He's sort of a mirror image of John Sugar," Dalton described. He explained that John Sugar is "a humanist" and "believes in mankind, and he believes in the good in people, and he tries to do the right thing." On the other hand, "Ray [Vega] is the exact opposite." The actor noted that his villain "doesn't believe in mankind, and he doesn't want to do the right thing."
More of The Direct's interview with Sugar star Tony Dalton can be read below.
Why Ray Vega Is the Perfect Villain for John Sugar
"He's Sort of a Mirror Image of John Sugar..."
- The Direct: "In your own words, why do you feel like Lieutenant Ray Vega is the perfect oil for John Sugar?
Tony Dalton: I think that one of the things that is written from the script is that he is in a certain way, he's sort of a mirror image of John Sugar... John Sugar, in his essence, he's a humanist, even though he's not a human, but he believes in mankind, and he believes in the good in people, and he tries to do the right thing, and Ray is the exact opposite.
"He doesn't believe in humans, he doesn't believe in mankind," Dalton noted of Vega:
Dalton: He doesn't believe in humans, he doesn't believe in mankind, and he doesn't want to do the right thing in his, that's in the essence of it, you know, and I think that's what happens when these two meet and clash, it's a chance encounter that if they wouldn't have met, then you know each one would be, you know, doing their own thing, but that one moment that they meet changes their lives dramatically,
- The Direct: "When you're creating your performance for Vega and kind of figuring out who this character was and bringing him to life, what surprised you the most about reaching that destination?"
Dalton: I think that one of the things that was most surprising was how unhinged he ends up sort of becoming, which you know, you don't really know where they're going, because you just get one episode at a time, but I was sort of rooting for that at the beginning, because one of the first times you see him, he's kind of driving in his car, and he's got the hair all over the place, and his eyes are kind of, you know, just shot, and he's kind of comes from, he just finished his own movie, or his own show, you know, and he's just starting in John Sugar's show, so kind of, I went with that. And then it just kept getting more unhinged and more unhinged.
Tony Dalton on Potentially Being Typecast as a Villain
"You Kind of Ride the Wave..."
- The Direct: "You always play an amazing villain, and I feel like a lot of people know you as kind of the villains you played. But I'm curious, given how it can work in the acting space sometimes, are you ever worried about getting cornered into being typecast into that role?"
Tony Dalton: No, I'm not worried about it at all. I mean, I think that I'm worried about not working, but I think that would be terrible. This career has ups and downs all over the place. I was just watching an interview with Gary Oldman, where he said that when he was like 42 years old, he was broke, and he had some kids, and he was living without any money in LA, and it's like 42 I mean, the guy had already done 'Dracula,' you know, and he'd already done all these movies, speaking of somebody who did villains for a long time...
He explained how you "kind of ride the wave" and "try to bend the ruler of your destiny as much as you can without it breaking:"
Dalton: It's just, you kind of ride the wave, you try to bend the ruler of your destiny as much as you can without it breaking, but if you're getting offered roles that are a certain way, take it, write it, you know, I mean, you can end up doing whatever you want in the long run, but it's such a sort of complicated career that if a good job like this one comes around, you know, don't [be like], 'Oh, but he's a villain! But I want to be John Sugar.' No, dude, just take it, you know? Do the best that you can and be thankful, so that's kind of my model.
- The Direct: "A main departure that you've had recently from playing a villain was actually as Swordsman. You made a big mark on Daredevil recently. Do you think that's the last time we'll see that character, or do you have hope that you'll get back there?"
Dalton: Oh, I definitely have hope. Hopefully, I'll work again. Yeah, for sure. I'd take that job in a second, but I have no information for you, my man. I'm sorry, I don't know what's gonna happen.
- The Direct: "We gotta get you a costume."
Dalton: Yeah, man. I thought I was gonna get one this time, but they didn't do it.
The entire interview with Sugar Season 2 star Tony Dalton is available below:
