‘Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed’s Murray Bartlett Says Episode 5’s Wild Kill Brought Dennis “Glee”

Editor’s Note: The following contains spoilers from Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed Episode 5

We are halfway through Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed‘s first season, and, while a lot has happened over the course of five episodes, there is still quite a bit of unresolved chaos and mystery for Tatiana Maslany‘s Paula to sort through. The twisty Apple TV thriller — which is infused with moments of levity in between the bloody murder investigation and blackmail — works as well as it does thanks to its eclectic and talented cast, which includes Murray Bartlett and Brandon Flynn.

Bartlett and Flynn play Dennis and Trevor, respectively, two characters who are definitely not how they seem. The two men — who start out as a seemingly loving couple — quickly evolve into anything but that. Bartlett’s Dennis is a cold, calculated killer trying to track down Paula, and Trevor’s a Cam Boy-turned-victim who thrusts Paula into a maddening kidnap-blackmail plot. During this conversation with Collider, Murray Bartlett and Brandon Flynn talk about their first impressions of the story, what it was like playing such complicated characters, and how they pulled off that ambitious murder scene in Episode 5.

Apple TV’s ‘Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed’ Allowed Murray Bartlett and Brandon Flynn To Play Several Characters

“Trevor has many truths going on.”

COLLIDER: It’s so great to meet you both. I really enjoy the show, and your storylines go in quite a few unexpected directions, which made it that much more fun to watch. I want to start with a fun, silly question. Paula clearly finds an outlet for pleasure. Is there something like a show, a movie, or activity that will bring you out of a funk instantly and will turn your mood around?

MURRAY BARTLETT: Oh, my God. I mean, I can’t think of anything as racy and kind of cool as what Paula does. I live in the woods, so I go and walk on the beach. [Laughs] That pulls me out of a funk. I take my dog out and just hang out with my dog. That’s basically what I do. But I can’t think of anything that’s more fun and interesting than that. That’s my go-to.

BRANDON FLYNN: Usually go see something, play or museum or something.

BARTLETT: I mean, yeah, going to see movies is kind of the solution to many things.

FLYNN: It really is, yeah.

BARTLETT: It’s a mood lifter. Even if it’s sad or depressing or dark.

FLYNN: Even if it’s bad.

BARTLETT: Even if it’s bad, yeah.

You’re like, “I got out of the house and ate candy. It’s fine.”

BARTLETT: You’re still in a cinema. I think particularly for us, even if something isn’t working very well, you’re kind of still like, “These people made this thing!” There are always things to learn from it or take from it or whatever. That is sort of a joyful experience that kind of soothes anything, I think.

Dennis and Trevor are two very complicated characters. What were your impressions when you first read the script and were introduced to the story?

BARTLETT: I loved that Dennis just kind of shifts on a dime and is all these different things to different people. That’s just a great thing to play. That was a very tantalizing thing for me. I just found the story to be relatable. I think we’re in a period of time where it’s very easy to feel overwhelmed. The amazing Tatiana Maslany, who anchors our show, is going through this kind of overwhelmedness, and what you do when you’re feeling overwhelmed. I feel like that’s super relatable, particularly at this point in time. And then the fact that the show just keeps jumping and changing and surprising you. It was a really compelling read. I was like, “Oh yeah, I want to be part of this.”

FLYNN: Trevor felt so fun and like he was the ultimate performer, giving the people what they want. I was excited to be a part of that journey with him, where I think the audience is going to get a kick out of where it goes.

Going off of that, Brandon, I know you studied at the Globe Theater. Trevor’s kind of constantly acting himself. Was there anything from when you were studying at the Globe that you took and that you feel really connected with this project specifically?

FLYNN: Oh my God. I mean, Shakespeare’s in everything. I’m sure there’s some sort of Shakespearean character that Trevor could be linked to. I mean, he’s kind of like Plato’s idea of an actor, right? At the Globe, I was always just taught, “Tell the truth.” Like, that’s it. And Trevor has many truths going on [laughs], and they were all fun to tell.

Murray Bartlett Studied What It’s Like To Be a Sociopath for ‘Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed’

“They learn to imitate social cues and become great actors.”

Image via Apple TV

Murray, I love watching you be really bad and scary. I’m sure it was very fun to play a villainous role. Did you prepare for this character differently than you have with other characters, or do you kind of have the same method when you get into a story?

BARTLETT: I think it’s always different, for me, anyway. There are certain steps that I always take to make sure I’ve covered my bases, but I feel like I’m always on high alert to pull in music or movies or films or people I’ve met, or little videos that I’ve seen, or whatever, to kind of make this kind of collage that becomes the character in a way. Sort of pulling on things from yourself that resonate with the character. But with this, I felt like, because he shifts and changes and can sort of switch emotion on and off, it felt very sociopathic.

I read this book about a sociopath, and it was super helpful. It was just fascinating because the woman who wrote the book, who is a sociopath, has a very small spectrum of emotions, so they learn to imitate social cues and become great actors, basically. That was a really wonderful kernel that I kind of held to, amongst other amazing things about sociopaths, like a lack of empathy. I am proud to say that I feel like I have a lot of empathy, but I’m a very, very emotional person, and to play someone who isn’t that was kind of exciting and challenging in a great way for me.

When he was in the car and trying to channel crying and how he should feel, it was very unnerving in the best way. I want to talk about Episode 5 a little bit because that was a very brutal kill, and I want to know how choreographed that scene was in the motel. What was it like when you read it, and then how was it when you filmed it?

BARTLETT: There’s a technical aspect. You want to make sure that everyone feels safe and comfortable and all that kind of stuff. It’s disturbing shit. Because we’re seeing the cameras and stuff, to a certain extent, you can objectify it. But that’s when the sociopathic stuff came in. He doesn’t feel the things that I would feel here. So, what would that be like? He’s just getting the job done. The stuff is here that I’m going to use to get the job done. There is some sort of glee in it for him, which was enjoyable to imagine. It’s horrible, but it’s all play, so we had a lot of fun with it. The way into that brutal stuff that I find personally hard to watch [laughs]… It was helpful to have that sociopathic thing of, “Well, this person doesn’t actually respond like most people would.” That’s how sociopaths and psychopaths do this stuff. They don’t have that sort of capacity in their being to feel empathy or feel the things that most of us would.

Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed airs new episodes Wednesdays on Apple TV.

Release Date

May 19, 2026

Network

Apple TV

Showrunner

David Rosen

Directors

Damon Thomas, Alethea Jones

Writers

David Rosen