Mark Pellegrino Talks ‘American Rust,’ Says Virgil May ‘Have More Up His Sleeve Than He Shows’ [Interview]

American Rust’s Virgil Poe is a colorful character, to say the least. 

The new Showtime drama, based on the novel of the same name, is a family drama set in a small Pennsylvania Rust Belt Town. I recently spoke with Mark Pellegrino (Supernatural, Dexter, Lost) about his latest role as “deadbeat dad” Virgil Poe on the series.

Pellegrino recalled working with creator and executive producer Dan Futterman years ago, which is what led up to him being a part of American Rust.

“We go back to his acting days. In the early ’90s, we did a pilot, I believe it was for ABC, called Class of ’61. And it was a Civil War pilot about the West Point class of 1861 and the dividing line between the Northern cadets and the Southern cadets,” Pellegrino said. “He was the star of the show, and of a cast populated with Laura Linney, and Andre Braugher, and Josh Lucas, and Clive Owen. These are before they became household names. So it was quite a production.”

After that, Pellegrino played the role of Dick Hickock on the film Capote, which was written by Futterman.

“It was such a marvelous production. And then we lost touch. But he had me in mind, I guess, for Virgil Poe. I don’t know what that means having read the book, and seeing him as a deadbeat dad and maybe a little light went off in Dan’s head saying, ‘I know the perfect deadbeat dad!'” Pellegrino laughed.

“And between he and Adam Rapp and Maura Tierney and Jeff Daniels, how could you say no to something like that? You know it’s going to be an acting clinic every day, just to show up and watch those folks work.”

Pellegrino noted that while his character is almost non-existent in the book, that isn’t the case in the series.

“He is much more present, not necessarily by his own doing. But Grace drags him into the world and forces him to do adult things, which he isn’t inclined to do on his own — like save their house from being sold off at the bank auction, and then to somehow interfere in what’s happening with Billy, so that Billy can have a life,” he said.

“Grace actually makes him a presence and forces him to be a father throughout the first part of the series. And of course, there’s an interesting love triangle between Grace’s character, and Del, and Virgil. Virgil seems to be sort of, how can I say it, polyamorous. He doesn’t seem to have any boundaries about who he’s with. But eventually, like anybody, like any man I guess, he’s somewhat territorial. And there’s got to be a point at which Del enters into territory that I think Virgil wants to claim for himself. So all of that wasn’t in the book.”

Virgil and Grace’s relationship is certainly complicated, which we can already tell based on the first few episodes of the series.

“I think it’s one of those primal things. They met, and they were sexually attracted to each other. I think Virgil made her laugh,” Pellegrino said. “Sexual chemistry and making a person laugh and have fun is no small thing. It’s hard to let go of that, especially in a place like Buell.”

“Plus, we have a kid together, and that makes a connection forever. Whether or not you want to be around the person, there’s no getting away from the fact that I’m the father of the child. So it makes for a complicated relationship. Definitely messy stuff going on there, but I like that. That’s like life.”

Speaking of his child, there’s also a complicated dynamic between Virgil and Billy. 

“I think Virgil was really impressed by his son’s athletic ability. I think he saw that early on in his life and nurtured it. And that was the one thing I think they had together,” Pellegrino said. “There’s a point at which I say in one of the episodes, ‘Hey man, I went to every single game, every Friday night. I was there.’ I imagine Virgil and Billy played catch together and sometimes Virgil coached him and tried to bring out the best of him. And that connection is there.”

Pellegrino added that Billy is “a decent kid too, despite his influence. He’s got to be able to see the fact that his kid’s moral. He’s upstanding. He tries to do the right thing. He’s decent.”

As for what we can expect from the upcoming episodes, Pellegrino said we’re in for some surprises.

“I feel like the show is a slow burn at first, that really begins to pick up speed, and then it becomes unstoppable. It’s one of those that has a setup that introduces you to everybody, and then the shit starts hitting the fan, and it really starts hitting the fan,” he laughed. “They don’t kid around.”

“Everybody, by the course of the show, is in really hot water, and you’re not quite sure how they’re going to get out of it. And you may be surprised at a number of reveals, including with Virgil,” Pellegrino hinted. “Maybe Virgil has a little bit more up his sleeve than he shows.”

American Rust is filmed in Pittsburgh, and though Pellegrino wasn’t quite able to see the city in the way he would have like, he said he was glad to be there enjoying what he could of the city. 

“Luckily, I’d been in Pittsburgh before and got a chance to see it under different conditions. But even with the pandemic, when my wife visited me, we did walking tours of the city, and we did a step tour, which is crazy. I don’t know if you’ve ever done the step tour. Pittsburgh has the most staircases of any city in North America, and they’re no joke,” he said.

“It’s a rich place, surprisingly so. I have always thought of Pittsburgh as an old steel town and not particularly rich with culture, but it is. And it’s actually a beautiful city. And it’s a great view to stand on the point there and look out over the rivers and see the stadiums, and all the bridges, and the convergence of people in the park where they usually have these cultural events going on, and music. It’s a very thriving, cool city. So I was happy to experience it to the degree that I could in COVID.”

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American Rust airs Sundays at 10/9c on Showtime.

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