From show creator/writer Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, the Netflix original series Chilling Adventures of Sabrina follows Sabrina Spellman (Kiernan Shipka), the magical 16-year-old half-witch/half-mortal who feels conflicted about both sides of her nature. While Sabrina is on her own personal journey of discovering what she stands for and where she belongs, her aunts Hilda (Lucy Davis) and Zelda (Miranda Otto), warlock cousin Ambrose (Chance Perdomo), high priest Father Blackwood (Richard Coyle), the Devil’s handmaiden Madam Satan (Michelle Gomez), human boyfriend Harvey (Ross Lynch), and even her familiar, Salem the cat, are each trying to influence her, in their own way.

During this 1-on-1 phone interview with Collider, actor Richard Coyle talked about how he came to be a part of Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, why this project appealed to him, being a fan of comic books and graphic novels, how Father Blackwood views himself, the incredible design aesthetic for the series, the fun of getting to make up the rules for a world, what Blackwood thinks of Sabrina Spellman, and what he’d still like to learn about his character.

Collider:  How did you come to be a part of Chilling Adventures of Sabrina?

RICHARD COYLE:  I got the script, and I’m a big comic book fan. I’ve been aware of Roberto [Aguirre-Sacasa] for a few years. I’ve seen some of his work before, and I’ve seen some of his work on stage. I was quite excited because I know the kind of worlds that he likes to create, which are very much the kind of worlds that I enjoy. So, I read and loved the script, and then I jumped at the chance to go in and meet him, and talk about and create this character. We just threw some ideas around, and it was very exciting. It was just the meeting of our minds, and we were on the same page.

This show is very hard to describe to people, and the tone is even quite tricky to explain, but that’s also the fun of it.

COYLE:  It is quite hard to describe. In Episode 5, we’re contemplating roasting a child, which is very odd to explain. It’s meant with a tongue in cheek, and it’s not necessarily so bad. It’s that kind of a show. There’s an archness to it that’s quite campy, at times, but it’s all done with fondness and with a great sense of humor, really. It’s difficult to actually pinpoint what the tone is.

You talked about being a comic book fan. What were the comic books that most appealed to you, when you started reading them?

COYLE:  I was a Batman fan. I inherited lots of fantastic comics from my older brothers, so I started with those. And then, I was into Spider-Man. But then, I graduated into graphic novels. I’m a big fan of graphic novels. I love Daniel Clowes and Rutu Modan, an Israeli woman who writes brilliant graphic novels. I have been an avid collector of those for years. I really appreciate the cross-over of comic book and cinema, and that area in between the two that is so brilliant. Roberto is great at just toeing that line.

To Sabrina, Father Blackwood is clearly a villain. How do you view who this man is, and how do you think that compares to the way that he sees himself?

COYLE:  He doesn’t see himself as a villain. I think he sees himself as the savior of the world, or the Wiccan world, as it were. He’s coming in to restore things to their proper order, which to him, is a hero’s work, and the proper order is the old ways. He’s got his agenda, or a couple of agendas, and one of them is revenge on the Spellman family. He’s like a zealot. He’s a cult leader. He thinks he’s doing the Dark Lord’s work, but he’s actually very self-serving. I think he’s got a reptile brain. I’ve approached it as if he were like a Hitler Youth leader. I don’t know if that’s the most accurate comparison, but it’s because there’s something really evil and odious about it. He’s got his mission and he’s got great plans. A lot of this stuff is just beneath his grand plans.

What have you most enjoyed about playing Father Blackwood?

COYLE:  Roberto is so good at writing, and that fine line between being evil and menacing, and also knowing where the element of camp comes in. That takes the edge off and make some of the moments lighter. You might even start to develop a sympathy for Blackwood. It helps that the humor comes in, from time to time.

The sets and the atmosphere they create is gorgeous to look at. What’s it like to walk onto these sets and get to wear the wardrobe that your character has?

COYLE:  It’s incredible. With my hair and make-up, and everything, it takes you right into the world, when you walk on the set with what you’re wearing and the way that you look. When you walk onto those amazing sets, where the detail is really astonishing, it helps you set the mood and tone, and put your mind into the scene. It’s very helpful, especially with some of the stuff that we have to say and do. I think the set designers are very kind to us and very considerate, which is really great. Also, the way that it's lit and the way it’s shot, it just looks terrific when you see it played back.

On this series, you say things like “Praise Satan!,” and you have to act out various witch rituals. What are those moments like to shoot? Are those the moments where it’s just so much fun to get to be an actor?

COYLE:  Yeah, it really is because there are no rules in stuff like that. We’re making it up. Roberto is making these things up, and we’re getting to bring them to life and make them work. It’s fun. There are no rules. It’s all about playing. We’re telling a story and trying to make it as realistic and as particular to itself, as we can. It’s a very particular world, and a very particular set of rituals and circumstances. We get to do that. There’s nothing more fun than creating something completely new and completely fresh. That’s great. We’re all really enjoying that part of it.

This seems like a character who really likes to have people do what he wants them to do. How does he feel about someone like Sabrina, who just is not interested in doing that?

COYLE:  It’s a thorn in his side. He has issues and he has history with that family. He has grand plans for revenge. He expects it because he had a relationship with her father. He was Edward Spellman’s mentor, which we develop more later, but there’s a degree to which he expects that from that family because they’re not a pliant family and they never have been. But it’s also an issue because he requires people to do as he pleases, as the High Priest and the Headmaster of the Academy. They’re roles of power, and he doesn’t like to have his power questioned, especially not in front of other people.

Does he have a point where he says, “This is enough, I don’t want to deal with you anymore,” or is he just so focused that he’s not going to give up until he gets her to do wants her to do?

COYLE:  They’re very much at loggerheads. It’s a power struggle between him and her, very often. There are moments where he does put her in her place, very firmly, and she has some hard lessons to learn, which is part of her journey in the show. She has to learn some hard lessons as she grows into a young woman, and Blackwood is definitely instrumental in her learning how to draw the boundaries around herself. It’s a very important strand of the story.

How do you gauge just how big or how restrained to play a character like this, at any given moment?

COYLE:  It’s useful, as an actor, to imagine that he’s a pressure cooker and the lid is rattling because there’s a lot of pressure inside, and every now and then, it pops off. But then, it comes back again and gets back into place. So, it’s about choosing your battles and finding those moments, but it’s always there. It’s important that you can always sense it. There are moments where that calm and cool just goes. It’s how you sometimes inappropriately display your anger at the wrong person. But as far as Blackwood is concerned, it’s never the wrong person because everybody is fair game.

Lady Blackwood is expecting, so how does her pregnancy and his impending fatherhood affect things for him?

COYLE:  He has other kids. He’s been in that position before. The thing with Blackwood is that he’s after a male heir. He’s after a son. One of the things that we figure out is that he’s only ever had daughters, which is like this cosmic joke, and the joke is on him. He’s after the ultimate male power, a male hegemony. The joke of that is that he’s only ever been able to produce female children. I love that it’s a delicious little joke on Blackwood.

Are there things that you would still like to learn about him or see from him, that you feel like you haven’t really gotten to dig into yet?

COYLE:  Yes, there’s a lot, actually. There’s a lot of stuff about Blackwood that we do figure out, and it’s quite juicy. There’s quite a lot going on with him, and there’s a lot that we haven’t really touched yet. But as we go on further, I think we will learn a lot more about him and his plans and his role in this world. I enjoy the fact that there are bits, and more and more is coming out. Blackwood doesn’t have that many obstacles because he’s in a position of extreme power. What are the things that stop him, and that make him keep that pressure cooker lid on? I think he’s fascinating, his role and his position within the world. The show is fun, but I also think it’s very clever. Roberto is a very, very great writer, and he knows exactly what he’s up to.

Chilling Adventures of Sabrina is available to stream at Netflix.