After just four episodes, The Stand is solidifying itself as one of the great Stephen King adaptations to arrive in recent years. The miniseries looks and feels like a cinematic blockbuster, and it perfectly captures King's essence in story, dialogue and tone. Helping push the narrative forward is actor Brad William Henke, who is tasked with bringing the iconic character of Tom Cullen to life. We recently caught up with Henke to talk about his time spent working on the series, what we've seen so far in those first four episodes, and what's to come in the final five over the course of the next few weeks.

The Stand is taking its time setting up characters and introducing each major player in the game. Brad William Henke's Tom Cullen wasn't introduced until the third episode, and served as merely a cameo. He played quite an important role in episode four, though, as he sets off for Las Vegas and a confrontation with Randall Flagg.

For those who have read the original book or watched the original 1994 miniseries, Tom Cullen's fate is well known. For those new to the story, it may be hard to fathom what will happen to Tom Cullen in the weeks ahead. Brad William Henke gives us a few clues as he discusses the creation of his character with Paulington James Christensen III.

Also discussed are Brad's co-stars, Tom Cullen's love for Dolly Parton, and that blink-and-miss Stephen King cameo that took a lot of fans by surprise. The second half of The Stand is going to get pretty intense. We also get to hear about the new Stephen King ending crafted by the author himself.

Breakout Orange is the New Black star and SAG Award winner Brad William Henke makes a statement in the star-packed limited series adaptation of Stephen King's iconic 1978 novel The Stand, which premiered on CBS All Access Thursday, December 17th. Henke stars opposite Whoopi Goldberg, James Marsden, Amber Heard and Alexander Skarsgård. 

In an ominously well-timed series, The Stand is adapted from the Stephen King novel of the same name which is about the Biblical aftermath of a global pandemic that kills 98 percent of the population, setting a stage for a clash of good vs. evil. The series stars Whoopi Goldberg as Mother Abagail, Alexander Skarsgård as Randall Flagg, James Marsden as Stu Redman, Jovan Adepo as Larry Underwood, Amber Heard as Nadine Cross, and Owen Teague as Harold Lauder. The nine- episode new series will air weekly on CBS All Access. The new version will include a new coda at the end of the finale written by Stephen King himself.

Henke is an accomplished character actor in Hollywood, appearing in some of the most iconic TV series including Lost, Orange is the New Black and Justified, and in a number of films including the David Ayer films Fury and Bright and opposite Maggie Gyllenhaal in SHerryBaby and Choke with Sam Rockwell. Before heading into acting, Henke was drafted out of college into the NFL for the New York Giants. He was subsequently picked up by the Denver Broncos and played in Super Bowl XXIV against the San Francisco 49ers.