Dominic Cooper’s been building a name for himself for years now thanks to productions like Agent Carter, The Devil’s Double and the upcoming film adaptation of Warcraft, just to name a few, but AMC’s Preacher is a milestone for the actor because it marks his very first leading role in a TV series.

The show is based on the Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon comic book franchise of the same name with Cooper leading as Jesse Custer, a West Texas preacher who acquires an unusual power after being fused with a mysterious entity. Along with his ex-girlfriend Tulip (Ruth Negga) and a wild Irishman named Cassidy (Joseph Gilgun), Jesse jumps into a crazy journey packed with a wide range of supernatural characters.

Back in March while celebrating the world premiere screening of the pilot at SXSW, I got the chance to chat with Cooper about his experience working on the show. He ran through how he scored the role, the pressure to meet fan expectations and how the source material changed his opinion on comics in general. Catch all that and a brief round of “Would You Rather” in the interview below. Preacher kicks off on AMC on May 29th.