Devil in Disguise: John Wayne Gacy star reveals daily “ritual” to honor victims

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In the new Peacock series, *Devil in Disguise*, Michael Chernus portrays serial killer John Wayne Gacy. He shared that he had a daily routine to honor Gacy’s victims while filming.

John Wayne Gacy was convicted of murdering at least 33 young men and boys. He was arrested in 1987, sentenced to death in 1980, and put to death by lethal injection in 1994.

Peacock’s new eight-part true crime series, Devil in Disguise, tells the story of a murderer nicknamed the ‘Killer Clown’ because he was part of a local ‘Jolly Joker’ club. However, the series, created by writer and producer Patrick Macmanus, concentrates more on the experiences of the victims than on the killer himself.

Michael Chernus, the lead actor in Severance, has shared that he thought about the people affected by the real-life events that inspired the show while filming his scenes.

John Wayne Gacy actor wrote down names of victims throughout shoot

Michael Chernus shared on The Today Show that he had a daily routine in his trailer. He used a science fair-style poster board to list the names and ages of all of John Wayne Gacy’s victims.

I used to open that every morning in my trailer as a daily reminder of my goals, and then close it up when the workday was done.

As a fan, I was really interested to hear Chernus talk about what drew him to this project. He explained that what initially grabbed him was the show’s unique take on a story we’ve all heard so many times – especially considering it started with the arrest back in 1978. He even wondered himself what *new* perspective he could bring to it, which I think is a really honest and cool approach.

Honestly, what really got me excited about this game was hearing they were switching things up and focusing more on the stories of the people affected – the victims. That just sounded really compelling to me.

Okay, so I just saw that the John Wayne Gacy doc, ‘Devil in Disguise,’ dropped on Peacock. If you’re into true crime like me, you can check out some other recommendations – there’s a link to the best true crime stuff hitting streaming services this month, and another to the most shocking documentaries on Netflix. They even rounded up some seriously creepy documentaries you can find on YouTube right now. Definitely worth a look if you’re looking for something unsettling to watch!

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2025-10-17 13:51