Jonathan Tucker has quietly been building a varied filmography of TV and movie roles over the last 20 years, with early performances in Sleepers and The Virgin Suicides, and more recent efforts in fandom-driven shows The Black Donnellys, Parenthood, Justified, and Hannibal. He currently stars as MMA fighter Jay Kulina in the AT&T Audience Network family drama, Kingdom, and will appear as a pivotal character in Bryan Fuller‘s adaptation of Neil Gaiman‘s American Gods on Starz later this year.

During the ongoing TCA 2017, our own Christina Radish had a chance to chat with Tucker about his work on Kingdom–keep an eye out for the full interview coming soon–but also managed to sneak in a few questions about the upcoming Starz series. He praised Fuller’s strength as a collaborator and showrunner, talked about the decision to expand the American Gods story into a more in-depth exploration of its mythology, and how he filmed his scenes in a state penitentiary alongside real prisoners on Death Row. Some spoilers follow, but we’ll give you a heads up in advance.

Here’s what Tucker had to say about Fuller’s style as a showrunner, as compared to other fine folks he’s worked with over the years:

Bryan Fuller has been a wonderful collaborator. (Kingdom showrunner) Byron [Balasco] is like that, and so is (Justified showrunner) Graham Yost. These three showrunners are unique, in the sense that they don’t operate from a place of fear. They’re entirely confident in their own skills, and they not only allow, but are eager and they support people coming in and contributing their truest selves as artists. That gives you incredible leeway. That gives you the ability to take a risk.

Fuller & Co. are going to need that confidence and bravery if their plan to use the book to launch into more original story is going to pay off. Here are Tucker’s thoughts on that approach: