Why Will Harper From The Boogeyman Looks So Familiar

The latest Stephen King adaptation "The Boogeyman" is a terrifying romp through psychological trauma and haunting presences. Following therapist Will Harper (Chris Messina) and his two daughters, Sadie (Sophie Thatcher) and Sawyer (Vivien Lyra Blair), "The Boogeyman" starts with the emotionally reeling family after the death of Will's wife and mother to his children. Unfortunately, the family's grieving (or lack thereof) is soon shattered by a seemingly otherworldly entity that invokes tremendous feelings of fear and terror. Needless to say, Will and his family have a lot to contend with in "The Boogeyman."

In an interview with GamesRadar+, Messina explained what drew him to "The Boogeyman" by saying, "The first meeting I had with Rob, he said, 'You can't have jump scares and screams from the audience unless you have characters that they care about.' That was initially why I wanted to do it, there were human beings in here and they were grieving, going through something. Yes, there's a scary monster, but 'The Boogeyman' is really inside of them — it's what they are not facing or dealing with." 

Upon watching "The Boogeyman," some audience members may find themselves wondering why Will looks so familiar. This is because Messina has had quite a varied career that has seen him act as a romantic interest, a prolific serial killer, and even attempt to wrangle the literal devil in an elevator. Here's why Messina looks so familiar.

Perhaps the next place that people may remember Chris Messina from is the 2010 film, "Devil." Crafted from a story by M. Night Shyamalan, "Devil" is a claustrophobic whodunit that sees four incredibly different people trapped in an elevator. This elevator refuses to move or be repaired by anybody, and those that attempt it usually meet a grisly fate. Considering this turn of events, Detective Bowden (Messina) is called to the scene, where he gets an ear full from a security guard about the literal devil being present in the building.

Though Bowden doesn't believe the security guard, events continue to unfold that see the trapped elevator riders killed one by one, which causes an increased level of volatility and paranoia for the survivors. As these killings unfold, Bowden slowly begins to believe that he is actually dealing with Satan, which becomes more apparent when one of the elevator riders is revealed to have an incredibly personal connection to Bowden. 

As Bowden, Messina gets a chance to flex his acting chops as his character deals not only with the case at the end, but with a tragic backstory that weighs heavy on his soul. This is probably one of the primary reasons why Bowden is the one that must contend with the Devil, and the film ends with a powerful message of forgiveness and contrition.

Another notable appearance by Chris Messina is the 2012 HBO television series, "The Newsroom," which is all about a group of newscasters and business people who often cover topical events. As such, "The Newsroom" provides a fictional view of how these breaking developments are researched, edited, and brought to the general public for mass consumption. Although "The Newsroom" typically follows its newscasters, Messina actually plays the role of Reese Lansing, who is the president of Atlantis World News. This means that Will McAvoy (Jeff Daniels) often has to comply or capitulate to Reese's demands, which usually involve television ratings and viewership. Popping up in 14 episodes, Reese's first appearance is in Season 1, Episode 2.

Known predominantly for his cutthroat approach to news, Reese often makes suggestions that are shortsighted. For example, there are several times in "The Newsroom" where Reese thinks they should run with unconfirmed news in order to stay in the media cycle, which are often revealed to be completely false. In addition, Reese doesn't have much of a moral compass and has tapped people's phones in order to get the latest scoops. 

Speaking with TVLine, Messina was asked what his character would be up to if the show was still on, and he replied, "Reese probably would have been fired and arrested for harassment. There was one season in there where it looked like Reese was going to get arrested. I was kind of looking forward to that, seeing Reese behind bars, to see what would his life have been like in jail and Jane Fonda coming to visit me in jail."

People may also remember Chris Messina from the 2018 miniseries, "Sharp Objects." This eight-episode story focuses on Camille Parker (Amy Adams), a news reporter that suffers from terrible personal issues that see her committed to a psychiatric hospital before the events of the show. Returning home to Wind Gap, Missouri, Camille finds herself embroiled with the death of two locals, which soon leads her to interact with Detective Richard Willis (Messina). As the two grow closer over their mutual interest in the murders, they end up in a brief romantic entanglement, but this ends quickly due to Camille's adultery. However, Willis is still dedicated to uncovering the truth of the murders, which he believes will be a big notch in his career. Ultimately, Willis and Camille part ways, with Camille fully aware that she would never see Willis again due to the trauma of her past.

Discussing the events of "Sharp Objects" with Vulture, Messina was asked what makes Richard so obsessed with Camille. "Initially, it's that he's obviously not very welcome in the town, he's an outsider, and she has made herself an outsider," Messina said. "It starts with a bit of loneliness and this woman has a real understanding of how this town works. There is a bit of a manipulation on both of their parts. He's falling for her. He spends just as much time — or more — looking into who Camille is, what her story is, and the initial task at hand."