Billy Magnussen: 'Tell Me a Story' is 'scary and dark and sexy'

Oct. 28 (UPI) -- Billy Magnussen says his psychological thriller, Tell Me a Story, couldn't be more different in tone from his 2014 movie musical, Into the Woods -- even though both have fairytale themes.

"One is Disney-fied and then this is Kevin Williamson-fied," the 33-year-old actor joked with reporters at New York Comic Con.

Tell Me a Story creator Williamson is a filmmaker known for his work on the Scream franchise, as well as the TV shows The Vampire Diaries and The Following.

Co-starring James Wolk, Dania Ramirez, Danielle Campbell, Dorian Missick, Michael Raymond-James, Davi Santos, Sam Jaeger, Zabryna Guevara with Paul Wesley and Kim Cattrall, Tell Me a Story is to debut Wednesday on CBS All Access. The retelling of the classic children's stories "The Three Little Pigs," "Little Red Riding Hood" and "Hansel and Gretel" is set in contemporary New York.

"It's just playing to what the script is and what the playground is being set up as. I literally approached Tell Me a Story the same as I did in Into the Woods. You see what the world is you're in and you try to fill it with life and breath," Magnussen said, describing the new show as "scary and dark and sexy."

He said his character Nick in the "Little Red Riding Hood" storyline is a control freak, a stark contrast to the lovestruck prince he played in Into the Woods or the laid-back actor he portrayed in the Epix dramedy, Get Shorty.

"A lot of my other characters I've played have been loose and have been just kind of like going with the punches and if the wave comes, he catches the wave. He's free and happy. This guy is complicated," the actor said.

Magnussen will also soon be seen in the live-action version of the Disney animated film, Aladdin.