Anthony Head has promised the new series of Dominion will be “darker and dirtier” as villain David Whele becomes even more unhinged.

The Buffy The Vampire Slayer star admitted he is really enjoying playing a baddie after years as good guy Watcher Giles in Buffy, but insisted David doesn’t think what he’s doing is wrong.

Anthony said: “Deran Sarafian who came on board as the producer/director this year has really changed the look and vibe of the show. They all agreed it should be grittier and dirtier and funkier than the first season. That we could move on and become just the little bit darker.

Anthony Head as David Whele in Dominion (NBC Universal)
Anthony Head loves being a little crazy as David Whele in Dominion (NBC Universal)

“David has an underlying mattress of insanity – he’s not playing with a full deck necessarily. He’s just as dedicated to his plan but it’s become a little bit more unhinged and a little bit more dangerous. But he still justifies it. It’s interesting to play a leader who is a little unhinged.

“Ultimately David doesn’t think he’s bad, he has to deal with the repercussions of what he does. He does what he feels is expedient and it’s not right and it’s not just in any way, but in his head it is, which is fun to play.”

Dominion is set in a dystopian world where God vanishes and in his absence archangel Gabriel leads the angels in a war against mankind. David is a senator of the city of Vega where a group of humans have managed to form a fortified community and keep out the angels.

Anthony believes the show is so popular because, though a fantasy, viewers relate to its themes.

He said: “I think people like to see other people suffering worse than they are, ultimately. People like reality shows because people get a hard time in reality shows, and think, ‘If they’re worse off than I am that makes my hardship less.’

“The Walking Dead is an extreme. The thing about Dominion is there is more of a humanity in it.”

The cast of Dominion
The cast of Dominion (NBC Universal)

And the 61-year-old actor loves all the artwork he is sent by fans on Twitter.

He said: “It’s brought some really nice artwork into the fore. Some really interesting playing with the themes. You often get a lot of artwork brought to you, but it’s not just drawing people, there’s lots of manipulating the pictures and using them. There’s some really nice stuff.”

Dominion, which also stars Brits Roxanne McKee, Tom Wisdom and Shivani Ghai, returns to Syfy at 9pm on Wednesday July 15.