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Current Talk '05 II / Re: Jerry Lacy's Reverend Trask - any opinions?
« on: August 21, 2005, 03:57:41 PM »You can't get any hammier than Lacy's portrayals of Trask.
Umm - have you seen Addison Powell as Dr. Lang?
Jerry Lacy was excellent as Reverend Trask IMO. Trask, as portrayed by Lacy, was a complete and utter fanatic - most definitely a few fries short of a Happy Meal. As stefan said, Trask's personality unfolds over time. His obsessive witch hunt becomes increasingly disturbing over the course of the 1795 storyline. I feel the "big" qualities Lacy lets loose with are appropriate for the character. Trask is full of himself. He fully believes that he is the instrument of God. Heck, some of the real-life preachers I've seen on TV are waaaay more over the top than Trask ever was! Jerry Lacy was well cast as the maniacal witch-hunter IMO.
Very well put, PD.
I heard an interview with JL who said this Trask was his favorite because he ["Trask"] was not really a "bad" person, just over zealous.
Certainly over zealous and definitely misguided - but at the same time his motivations were far purer than his descendents Lamar and Gregory's were. In fact...
Although it's never stated explicitly, the way that the scenes between Gregory and Rachel Drummond play out suggests that he did very unpleasant and improper things to her when she was a child. This is conveyed largely through Lacy's facial expressions, gestures, and emphasis on certain phrases. Overall, I thought his performance was very controlled and effective. To this day when I see an episode with Gregory Trask in it, I feel compelled to scrub myself with disinfectant: the character is that slimy.
...Gregory Trask may just be the most loathsome character ever on DS, especially in light of his being a purely human character. Not only are there implications in his relationship with Rachel, but having just watched ep #822, it's perfectly apparent that when he encourages Amanda to move into Collinwood, saving her soul is hardly at the top of his agenda. I would dare to say that it's not even in his top five. One can't help but flinch every time he touches Amanda because what is supposedly a comforting gesture is betrayed by its obvious sexual nature. Lacy plays this scene to perfection - in particular when Trask explains away the idea that it could be perceived as unsavory for Amanda to stay at Collinwood while Judith is still institutionalized.
I also found the witchcraft trial weak and FF most of it.