1 of 3 | Tatiana Maslany attends the 70th annual Primetime Emmy Awards at the Microsoft Theater in downtown Los Angeles in 2018. File Photo by Christine Chew/UPI
NEW YORK, Aug. 9 (UPI) — 13 Reasons Why and True Detective alum Brandon Flynn says Trevor, the cam-boy/con man he plays in the mystery comedy, Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed, manages to wreak a little havoc before he is murdered.
The show, which is now streaming on Apple TV, follows Paula (Tatiana Maslany), a lovable, but chaotic single mom who has an online sexual relationship with Trevor and panics when she thinks she has witnessed his kidnapping.
Phone calls offering to exchange his life for cash follow and Paula reports the incident to police, who inform her this is all probably just a scam.
Unable to let the matter go, Paula goes to Trevor’s apartment, finds him dead and hides from a man she assumes is Trevor’s killer.
Viewers learn through flashbacks what really happened to Trevor and why.
“He sort of exists on this site and our brilliant Tatiana Maslany’s character starts engaging in frequent chats with Trevor that get pretty steamy and things flip on their head,” Flynn told UPI in a recent Zoom interview.
“Trevor is also partner to Murray Bartlett’s character [Dennis] and he’s kind of all over the place,” Flynn laughed. “He really gets around.”
The White Lotus and The Last of Us actor Bartlett said Dennis is much more serious about his illegal activities than Trevor is.
“Even when he gets emotionally involved, for example with Trevor, if someone steps on his toes, the priority is to keep order in his life and to not mess up this carefully constructed structure that he has,” Bartlett explained.
“He’s a little… you could say ‘sociopathic’ in that way. He doesn’t like his stuff to be messed with and he will certainly let you know in no subtle terms.”
Flynn said it is Trevor’s own entrepreneurial spirit that ultimately puts him in Dennis’ cross-hairs.
“He has his own history as a farm boy that he brings to the table and to the story, and I think Paula kind of reflects that in very different ways, but I think he’s seeking comfort,” he noted. “Maybe not the smartest or most strategic way, as he doesn’t really succeed.”
Bartlett chimed in: “They do have a really sweet connection and I think from Dennis’ point of view, that’s not something that he will let his guard down for very often.
“While it lasts, they have a really sweet connection. It all works until it doesn’t,” he added.
Dennis moves from charming to dangerous in the blink of an eye and that was something Bartlett relished about the role.
“It’s kind of a dreamy thing for an actor, that you have this character who is kind of a chameleon, so you get to play all these different things,” he said.
“It’s like a multi-personality in a way, because he’ll just change to fit the situation that he’s in, to get what he wants.”
Trevor has a similar gift for adaptability, always sensing what his clients want to hear.
“He’s a great actor and he’s a great storyteller,” Flynn said. “He almost has to be so convincing that he doesn’t even know what is true and what’s not.”
