My maternal grandma was a tough, tough lady and a stern woman, who lost her husband young and raised six kids by herself. She lived in a mining community in Upstate New York and ran a boarding house for miners. She took care of an entire family and miners who lived in the house as well.
Before I accept a job, I always talk to folks about it. Why does he kill these 22 people? If they say, What difference does it make? I know we have nothing more to talk about. A character has to be three-dimensional.