Prime Video’s Cruel Intentions follows the students of Manchester College, a prestigious school that turns young aristocrats into the future leaders of America, whether they’re qualified or not. In this cutthroat academy, students are either manipulative sociopaths, their hapless pawns, or their unfortunate victims. The series is based on the 1999 film of the same name, as well as the original source material, the 1782 novel, Les Liaisons Dangereuses.
Two of the more sympathetic students in the new Cruel Intentions story are Scott and Blaise, played by Khobe Clarke and John Kim, respectively. Scott is a good-natured but helplessly naive student who becomes president of the frat house through no effort of his own, while Blaise acts as his handler, ostensibly serving as Scott’s right-hand man while manipulating him to his own ends.
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ScreenRant interviewed Clarke and Kim about their work on Cruel Intentions. They discussed playing characters that are comparatively less duplicitous than the rest of the class: while other students are sexually manipulating their own step-siblings, Scott is just trying to play lacrosse and work through his homosexual desires. There’s an irony in the show’s view of Scott’s coming-out story, as something that would be seen as controversial on most other shows is almost passe when compared to the other goings-on at Manchester College. Kim spoke about his character’s arc comes to a head in the final episode, in one of the series’ very best (and most surprising) scenes.
Cruel Intentions’ Khobe Clarke & John Kim On Scott’s Journey Of Sexual Discovery
“Scott is this lovely breath of fresh air amidst a very scandalous ensemble of narcissists.”
Screen Rant: Hello boys! Boy, after talking to everyone, you know, involved in the show and watching the whole show in an evening, I woke up at midnight and watched the whole thing.
Khobe Clarke: Really? This morning?
John Kim: Appreciate that! You binged it? You’re my hero.
Khobe Clarke: Yeah, you’re mine too!
Khobe, those duplicitous step-siblings have these schemes and machinations, and you’re just trying to play sports and figure out your sexuality.
Khobe Clarke: Yeah, man! Scott is this lovely breath of fresh air amidst a very scandalous ensemble of narcissists. So it was fun. You know, everyone came to work with these heavy sides with a lot of, you know, their cruel intentions behind, you know, their set actions during the day. And Scott was cradling a lacrosse ball, kissing John or eating hot dogs.
John, your performance brings that arc together in such a fantastic way that I won’t spoil, but that scene in the last episode with the two of you and the Congressman [Jon Tenney] knocked me out.
Khobe Clarke: Doesn’t he crush that? Jon Tenney is the best!
John Kim: The best! I had the privilege of working with [Khobe] all season, and then to bring Jon Tenney into that dynamic, I didn’t have to do much. They gave me everything I needed and you see that intensity on screen without spoiling anything.
John, there’s a degree of duplicitousness almost by nature, but your character is so desperate because he doesn’t come from money the way everyone else does, or at least he doesn’t have it right this second.
John Kim: Right. It’s such a question of, how far would you go to get what you want without paying attention to the situation at hand. And I think he makes things harder for himself, purely based on ambition. And blind ambition, if you will. And I think he feels some of the consequence of that as you sort of go through each episode. Yeah.
Khobe Clarke & John Kim On Being The Main “Ship” Of Cruel Intentions
“I cheer so greatly for Scott and Blaise to figure each other out and hopefully make amends.”
Your characters are the most empathetic figures in the show. We’re actually rooting for you guys, whereas we kind of just want to see the other characters do the most horrific things to each other.
Khobe Clarke: Thanks, Zak! I hope people agree with you. I know I cheer so greatly for Scott and Blaise to figure each other out and hopefully make amends and resolve everything. Yeah, I mean, it was such a, it was so easy to play across John and the development of that friendship, it was a joy.
John Kim: Yeah, hopefully they ship it! I don’t know if shipping is still a thing.
Oh yeah, you’re definitely the main ship on the show.
John Kim: Oh, wow. Okay!
Khobe Clarke: And he just finished it!
John Kim: I feel good about myself now!
Khobe Clarke: You’re a mad man, Zak!
John Kim: Thank you, Zak!
As Scott, you have the best malapropisms.
Khobe Clarke: Your vocabulary is off the charts.
Those Archie Bunkerisms, they become so endearing as it goes on that you kind of go from this like “dumb guy” to really an endearing figure. Tell me about just being such a sweetie!
Khobe Clarke: Oh yeah, thanks! A lot of Scott’s characteristics are things that I would like to do more of, myself. I think he is such a lovely person to his core. He’s very sheltered and kind of saved from a lot of the world’s adversities. So I think, with his humor, it was a challenge because Scott, he’s got to believe everything he’s saying. So as an actor, I do, too. So it was a bit of a challenge to provide such sincerity to kind of dumb punchlines, if you will.
More About Cruel Intentions Season 1
Cruel Intentions follows the elite students of Manchester College, a Washington, D.C.-adjacent university, where reputation means everything, fraternities and sororities are the gold standard, and two ruthless step-siblings, Caroline Merteuil and Lucien Belmont, will do anything to stay on top of the cutthroat social hierarchy. After a brutal hazing incident threatens the entire Greek Life system, they’ll do whatever is necessary to preserve their power and reputation – even if that means seducing Annie Grover, the daughter of the Vice President of the United States. Hearts will be broken, loyalties will be tested, and secrets will be revealed in this modern-day royal court that is Manchester College.
Check out our other Cruel Intentions interviews here:
All episodes of
Cruel Intentions
season 1 are now streaming on Prime Video.
Source: Screen Rant Plus
Two ambitious step-siblings at a prestigious Washington, D.C. college will stop at nothing to keep their social standing. After a hazing scandal threatens their control, they resort to extreme tactics, including seducing the vice president’s daughter, to safeguard their reputation and influence.
- Cast
- Sarah Catherine Hook , Zac Burgess , Sara Silva , Khobe Clarke , John Harlan Kim , Brooke Lena Johnson , Sean Patrick Thomas , Savannah Lee Smith
- Character(s)
- Caroline , Lucien , CeCe , Scott , Blaise , Beatrice , Professor Chadwick
- Release Date
- November 21, 2024
- Seasons
- 1
- Network
- Prime Video
- Producers
- Pavun Shetty , Neal H. Moritz , Roger Kumble , Sara Goodman