'Salem' co-creator calls Marilyn Manson 'a joy to be around'

NEW YORK, Nov. 2 (UPI) -- The third season of the 17th century-set, supernatural drama Salem will be off to an exciting start when it premieres on WGN America Wednesday night.

Asked by UPI at New York Comic Con what fans can expect going forward, actor Shane West replied: "Having additions like Marilyn Manson joining the show, just being this barber/surgeon... My character, right off the bat, has a small injury that he has to sew up. That was unique, doing that scene. It felt like he was actually sewing me up. So, he gets into the character.

"There is a boy that helps my character [John Alden,]" he continued. "Essentially, what happens for, at least, John in the beginning is we know that Mary's dead. He buries Mary in the first episode and he is finished with Salem for once and for all. Or so that he thinks. And he is caught and brought back into town and he is going to go on trial again and what they do is they give him the chance to stick around if he leads a militia. ... I get a sidekick at some point of a younger guy that helps me out and that guy has got some secrets. That's a lot right there, without giving away too much. Besides the fact we have the devil in the center of the story."

So, how did Manson end up involved in the series?

"He's really fun. As you know, he has been pounding the witch drum for Salem since Episode 1," the show's co-creator Adam Simon replied, noting Manson and Tyler Bates contributed the theme music to the series. "He actually, sincerely is a fan of the show. He loved it and made it clear that if we had a part that he was up for it. Interestingly, Brannon [Braga] and I had a part from the get-go that we never found somebody to do. We always wanted to have a barber/surgeon on the show and we mentioned that to him and he was like, 'Done.' He totally even knew what that character meant, what it was. So, he brings so much personality and knowledge to it. Not to mention, this fan base. He's a joy to be around. He really is. Underneath all that horror, he is one of the sweetest guys I've ever met."

"It's an incredible feeling. The crew was just happy to have him there. He's just funny," West agreed.

That said, Simon joked about how Manson worked hard to keep up his formidable image off-set, offering as an example the time the musician-actor brought the Bible he found in his hotel room to the front desk and said, "I'm sorry, the last time I found this in my room, I ate half of it, so you should keep it down here."

"Yeah, that was pretty amazing. I've seen him do it twice," West laughed.

The series co-stars Janet Montgomery, Seth Gabel, Tamzin Merchant, Ashley Madekwe and Elise Eberle.