The last time I saw Hunter Doohan, he was wearing a straight jacket: his eyes bulging as he reluctantly transforms into the formidable Hyde in Tim Burton’s Wednesday. Today, he ruffles his loose curls in front of the blue screen he once used to film his audition for the part of Tyler Galpin — totally unaware that four months later, he would book the role that sent shockwaves, heartbreak and trauma to audiences worldwide.

“You’ve got my self-tape backdrop and the beautiful portrait of my cat, Biddy, someone did,” Doohan says as he takes me on a tour of his surroundings via video chat. Who would have known that the man sitting on the other end of my call could be so artful in deception?

Whilst Doohan admits he is “no good” at keeping secrets (made evident by his stint at the gay poker nights run by his friend in L.A.), he soon found himself having plenty to hide when he booked the role of Jenna Ortega’s “normie” love-interest. After eight long episodes of will-they won’t-they tension and countless failed attempts to uncover the identity behind a murderous Hyde, Tyler’s own mask soon fades away — where the loveable outsider instantly becomes the series’ ruthless antagonist.

“I wanted that scene specifically to feel like a violation,” Doohan laughs as we reflect on Tyler’s betrayal. “You’re watching the series through Wednesday’s eyes and I think part of the joy of Wednesday as a character is her comebacks – she’s so quick and witty and constantly out-smarting everyone – and then she falls for this boy, which is already out of character for her. She fights it the whole season and then suddenly, you see he was manipulating her the whole time.”

Violations aside, one burning question still remains: was Tyler evil? “To me, I wanted people to feel like Tyler was possessed by the Hyde. He just reaches a point where the Hyde has mostly taken over and he is deeply under the spell of Laurel Gates, played by Christina Ricci. So he lets down the mask of being the nice guy,” Doohan imparts. “But when you take all of that away, Tyler is deeply troubled and angry — that’s why he’s so easy to manipulate. I wouldn’t say he’s evil, he just carries so much hurt about his mum dying. Once he figures out that she was a Hyde and he can blame Nevermore and Wednesday for her death, it just becomes a lot easier for him to make that switch.”

The “switch” in question involves its own traumatic scene: blood-shot eyes, razor-sharp teeth, and six-inch claws attached to mottled skin. “I actually had to de-friend someone because they said they knew it was me because we had the same hair,” Doohan playfully confesses. “What the fuck does that even mean?” Despite the friendship-ending responses, Doohan still finds himself thrilled to inhabit the monster. “To be one of Tim Burton’s monsters is a crazy feeling,” he tells me. “I remember one of the biggest moments was getting to Romania and seeing the initial sketch that Tim had done of the Hyde and what he wanted it to look like. I just thought, ‘I can’t wait for my face to transform into that.’”

Doohan’s anticipation, though palpable, was yet another thing he found himself keeping secret. “I had a suspicion by the time I did the final audition [that Tyler was the Hyde,] they gave us clues but obviously couldn’t spoil it for everyone who was auditioning.” Though Doohan was the first to learn of Tyler’s character arc upon booking the role, it didn’t stay that way for long. “One of the first people I became close with on set was Joy Sunday, playing Bianca, and once I spoke with Al and Miles and got the whole story of Tyler, I told her everything. Then afterwards they sent me an email being like, ‘Oh, by the way, we’re keeping this a secret from the rest of the cast.’ So I had to text Joy and be like, ‘You did not hear that from me!’” Poker face as strong as ever, Doohan.

Master Of Disguise is a title Doohan was prepared to embrace, but Breaker Of Hearts was not as expected. “It was so funny seeing TikToks and edits from the show’s fans. It’d be me and Jenna with this romantic music playing in the background, then a record scratching and it cuts to me and my husband on our wedding day,” Doohan laughs, throwing his head back at the absurdity. “It’s very flattering, and I’m sorry to have tricked people about the Hyde and then for them to also find out I have a husband,” he laments on being every FYP’s heartthrob. “That must be a real bummer,” he continues, flashing the same pert grin seen on-screen.

All in all, it’s been a crazy year for Doohan. “It has certainly been a 180, everything has changed. I remember being so bummed that I was killed off in Your Honour, only to find out they renewed for a second season. I was thinking, ‘Come on! Open it with me waking up and somehow surviving,’” the actor says on playing Bryan Cranston’s on-screen son. “But it did open the door for me to do Wednesday, which was such a gift.” With Cranston officiating Doohan’s wedding that same year, booking the role of Tyler and finding himself inundated with “I trusted you” comments thereafter, the actor now straps in for another ride. “Everything that’s happened in the last few months has just been things that I could never have dreamed of before,” he reflects. Finally breaking into second-season status, Doohan is now preparing to film the next instalment of Wednesday. Whether it’s secret-keeping or character-redeeming, doors closing or opening, we don’t know just yet. But if there’s one person guaranteed to tell us, it’s Doohan.