Vincent D’Onofrio on ‘Emerald City’ Wizard’s backstory & that awful wig of his

On Friday night (Feb. 3), “Emerald City” dives into the backstory of the all powerful Wizard of Oz. Previously found listening to Pink Floyd, we knew that the Wizard (Vincent D’Onofrio) was not born in Oz, that he comes from the same human world as Dorothy (Adria Arjona) — but we had no idea what kind of man Frank Morgan was on Earth.

In the real world, Frank is a sad, reclusive scientist, desperate to be noticed by anyone. A disheveled mess, no social graces to speak of, the only person to give him the time of day seems to be Dr. Karen Chapman () — Dorothy’s mother. The crippling loneliness weighs heavy on him, so to garner some attention, he purposely rewires a wind experiment to fail at the Vortex Research Library in 1996… Which in turn creates the mystic tornado that brings him and Karen, and fellow scientist Jane, to Oz.

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While it’s unclear if Karen knew she was pregnant beforehand, or whether her relationship with fellow scientist Roberto was a private affair, she gives birth to a healthy baby girl once in Emerald City. Frank loves and cares for Dorothy as if she’s his own. In Oz, he’s the man Karen depends on and trusts: He’s smart, respected — and to locals, his science is like magic. For the first time ever, Frank feels important and powerful. So when the Witch of the East says they all must go home — as their presence is causing a serious imbalance in Oz’s atmosphere — Frank refuses.

Seems all the problems ailing Oz — the Beast with the power to bring on the end of times, the war with the witches — all would disappear if the Wizard would simply go back home… But he’s willing to do whatever it takes to keep that a secret. On discovering Dorothy’s gun has the power to kill cardinal witches, he no longer wishes her dead.

“You were brought back to Oz to save us all,” Frank says. “Stop Glinda. Stop this war from killing thousands of people.”

Dorothy does not have Frank’s hero complex, nor does she want anything — just to go home. The Wizard is willing to send Dorothy home, but not before the Witch of the North (Joely Richardson) is killed. Dorothy is appalled, of course: “I am not going to kill someone just so I can go home,” she spits. But the Wizard’s not so sure about that.

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The truth, Vincent D’Onofrio tells us, is that the Wizard is terrified of Dorothy. “When she’s around. He’s Frank. And that’s a big problem… She looks at him like Frank, not the Wizard: That’s the threat. He doesn’t want to be Frank.”

Hence the awful wig the Wizard wears — D’Onofrio was very picky choosing “the rat’s nest,” as he describes it — as it’s key in helping him project that “curtain” to his disciples in Emerald City. And it’s not due to a low budget that the Wizard’s wig is so obviously fake.

“It’s not like they’re going to have a wig guy in Oz. So, I figured it had to be bad,” D’Onofrio says, “A wig that looked like it fell out of a window.”

The act of a person trying to project an image of themselves that isn’t their truth is a timeless, and incredibly relevant theme throughout this series: Is Dorothy a hero? Or is she merely a girl that misses her mommy and wants to go home? Does the Witch of the West (Ana Ularu) actually have a softer soul than her seemingly pious sister in the North? Princess Ev (Stefanie Martini) literally wears a mask to hide who she is, for no seeming reason — and, true to the original version, each character fears most the person who sees them as they really are.

But such an act can only be pulled off for so long, and soon everyone’s true colors will be forced to show through.

“Emerald City” airs on Friday nights at 9 p.m. ET/PT on NBC.

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