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“Imagine if he dies,� Clarke says of Murdaugh, the South Carolina lawyer found guilty of murdering his wife and their son. “People know that we’re making a series about him, so it does affect you in strange ways.�

That character buy-in has been a part of Clarke’s game plan since he started acting decades ago. He played Ted Kennedy in “Chappaquiddick,� Roger Robb in “Oppenheimer� and Rob Hall in “Everest,� among others.

“There’s something about (those projects) that forces you to work hard as an actor,� Clarke says. “If you don’t get in the ballpark, it’s laughable, and it’s a crime to even do it without the effort.�

What that means for Clarke is intensive study. For the limited series, he watched hours of video footage, read stories about the case and listened carefully when Murdaugh spoke.

“In all this trial stuff, he’s skinnier and his voice has changed and he’s off drugs. Then there’s stuff pre-that when he’s very bloated, almost constipated, and full of drugs." Clarke says. "There was one video where I found he was very heavy and bloated and his voice is just a little bit higher.�

While Clarke may have his own take on Murdaugh’s innocence, he found it’s important to relate to the man’s situation.

“I can talk myself into, ‘I’m an innocent man,’ which helps me in terms of building up that wall of deniability that he has," he says.

“Murdaugh: Death in the Family� was “fun to play, as well as exhausting,� Clarke says. “Most of the time, he’s a fun guy. But I was happy to close the book on that as well.�

Real-life stories are fascinating to do, Clarke says, even if viewers have an opinion about the way the subject is treated.

“Body movement. Voice. All those things that I learned in drama school come into play,� Clarke says. “You have to focus them in at the same point. And then you have (others) who have an opinion — and the broader community has an opinion, too — because there’s so much out there. You have to kind of expect it and inoculate yourself (against it) and accept it.�

Actor Bruno Ganz played Adolf Hitler in “Downfall� and won praise for his work. Clarke says Ganz humanized the character, even though Hitler “is one of the most monstrous figures in the last hundred years.�

That’s the kind of dedication to the craft the Australian actor hopes to be known for, as well. In the past six years, he played Grigory Potemkin in “Catherine the Great,� Jerry West in “Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty� and now, Alex Murdaugh.

“I like real-life stories,� he says. “There’s just something about them.�