Wednesday really ramps up the gore and horror in season 2, with several characters meeting a grisly end by the time the finale comes around. One such death was that of cult leader of MorningSong, Gideon Sterling, played by Casper Van Dien.
Sterling has been a dark cloud over his step-daughter Bianca Barclay (Joy Sunday) ever since his name was first introduced back in season 1, but the cult leader finally makes his on-screen debut in season 2. Appearing in the office of Principal Dort (Steve Buscemi), the fugitive cult leader makes some serious demands for money. Dort decides to show his true and violent nature once more, using his fire powers to set Sterling ablaze before repurposing the body as extra kindling for his fireplace. Oh, he’s a bad one.
It’s a short-lived appearance, but one that Van Dien adored being a part of. “Of course, I would have loved to spend more time on the show,” Van Dien told Polygon over Zoom. “That being said, I was thrilled to have had the opportunity to work with Tim Burton again. It’s an honor. Twice in a lifetime is pretty good regardless of the screen time.” Van Dien is referring to working together with Burton 25 years ago on 1999’s Sleepy Hollow.
Image: Netflix
As a production, Wednesday often uses a combination of CGI, practical effects, and prosthetics. With that in mind, I was curious about whether Van Dien’s death was practical or not. That ended up not being the case, with the scene mostly relying on visual effects. Not that Van Dien wasn’t down for the more practical side if that was asked of him.
“If they had asked me to go on fire for Tim Burton, I would have gone on fire,” the Starship Troopers star said. “All I had to do was scream, then the rest is visual. So I did a lot of screaming.”
While Van Dien’s appearance might have been a short one, it was also one he had to duck and weave to avoid talking about, even while streaming to his Twitch followers online. As he told Polygon, his followers started asking about it the moment Gideon Sterling’s appearance was revealed in a blurry newspaper shot in the first part of the second season.
A short appearance it may be, but Van Dien hinted that it might not mean Gideon Sterling is gone forever.
“No matter what happens to my character in [Wednesday], I know that people show up dead or alive all the time,” he said. “So, who knows? I think the possibilities with Tim Burton are endless because he seems to be able to do anything.”
Wednesday season 2 is streaming on Netflix.