Peacemaker star Chukwudi Iwuji revealed how he built his character’s big Butterfly twist.
After casting Iwuji as Clemson Murn, Peacemaker creator James Gunn told the actor the surprising truth behind his role. The ARGUS team leader is more than he appears because Murn’s brain harbors an alien Butterfly. In fact, as Iwuji stated at a press event attended by The Direct, his character’s secret identity “Was a big selling point with James [Gunn] and [executive producer] Peter [Safran].”
Despite playing an alien host in a human body, Iwuji refused to drop hints at the audience with his portrayal. Instead, he focused on his character’s present missions, ignored his overall arc and allowed Gunn’s scripts to subtly present clues, such as Murn’s ruthless order to execute Senator Goff’s Butterfly-infested family. “So what I chose to do with Murn was that complete commitment, 150% commitment to the mission,” Iwuji explained. “Even if that mission includes killing what looks on the surface like kids.”
“You go in there and kill them,” Iwuji said in describing Murn’s murderous determination. “You go in there and pull the trigger. You shut the eff up; you know what I mean? It was always 100% for him.” By making Murn’s sole motivation the defeat of his fellow Butterflies, Iwuji approached his performance with a killer-instinct focus. To convincingly portray the complicated character, Iwuji also worked with a dialect coach, devised a clipped speech pattern and developed a black ops mentality before filming.
“It was really important that I played it as Clemson Murn, and that was it,” Iwuji stated. “You know, with all his dark past – his taciturn and dry, drive – Amanda Waller qualities.” Although the Butterflies kill whoever they burrow into, the aliens can still access their memories. For this reason, since Murn’s Butterfly knows the past of the human he possesses, Iwuji decided to mainly play the character as Clemson Murn.
In Episode 6, the ARGUS team leader finally disclosed his Butterfly past to his teammates. According to Murn, the Butterflies arrived on Earth after escaping their dying planet but rallied under a leader with world domination plans, leading Murn to rebel and help humanity. He then admitted with emotion that he often relives his humanly body’s memories. Because Iwuji focused on primarily portraying Clemson Murn’s murderous abilities, the sudden confession was the alien’s first displayed feelings, proving that Murn’s Butterfly emotionally struggles within the killer human he puppets.
New episodes of Peacemaker air Thursdays on HBO Max.
Source: The Direct