Perry Actor Joins Cast of NBC/Peacock's Devil in Disguise: John Wayne Gacy
- Visit Perry
- Oct 1, 2025
- 3 min read
Updated: Oct 2, 2025
How a Perry High Grad Landed a Role in a National TV Series
When Perry native Levi Shelton was 11, his grandfather took him to see a play at Perry Players. He left the theatre changed. Someone noticed him in the audience and asked if he would like to be in the show. He said no, but soon enough, he found himself on stage anyway—first in the background, and later with bigger roles at Perry High School Theatre for the Performing Arts, where he also competed in One-Act Plays.
Levi remembers the moment he first felt what actors often talk about: losing yourself in character. "It felt magical," he says. That pursuit of authenticity would drive him forward, first under the guidance of Perry High's drama director, who taught him the Meisner Technique, then later in college, and on film sets.
Theatre, he believes, is more than entertainment. "It gives a community culture and brings people together." That belief deepened when he played Christopher Boone, a teenager with autism, in The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. After his performance, a mother approached him to share that her son had autism and was bullied by his sister. She told Levi that her daughter had cried throughout the play—likely because she saw how her actions were hurting her brother. Levi says this was the first time he felt like something he made had affected someone for the better. He felt a real human connection.
Of course, not all moments were transcendent. During Mary Poppins at Perry Players, Levi broke one of the golden rules of theatre: Never Run Backstage. In the rush of a costume change, he tripped in the dark, punctured four holes in his lip from his braces, and missed the rest of the show. He laughs about it now, saying, "I thought I was above that."
After high school, Levi studied at SCAD. He also acted in indie films and pieced together demo reels. Eventually, he landed both a manager and an agent in Los Angeles—a stroke of luck, he admits, that many actors never get. His fifth audition for them was for Peacock's upcoming series, Devil in Disguise: John Wayne Gacy, premiering on October 16. Levi plays John Szyc, one of Gacy's victims.
The series is deliberately different from the usual true-crime treatment. It avoids showing the murders on-screen, instead using flashbacks to tell the victims' stories. "It doesn't glorify the killer," Levi says.
Acting for a camera has reshaped his craft. On stage, he had to be "larger than life." On film, he learned to trust the smallest movements—even the flicker of his eyes. What once made him feel awkward became his strength. "It's most impressive to just exist with a camera on you. It's beautiful that film allows you to be ugly," he says.
Over the summer, Shelton spent time back in Perry- where he poured coffee at Morning By Morning downtown, walked Evergreen Cemetery, spent hours at Bodega Brew, and met friends at Oliver Perry's. He loves Perry's walkability, something he points out that other towns lack. Recently, he moved to Atlanta, where he can work while staying close to home.
Once, in a Canadian bookstore with friends, he bumped into one of the lead actors in the series. They chatted about the future. Levi admitted he didn't know what was next. The life of an actor is uncertain. "A lot of nothing between periods of extreme something," he says. There are weeks of auditions, followed by a burst of intensity with incredible work sessions on set, and then suddenly it stops. Until the next project.
But for now, he's got his hometown Perry behind him, a debut on a national streaming platform ahead, and the hope of one day sharing the screen with his best friend. Not bad for the kid who once said he'd never get on stage.
Learn more about the series Devil In Disguise: John Wayne Gacy at this link.
See Vanity Fair's First Look Photos of the series at this link.
Be sure to tune in on Thursday, October 16, on the NBC/Peacock network.
