Bill Camp on Head Explosion Scene, Working With Wife

Somewhere in Los Angeles, there’s an impeccably detailed mold of Bill Camp’s head sitting on a shelf. He thinks of it sometimes, wondering if people pass by it or if it has just sat in the darkness since it was one of two made to be blown to bits for a nightmarish dream scene in Apple TV+’s “Presumed Innocent.” Only this one never met its fate.

The scene comes in Episode 4 of the legal thriller, when Camp’s Raymond Horgan is prepping for the trial of his friend and former protégé, Rusty Sabich (Jake Gyllenhaal). Raymond is the former district attorney, but he puts his retirement on hold to act as Rusty’s defense lawyer when he is accused of brutally murdering his mistress, Carolyn (Renate Reinsve), one of Raymond’s former prosecutors. The uncharted territory of the case, let alone its close-to-home stakes, put stress on Raymond’s mental state and heart — something his subconscious reminds him in this dream sequence. As he pores over rather mundane prep work, his head starts to pound, his skin becomes clammy. Out of nowhere, Raymond’s head explodes in a gruesome practical effect that would have made Roger Corman proud.

“When I saw it in real time, I knew it was coming, but it was still shocking for me,” Camp tells Variety. “I was watching on the monitor, and it was surreal and something else. But it was a perfect take.”

For the audience, it is a traumatizing departure from an otherwise grounded courtroom drama. For Camp, it was just one of the thrilling things about the role, which earned him an Emmy nomination for supporting actor in a limited series. The series is the centerpiece of a busy few years for the veteran actor. Just this Emmy cycle, he appeared in “Presumed Innocent,” “Zero Day,” “Sirens” and HBO Max’s feature remake of “Salem’s Lot.” This summer, audiences also saw him take on tycoon J.P. Morgan in HBO’s “The Gilded Age.”

Camp is humble when asked about his recent status as “the man who is in everything.”

“I’m just happy to work,” he says. “I like to work, so it’s a nice feeling to keep that momentum or whatever it is going.”

When he speaks about Raymond, though, there’s a pride in his voice. He’s just the latest lawyer Camp has played, following Netflix’s “A Man in Full” (also created by David E. Kelley). “Maybe there’s a level of aggressiveness or intimidation or a willingness to go toe to toe with somebody,” he ponders. “I’m just very grateful to field whatever comes at me.”

But “Presumed Innocent” also reunited him with his most frequent scene partner — his wife, Elizabeth Marvel. As Raymond’s sounding board, Lorraine becomes a fierce defender of her husband as he gives more than just his time to Rusty’s cause. The couple has worked on stage together for decades, most recently in 2022’s “Long Day’s Journey Into Night,” and were even married in Steven Spielberg’s “Lincoln.”

“To be there acting with Elizabeth, I just follow her,” he says. “She is such a smart actor, just miles and miles ahead of me all the time. We have this personal relationship that goes back 35 years, so acting with her is the ultimate joy.”

While the role gave Camp time with Marvel and an Emmy nomination, he tried to take home another memento.

“I asked them if I could take the other head home with me, but they said no,” he says with a mischievous giggle. “So, I guess he’s just sitting in the dark, probably on the Warner Bros. lot somewhere.”