Mystery cloaks 'Sons of Anarchy' alum Timothy V. Murphy's 'Bastard Executioner' role

NEW YORK, Sept. 29 (UPI) -- Timothy V. Murphy appears to have taken a vow of silence when it comes to revealing exactly who his intriguing Bastard Executioner priest character really is.

One detail he will confirm is that the mysterious Father Ruskin is a man with a past as an Irish soldier.

In the first two episodes of the new action-drama, the 14th-century clergyman was seen kindly teaching schoolchildren and counseling Baroness Lowry "Love" Aberffraw Ventris after the slaying of her power-mad husband, the British Baron Erik Ventris. Later, Father Ruskin deftly defends the lady when their group is set upon by thieves in a forest, demonstrating the man of the cloth has had training outside the monastery.

Pressed to divulge if the priest might become the moral compass of the Wales-set series, the 55-year-old actor cautiously told United Press International in a recent phone interview, "They don't tell you too much in advance what's happening with the character."

"Because religion was such a strong part of the Middle Ages and, I suppose, throughout the centuries, my character was definitely moved to the forefront. He is like a mystery character right now, but he is very much part of the show that goes on," Murphy noted. "Everybody [in the cast] went to 'knight school.' You were riding horses and playing with knives and swords and stuff. Whether you were going to be doing that [on screen,] one never knew. But everybody was sent to knight school for a couple of weeks."

The Bastard Executioner focuses on Wilkin Brattle, a war-weary knight whose peaceful retirement is destroyed when he and the other men in his Welsh village rebel against their British oppressors, only to have their own families murdered and their homes burned down. After an ambush in which the baron is killed, Brattle poses as Gawain Maddox, a well-known, traveling punisher, and brings the baron's body home to his wife at Castle Ventris where Father Ruskin is the local holy man.

Even by the show's second week, many of the characters' true identities, motivations and alliances remained unclear.

So, will audiences learn more about Father Ruskin's back story as the series unwinds?

"I would imagine, yes," Murphy replied. "I can't tell you much about the plot, but everybody has a back story. It's very hard to include everybody in the first [2-hour] episode and see where they are coming from, so a lot of the mystery characters, I think, in the first episode, you will learn more about them as you go along."

The show reunites Murphy with Kurt Sutter, the celebrated writer, director and producer who created Sons of Anarchy. Murphy played gangster and weapons-trafficker Galen O'Shay for Seasons 4-6 of the contemporary California outlaw-biker drama.

Despite their previous working relationship, Murphy said his old friend Sutter didn't just phone him and ask him to play Father Ruskin.

"I got a call from a casting director to come in and read for a character and then I went in and read and they offered me another character, so I was really happy with that, obviously," he explained. "It was a series regular, which is fantastic -- a steady job for an actor."

Murphy went on to say he couldn't be happier to collaborate with Sutter again.

"I was delighted. I love the guy. He's great. It's fantastic to be working with him again. He's so talented. It was one of my favorite experiences -- working on Sons of Anarchy with him. I'm really enjoying this, as well."

Without saying anything that would spoil the fun for viewers, Murphy cited the new show's well-crafted story as one of the many reasons people should tune in for it.

"Great intrigue coming up," he said. "The writing is fantastic in that it gathers steam as it goes along. Even reading the scripts, at the moment, you're excited to see -- just like Sons of Anarchy -- what's going to happen. I'm very much connected to the people in the court, as far as Lady Love is concerned, and as far as [Chamberlain] Milus Corbett, played by the vampire, they call him, Stephen Moyer [of True Blood fame.]"

Co-starring Lee Jones, Katey Sagal and Flora Spencer-Longurst, The Bastard Executioner airs Tuesday nights on FX.