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'Watchmen' star Tim Blake Nelson says his character Looking Glass associates relationships with catastrophe because of his trauma

Tim Blake Nelson, who plays the masked cop Looking Glass / Wade Tillman on the show, gave an interview recently where he talked about how his character uses his role as a member of law enforcement not just as a means of promoting justice but also as a way of hiding from the horrors of the world.

Within the world of comic book stories, there are very few that can stand on par with Alan Moore's 'Watchmen'. Damon Lindelof's television adaptation of the legendary graphic novel really brings out just how messed up this world and all the characters in it really are. 

Tim Blake Nelson, who plays the masked cop Looking Glass/Wade Tillman on the show, gave an interview recently where he talked about how his character uses his role as a member of law enforcement not just as a means of promoting justice but also as a way of hiding from the horrors of the world. In 'Watchmen' Episode 5, we saw exactly what Nelson means by this as the show revealed Wade's tragic backstory and the fact that he was deeply traumatized by the squid attack of 11/02. 

"He'll forever associate meaningful relationships -- and the trust that goes along with meaningful relationships, not to mention his sexual impulses -- with catastrophe," Nelson told GQ, according to Comicbook. "And he spent his life, now, getting over that. So to me, he gets into law enforcement as a way not only to promote justice, but also as a way to hide inside of a structure, a code, and, eventually, a mask."

Nelson also spoke about the thing he loves most about the show. It seems the actor was particularly interested in the show because of how, for a superhero show, it doesn't focus much on superheroes.

"The one thing I love the most about Watchmen is that while it is based on a graphic novel/comic, and it has superhero element, particularly with Dr. Manhattan," Nelson explained. "Really, Watchmen is about vigilantism and it’s about justice. It’s about human frailty called revenge and how that is misinterpreted as a strength.”

“The thing that Damon (Lindelof) is examining, in the show Watchmen, is what revenge can allow for,” he added. “Not just in the vengeful person, but in the tit for tat response to revenge. How revenge and vigilantism build on themselves. Then, finally, what it brings out in someone to wear a mask.”

'Watchmen' Season 1 Episode 7 will air on HBO on December 1.