Harold Perrineau Talks Boyd's Breaking Point and the High Stakes of FROM S3

Harold Perrineau in FROM S3 | Image courtesy of Amazon MGM Studios

By Shannon McGrew

In the series FROM, unravel the mystery of a nightmarish town that traps all those who enter. As the unwilling residents fight to keep a sense of normalcy and search for a way out, they must also survive the threats of the surrounding forest - including the terrifying creatures that come out when the sun goes down.

In the wake of Season Two's epic cliffhanger, escape will become a tantalizing and very real possibility as the town's true nature comes into focus and the townspeople go on offense against the myriad of horrors surrounding them.

For the Season Three premiere, Creepy Kingdom's Shannon McGrew spoke with actor Harold Perrineau, who plays Boyd Stevens, the self-appointed sheriff of the town. During their chat, they discussed everything from Boyd's cracking facade to how Season 3 pushes the town's residents to their breaking points.

Thank you so much for speaking with me today, Harold. What initially drew you to this series?

Harold Perrineau: [Creator] John Griffin always explains the show as a character study masquerading as a horror series. That's really what it is. When I first got the script, we were in COVID, hiding in our house from an invisible monster. There were two really distinct points of view about how to deal with that monster. So, when I got the script, I was like, this is exactly what's happening right now! That's really what drew me to it. It felt like the perfect time to shoot a thing like this.

Harold Perrineau and Cast | Image Courtesy of Amazon MGM Studio

Boyd Stevens is a central figure within the town, but I've noticed that going into Season Three, we're seeing more and more cracks in his facade. How has your approach to him evolved over the seasons to where we see him now?

Harold Perrineau: In the first season, he was really sure of what he was doing, even in his mistakes. He was heartbroken, of course, with what happened with Abby, but he was sure he was going to figure it out. Then, in the second season, he questioned himself so much that I questioned myself [Laughs]. I was really questioning if I was doing it right. We had a few conversations, and John said, Harold, relax [Laughs]. This season, he's not questioning as much as everybody else is now questioning, which I think is amazing but now he's on the brink of just fully spontaneously combusting right in the middle of the street [Laughs].

How has working with this incredible cast of actors helped build Boyd's complexities, especially knowing anyone could be killed off at any time?

Harold Perrineau: That's really true. John Griffin and I started doing this thing in the middle of Season Three, where we would all sit around on a Sunday and read the next script we had just gotten. We weren't doing that before, but we did it with us, not the executives, just the cast. One day, John told us, I want to remind you guys we are literally in the middle of the season, we are halfway done, we're almost back home, and we should take it in that here we are. That's exactly what we started doing with all the people in the show because you don't know [who will die] until you need to know.

I'm sure that in three seasons, you've heard so many fan theories about the town. Do you enjoy hearing fan speculations? Has there ever been one that completely surprised you?

Harold Perrineau: I try not to listen to them. I want to keep Boyd open to the possibilities that arrive. But my father-in-law had a really wild theory when he saw Season 1 Episode 19, "Into the Woods," which featured a Confederate soldier. He did some research and told me about [his theory]. It was a really good theory, but I try not to hear too many of them. Every once in a while, I hear one, and I'm just like, huh, that's smart! My goal with Boyd is to respond as in the moment as I can.

Episode 1 of FROM S3 is now available to stream on MGM+. New episodes will drop every Sunday.