TV series Devil in Disguise: John Wayne Gacy, interview with actors Gabriel Luna and Marin Irelan

With Jimmy to the part was, um, how how immense amount of credit. How inspired Patrick seemed to, seem to be. He, he came to me, um, told me that he had written it with me in mind. Had, uh, had already sent me three scripts that were, that were complete and thorough in their inspection and exploration of what the the lives or what we believe to have been what, what could have been the lives of these young men and boys, you know, the potential that they all possess and how all that was snuffed out. And I think um, I think that focus was important to all of us, you know, to it, it, it dissipated all the concerns and all the reluctance we may have had to try to revisit this story, this five-decade some odd-year-old case. Um, and also exactly what you described, that Tovar was after the first episode, we know who did it. Everybody knows, has known who, who's done it for 50 years, so the important thing was less so of a "who done it" and more so of a "who were they". Uh, who were these young men and boys, who were the victims? And so he, uh, his pursuit of that, the real man and and his not only during the course of his investigation but also beyond that, he carried that with him throughout his life. Still carries it to this day. Uh, has spoken about this case countless times. As a consultant, as a, as a, as a, as a law enforcement consultant. Um, and said in many interviews that he just never let it go. It's, it, it was important to him to continue to until all of those young men, until all of their humanity is reclaimed, he's not done. He's got to continue to try to suss out whatever information he can, to, to turn to DNA evidence, to turn to the advancements in law enforcement technology, whatever has to be done. So, I was really, really fascinated with, with his, um, that crusade that he was on, and I was happy to, to portray him. He's also from Crystal City, Texas. I'm from Austin, Texas, so there's a lot of kinship there and I think a lot of relatability for me as an actor playing the character.

Well, I guess to answer the second part of your initial question, I think, um, and it leads, leads into this one. I think we're fascinated with these stories because of the very personal nature to most of them. How, uh, I think Andrea Canning said it to me when we were talking on Dateline yesterday, you know, it's kind of a motto for them, it's the marriage, not the murder. It's the, these motives are often rooted in these really deeply personal emotions that people are feeling for each other. Uh, maybe less so in a, in a kind of serial case where, where somebody is, especially like John Wayne Gacy, is so seemingly detached from not only his victims but all of humanity, you know? Um, but I think that there is a a personal nature to these stories and a individual personal struggle with the, with the men and women who are tasked with solving these cases that is intriguing to all of us, you know. It could be us. There's an ordinariness, there's a, there's a mundanity to the heroism that happens. There's a, there's a human element to their, to their shortcomings and their, their fallibility. So, I think it's really about about that. And, and that humanity or lack thereof is what we bring to the table with this story and the telling of this story. It's, it's not about, it's not about the gruesome nature of the crimes. It's only about, uh, how this person and all the wreckage he left behind became this catalyst and this crossroads for so many families, so many people who were touched by what happened, what occurred, and how they've all become this really weird, vast, dysfunctional family that all exists, tied together by this one thing, this one man.

Interview with Marin Irelan