Peter Ashlee/Art+Commerce
July 06, 2016
In The Mix

Path Sway

Amy Dawes

Can lightning strike twice for Hugh Dancy as a star of American series TV?

The Brit follows up on his haunted FBI profiler — Will Graham of NBC's Hannibal, a gruesome but critical favorite — with the conflicted Cal Roberts, the leader of a teetering spiritual movement in Hulu's new drama, The Path.

"It came up so quickly," says Dancy of the new show. After reading two episodes, "I found myself looking for the flaw, thinking 'What's the problem? There's got to be some trap here.' I couldn't find it."

From creator-executive producer Jessica Goldberg and executive producers Jason Katims and Michelle Lee, The Path grapples with questions of truth and faith, pitting Dancy's character against his own conscience as he maneuvers for ultimate power while shielding crucial information from other members of the cult-like alliance.

With its tension-filled triangle, the story affords Dancy intense scenes of conflict with costars Aaron Paul (Breaking Bad) and Michelle Monaghan (True Detective), who play a married couple in the movement, known as Meyerism.

Darcy also has to put up his dukes opposite the legendary Kathleen Turner, who plays his button-pushing mother. "I had to grab Kathleen and shake her about. I tried to do it under control, but you also have to lose control," he explains.

For Dancy, who is married to Homeland's Claire Danes, part of the appeal of The Path was that it shoots in New York (the couple reside there with their three-year-old son, Cyrus).

"It made sense logistically, but still — if it didn't creatively hold up — I wouldn't have been able to talk myself into doing it," he says.

It is holding — and more. All 10 episodes of the well-received first season are available on Hulu, which has already ordered a second go-round.

"One of the features of working for Hulu is that we'll never know about the size of the audience," Dancy remarks, with a laugh. "In that respect, Hannibal prepared me quite well. It taught me that success can take on a different meaning — it's about critical response and branding."

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