While Scott Foley‘s role on faith-based show It’s Not Like That allowed him to join the ranks of other hot fictional religious figures, the actor has reservations about the project.
“The fact that he was a pastor was a double-edged sword for me,” Foley, 53, exclusively told Us Weekly about taking on the role of Pastor Malcolm in Wonder Project’s It’s Not Like That. “I’m not a religious adult. I was religious as a kid. My family was religious so it’s something that I am not wholly unfamiliar with.”
Foley referred to the opportunity as “scary,” adding, “He’s a community leader and he’s a faith leader as a pastor. There’s a lot of responsibility that comes with that but there’s also — more importantly — a faith and a belief that I find endlessly interesting for me to try to wrap my head around. And then I had to embody a character who has that faith. It’s different than any any character I’ve played and it’s much more complicated than I thought it would be.”
It’s Not Like That, which airs Sundays, follows Malcolm in the aftermath of his wife’s death. He balances returning to his congregation while raising his three children when Malcolm starts growing closer to family friend Lori (Erinn Hayes).
“Malcolm is someone we don’t see very often on TV: a faith leader who is also a man struggling with things that everybody has to deal with,” Foley noted. “For me, that means he’s emotional and he’s vulnerable. I love that about him.”
Foley enjoyed the challenge of bringing Malcolm to life.
“They said it’s a faith-based show and I thought, ‘Is that a catch? Is that something that’s going to get in the way?’ [I wondered] is it going to get in the way? It is going to hit me over the head? I don’t want that. I don’t want to be proselytized to,” he noted. “And it was not [like that]. That’s just his job. He just happens to be a pastor.”
Foley continued: “The only religious thing in it is that Malcolm’s a pastor. That’s just his job. He just happens to be a pastor. So I was in and I loved that about the show. … You’ll see how important and what a role his faith plays — but also how it can be a bit of a detriment at times.”
In addition to Foley and Hayes, It’s Not Like That stars J. R. Ramirez, Caleb Baumann, Cary Christopher, Leven Miranda, Cassidy Paul and Liv Lindell.
“I have three children myself. There have been mental health battles that we have struggled with here. So I’m able to bring all my experience, all my pain and my love and my hope to these characters,” Foley, who is married to Marika Domińczyk, told Us. “I’ve dealt with the s*** that you’re seeing on screen — most people have.”
It’s Not Like That is expected to touch on important topics.
“I am so excited when a television show tackles these things, because they’re difficult. They’re hard to make interesting because we deal with them in our everyday lives,” he continued. “But our writers are brilliant and emotional and vulnerable, and they write all of that into these characters. We’re dealing with mental health, alcohol, bullying, Title IX, feelings of unrequited love, the human condition is endlessly interesting to me, and they do such a beautiful job of telling a great story simply.”
It’s Not Like That airs Sundays on Wonder Project and the first two episodes are available to stream on Prime Video.
