‘The Following’ scoop: Meet Joe’s second-in-command, Roderick — EXCLUSIVE

The cult on Fox’s The Following grows with every episode and this week we finally met someone the followers have been discussing but have never seen: Roderick (Warren Kole). Basically the second-in-command to Joe Carroll (James Purefoy), Roderick made his debut on tonight’s episode and shockingly revealed that he’s actually a man of the law and policing the town where the cult has made its headquarters. EW talked exclusively to Kole about this character and what’s ahead for Roderick and The Following.

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: This show is so secretive. Did you get any details about him?
Warren Kole: It’s funny. I was able to talk with Kevin and with Fox a little that they were looking to introduce this character. In the audition, I went in and read to give an idea of what I was thinking of. But the part I created in the read, once I arrived on set, had absolutely nothing to do with who this guy actually was. So it was more just a quality they were looking for. They were looking to me to dive in once I got there. That’s sort of how Kevin works and how the show works.  It’s a challenge for all of us to sort of sit there and bite your nails and wanna know more but you’re gonna find out what you find out when you find out.

Did you and James have instant chemistry? Joe is sort of a mentor to Roderick.
As the story progresses, I think it’s more apparent that Roderick is kind of a creation. He’s the kind of genius creation of this Dr. Frankenstein and he’s being used to serve a greater objective that he’s not really aware of, not even Roderick, nobody except for Joe Carroll. As this becomes clearer to even Roderick, there’s a power struggle that just might start to rise up between these two guys because Roderick has a lot of leverage too. He’s second in command to Joe Carroll. He’s the lieutenant on this operation. He’s got a lot of sway with this two-sided personality, this alter ego.

He arrives on the scene and we see him in his sheriff’s uniform. Will we see him playing both sides coming up?
Maybe. I think what you’re gonna see and what you see in episode 8 and 9 is Roderick in this role as sort of hotel manager.

He is!
Right? This college of sociopaths and narcissists all under one roof and he’s kind of like the concierge keeping them all together.

He’s like the housemother!
He is the housemother! And he’s sort of been playing the good cop at this retreat. Then Joe shows up and he’s playing the good cop. Then, Roderick doesn’t have the power he had anymore. What does this mean? How loyal can you be when your trust has been eroded? There’s another bit of mystery—just how intimate is the relationship? I mean we kill together.

Will we get more flashbacks to the Roderick/Joe relationship?
There are flashbacks. Something that is very evident is that Roderick is very steadfast and Joe’s most trusted and most loyal follower. There’s a real foundation there.

I’m fascinated by the relationship with Louise.
That was fun actually. I think that indicated a lot just how unpredictable this household can be. It’s not a hippie retreat. There’s no real solid structure to this place. Anything that can happen at any time and if you are going to have relationships and closeness they’re not going to be sensible, they’re going to be a little haywire.

Will this romance continue?
I guess we’ll see. I’m sorry I’ve been given strict instructions!

What can you tease coming up?
I think you’re going to see a real progressive unfolding of what appears to be a very sane and likable man as the situation becomes less firm, as he’s less positive about Joe’s intentions. You’re gonna get more of a regression to the flashbacks, younger Roderick. You’re gonna see how it ties all together.

Read more:
‘The Following’ tops Monday ratings after renewal
Fox renews ‘The Following’ plus 3 comedies
Fox announces finale dates, summer shows

Follow Tim on Twitter: @EWTimStack