Episode five of the Disney Plus series Moon Knight was an emotional roundhouse kick for many, as we learned about the abuse that Marc Spector endured over the course of his adolescence, resulting in the manifestation of his dissociative identity disorder and, by extension, Steven.
After Marc’s brother drowns in a flooded tunnel, his mother, overcome with grief, pins the blame on Marc, which stemmed into years of alcoholism and physical/emotional abuse.
Marc’s father was also present throughout his upbringing, but our window into his father’s involvement with Marc’s plight was rather limited by comparison. in an interview with The Direct, Rey Lucas, who played Marc’s father in the show, opened up how the character dealt with and perceived the events of Marc’s childhood up until the death of the mother.
“To me, it only makes sense that there has to be some, you know, that he would feel some sense [of guilt],” says Lucas. “Maybe he didn’t see it at first, but definitely, by the time that Marc is a teenager and he’s trying to get on that bus and skip town. And, you know, if he hadn’t seen it before, he definitely, by then, realizes that he wishes he’d have done more and, or wishes he’s seen sooner…”
“I think for a lot of parents, there’s a universal, you know, sense of looking within to see what they should have done differently, or, you know, how they might have been at fault or play[ed] some role…”
He also touched on how the character himself was affected by the death of Marc’s brother, and subsequently how it led him to the inaction where the guilt stems from.
“The loss of a child is something you don’t wish on anyone,” stated Lucas. “So I imagined that he was so focused on taking care of her that he didn’t see, and missed, some of what was happening between you know, her and Marc. And, maybe didn’t want to see at times, because it was [just] too difficult to accept.”
“He seemed to me, someone who stands by people, you know, and maybe to a fault. Maybe not balanced enough, maybe not prioritizing his own, protecting his own.”
Moon Knight is currently streaming on Disney Plus.
