Earlier reports of Marilyn Manson’s casting in Josh Boone’s The Stand miniseries led fans to speculate that the problematic rocker had been cast as Trashcan Man—a troubled delinquent and pyromaniac who takes great pleasure in blowing shit up. He is essentially the Beavis of this production. But as Entertainment Weekly has now revealed, the role of Trashcan Man is actually played by Ezra Miller. While the Manson casting proved incorrect, the part about employing a problematic performer is definitely still accurate. EW revealed photos of Miller in character as Trashcan Man, alongside commentary from the actor, who is currently filming Fantastic Beasts 3—a production that recently unburdened itself of living coat rack Johnny Depp. Miller’s casting was actually sorta sneakily revealed in British GQ back in March, though few seemed to notice.
“He wears basically no clothes except for his extensive tactical gear. So he’s just kind of in underwear and combat boots… the character has to be right on the edge of over-the-top,” said Benjamin Cavell, showrunner of The Stand. The series, which debuts on CBS All Access on December 17, is based on Stephen King’s post-apocalyptic novel of the same name and features a real mixed bag of an ensemble, ranging from baffling picks like Amber Heard and Alexander Skarsgard, to painfully obvious choices like James Marsden and Whoopi Goldberg. With that in mind, Miller—who really seems to be hamming it up with this one, borderline Juliette Lewis in The Other Sister-style (official ruling TBD)—fits right in with the apparent heavy-handed nature of The Stand.
To wit: These quotes from Miller, who seems to think he’s finally giving trash the genuine representation it deserves. “What excites me is the deception of behavior and appearances. Trash is the underestimated and misinterpreted amongst us,” Miller said in an email to EW. It’s admittedly difficult to discern tone via text, particularly in the absence of exclamation points, but this next bit about the “conceptual meeting” for Trashcan Man reads like a brilliant Kate Berlant or John Early performance:
“Fireproof underwear” were two of the first words out of my mouth in the first conceptual meeting. I was very interested in working directly with the wardrobe department in creating a look based entirely on the practical demands of the characters pyromania. Trash wears nothing but what is necessary to craft incendiaries, ignite them, and get as close to the flames as possible — in order to revel in the fire.
Okay!