Paul Reubens may be best known for his work as the beloved Pee-wee Herman, but he had a long list of credits that made him a favorite for many. In the wake of the actor's passing at the age of 70, The Blacklist creator Jon Bokenkamp looked back at when Reubens came to the hit NBC drama (which ended after ten seasons this summer) and influenced the show and his own character of Mr. Vargas.
The Pee-wee Herman star recurred on The Blacklist across the second and third seasons as Mr. Vargas, and the character was a standout from his first episode. It wasn't always clear which side Mr. Vargas was on, and he ultimately learned just what happens when you try to betray and deceive Raymond Reddington.
Show creator Jon Bokenkamp spoke with People about working with Paul Reubens for The Blacklist, sharing that they "really created the character for Paul" and that "he was lovely enough to do it" after they came up with a "weird and exciting" idea. The idea was only the beginning, however, as Bokenkamp went on to share how the actor contributed to shaping Mr. Vargas:
Parts of it were Paul. So for example, I remember one of his concerns when we talked about him coming onto the show was that there's a lot of blood on the show. Paul said, very specifically, on our first phone call, ‘I'm a little worried about the blood. I don't love blood. I'm a little worried I could be queasy and I might pass out.' I thought he was joking. And so we said, ‘Okay. That's who this character is. This character hates blood.'
Fans of The Blacklist from the run on NBC (or streaming via a Netflix subscription) will remember that Mr. Vargas' discomfort with blood was almost immediately established as a character trait in his very first episode. The reveal added some humor to a pretty dark scene, and quickly made the Reddington/Mr. Vargas dynamic fun to watch.
Jon Bokenkamp further shared that Paul Reubens brought a cane with him to the Blacklist set in case the fake blood made him queasy, prompting the creator and writers to take "his peculiarities and worked them into the show." Bokenkamp elaborated on how Reubens contributed to the "strange look" of Mr. Vargas:
He said, 'Well, I'd like to talk about wigs because I think this guy has a strange look, and I think I have to know the wig before I can really know who he is.’ And I'm like, ‘Okay, great. Go find a wig. Let's see what we can find.' It became very specific and unusual because it was so him. It just was very organic in that way. We had written down Mr. Vargas in a way that could've been ... completely unmemorable. But because it was him and he played him in such a strange way and brought to it all these unusual little traits, it just was like, ‘Well, who else …'
Paul Reubens turned Mr. Vargas into a memorable character rather than one who fades into the background in a show full of double agents and betrayals. Fans unfortunately only got a handful of episodes with the character before his untimely end, but Jon Bokenkamp's comments about his impact on the show are a tribute to Reubens' work on the NBC drama. The Blacklist creator went even further to credit the late actor:
You're like, ‘How do we not just lean into this and embrace it?’ I definitely think he helped define what was both strange and fun about The Blacklist.
Paul Reubens' death was officially announced on July 31, following a private battle with cancer. It didn't take long for fans to start sharing stories about the Pee-wee's Big Adventure actor to pay tribute to him, and he is already remembered widely for roles in addition to Pee-wee and Mr. Vargas. In fact, he played a Batman fan-favorite among other DC roles, and there's a long list of Paul Reubens Movies and TV shows to watch (or rewatch) to celebrate his life and career.
If you want to revisit his time as Mr. Vargas on The Blacklist, you can find Season 2 and Season 3 streaming on Netflix. Our thoughts here at CinemaBlend remain with the family, friends, and loved ones of Paul Reubens in this difficult time.
