Matthew Rhys promises he's not 'disturbing.' But his TV characters definitely are

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Matthew Rhys is no stranger to playing a man with the weight of the world on his shoulders.Six seasons juggling subterfuge and suburbia as deep-cover KGB agent Philip Jennings on “The Americans” (which earned him an Emmy in 2018) illustrated the Welsh actor’s skill at depicting a psyche fraying with every act of violence.Now, Rhys embraces two wildly different roles he shot back-to-back, showcasing versatility against foreboding backdrops of murder and the supernatural.

One character oozes confidence; the other struggles to gain any respect, even though he is in a position of power.“It does amaze me when people go, ‘You are so disturbing.’ I don’t think I am.I think the part I played is disturbing,” Rhys says, speaking over Zoom from his Brooklyn home, having recently wrapped Season 2 of “Presumed Innocent.”Rhys’ real estate scion Nile Jarvis is equally menacing and alluring opposite author Aggie Wiggs (Claire Danes) in Netflix’s cat-and-mouse thriller “The Beast in Me.” In Katie Dippold’s Apple TV horror-comedy “Widow’s Bay,” the actor gets a rare opportunity to flex his deft comedic timing as tightly wound Mayor Tom Loftis, who desperately wants to transform his cursed island town into “the next Martha’s Vineyard.” Both men keep secrets.

1 2 1.Rhys in “The Beast in Me.” (Netflix) 2.

Rhys in “Widow’s Bay.” (Apple) A frightening encounter with a fabled Sea Hag in the third episode turns dyed-in-the-wool skeptic Tom into a believer, allowing Rhys to exercise his pipes and impressive pitch.“I was concerned about the shriek,” Rhys says.

“Because sometimes I would do it as a joke in rehearsal, and [director] Hiro [Murai] goes, ‘Try it, just try it, and we’ll do different versions.If it’s not ringing true, I’m not going to use it.’ We played around with it.

It still makes me nervous.”Rhys, also an executi...