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Tag: interview
‘American Crime Story: Versace’: Listen to the Chilling Track ‘Donatella’ From ‘Mr. Robot’ Composer Mac Quayle — Exclusive
Of all the characters in “The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story,” Donatella Versace doesn’t have the most screentime. But like Penelope Cruz’s distinct portrayal, the score of the FX series lets her linger throughout the story.
“Versace” composer Mac Quayle has effectively used digital scores in other TV series, most notably in “Mr. Robot.” For one of the central Donatella compositions, Quayle makes a haunting mix of electronic hums, distant keys and a surprising crescendo to some haunting strings. It’s a blending of digital and tactile that mirrors the way the rest of this season’s unconventional timeline blends past and future.
“After I had written the score to the first episode I realized the music was essentially Giorgio Moroder scoring ‘Silence of the Lambs’ in an Italian Villa,” Quayle told IndieWire. “From the moment we meet Donatella Versace she is grieving the loss of her brother, and so I wanted her theme to embody that deep sadness.”
For a series working backwards from a tragedy through two men’s individual backstories, the “Versace” score has helped root the emotion in whenever the show’s “present” happens to be. Sometimes it’s in a dreamlike prelude to a nightmare, other times it’s in a sister mourning the loss of a brother with whom she had a contentious, complicated relationship.
The full soundtrack album for “The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story” will be available on Friday, March 16 in advance of next Wednesday’s finale.
‘American Crime Story’ star Darren Criss on his role as serial killer Andrew Cunanan | Source
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“Creator/Destroyer” with Matt Bomer
Joanna Robinson and Richard Lawson discuss “Creator/Destroyer,” the penultimate episode of The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story, including additional bonus segments with lead actor Darren Criss. This week’s featured interview is director and frequent Ryan Murphy collaborator Matt Bomer who discusses stepping behind the camera for his directorial debut.
ACS: Versace’s Darren Criss on Playing a Serial Killer and Passing As White
“Yo, man, Darren,” Darren Criss says by way of introduction at the Television Critics Association tour in Pasadena, where he was doing press for his show, American Crime Story: The Assassination of Gianni Versace, back in January. Despite the title, Criss is the real lead of the FX crime anthology as Andrew Cunanan, the serial killer who murdered at least five people, ending with the famed Italian designer in 1997. It’s a drastic role reversal for Criss, who was best known as the shiny, bright-eyed crooner of the Warblers in Ryan Murphy’s high-school-musical show Glee, and it’s a challenge he relishes. We spoke about how playing Cunanan challenges the limits of empathy, creating false guises, and whether he identifies as Asian-American.
Andrew Cunanan must be a fascinating character to play because he was a changeling. He always wanted to create different personas, different backstories. Is that something that resonated with you as an actor?
Well, first of all, we all do it to different extremes. He’s at the extremist end of that spectrum, but we all curate our lives within the realms of acceptable protocol. You’re a different person to your parents than you are to your lover, to your teachers, to your authorities, to your colleagues. His was much more heightened and followed more sociopathic tendencies because he could. It was possible. You couldn’t get away with that now. Social media and everything, Andrew Silva in one place, Andrew Cunanan in another. You’d be called out relatively quickly. Another thing I think is important to remember, and this is coming as a cis straight guy talking about this, but what’s so interesting about his multiple identities is that it was sort of inadvertently encouraged by the gay community which has traditionally dealt with multiple identities.
Or secret lives.
Secret identities, secret lives. But that’s part of the journey of a young gay man or a gay woman, and how you can reidentify yourself through your life. That’s a big part of how to relate to each other and how to support each other. And so, when you have that also being a part of his world, where suddenly, he can be this person or that person, and another person and another person, and they understand why and they say, “Oh, you know, that’s Andrew.” He would play up his sexuality when convenient or downplay it when it was dangerous, which was something a lot of people around him could relate to., and wouldn’t call him out on because this is something they’re also dealing with. We’re getting to a different point here. You were talking about relating to this as an actor.
As an actor, I compartmentalize things. I can put this person in this box, and that one, and it doesn’t affect my life. And in a way that’s sort of sociopathic behavior. People go, “Does it come home with you?” And I go, “No, of course not.” If it did, I wouldn’t be an actor. I can check out. It’s not part of me. It’s somewhere else. And then you go, “Geez, what else does Darren do this for?” But it’s true. And that’s something Andrew could do.
What else does Darren do that for?
I don’t know! Probably suppressing other things I don’t want to think or talk about. Who knows, it’s something we all do. But I’m in the business of empathy. That is my job. I’m in the business of finding as many common denominators with myself to another person, which is probably the biggest difference between me and Andrew. Whereas I try and be like other people and see the best in people, Andrew was other people, because he hated himself and didn’t want to be who he was. So, even though we were putting on the same masks, we had very different reasons for doing it.
ACS: Versace’s Darren Criss on Playing a Serial Killer and Passing As White
‘Assassination of Gianni Versace’: Matt Bomer on directing that pivotal origin episode
Tonight’s episode of The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story is notable for giving viewers the origin story of Andrew Cunanan’s childhood and family, particularly his abusive father, Modesto (a terrifying Jon Jon Briones). But it also marks the directorial debut of actor Matt Bomer.
The star, who’s worked with executive producer Ryan Murphy previously on Glee, American Horror Story, and The Normal Heart, talked to EW about being assigned this pivotal hour and his future directing hopes.
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: How did this happen? Did you mention this to Ryan?
MATT BOMER: I’d worked with Ryan obviously multiple times before. He knew I always came in with excessive reams of research and homework and overly fastidious preparation. He mentioned to me that I should direct at some point, and I didn’t think much of it at the time. I think he knew I needed to be creatively re-inspired and reinvigorated. He called me in December and said, “Hey, I want you to direct!” I was thinking maybe it will be American Horror Story: Cult. When he said, “I want you to direct on Versace,” I promptly fell out, passed out, and when I regained consciousness I was not sane enough to say no, I said yes. It was really the best thing that’s happened to me in a long time.It was like a four-and-a-half-month process for me. I read over 3,000 pages of books on directing. I did an intensive at the DGA. I shadowed two of the directors on the show and met with every film and episodic director friend of mine I could to just be a sponge. I met with editors. I knew the level of work that was going to be going on, and I wanted to be able to come and really be able to play on that level.
Did you get to pick your episode?
No, I was shadowing and kind of waiting in the wings. There was a time when it was going to be maybe the Miglin episode, and then there was a time it was going to be the episode that aired this week. I’m grateful I got the episode I did. It’s such a psychological episode, and we wanted to do it in a Sidney Lumet-esque style. There are some fancy camera moves in it, but it’s really mostly about these relationships and these character dynamics. And this great central question of what makes one person a creator and one person a killer? The answer being hard work. Andrew is someone who’s been told by his family that he’s special and exceptional, and you’d think he’d be the one to rise and succeed. Gianni is being bullied in school and has a loving mother who says you have to work to make your dreams come true. Her work ethic that she instilled in him, plus his art, is really what created the label of Versace.You played Darren Criss’ brother on Glee. How was it working with him in this regard?
I knew Darren was a tremendous artist and had lots of stories inside of him. I was lucky enough to be in the front row, eating popcorn, watching this performance from very early on. I was watching this performance really since they got to L.A. From the first frame I saw him, I was like, “Whoa. This guy has tapped into something that is electric and spontaneous.” There are moments where Darren is so good, he can be silly and then they’re calling “rolling” and he’s right there. I would look at his face and it was like he had been possessed by this soul. It was really creepy to see and amazing to watch and inspiring.It’s not a traditional narrative structure. It must have been hard to tell this story backwards.
I had been on set and so immersed in the story for so long that it wasn’t something I had to put a ton of thought into just because I was so entrenched in the story already. I was lucky to get this episode because it’s almost a standalone. So much of this was can we get the audience to sympathize with a monster and understand that he was this child who was inured to violence very early. He had this snake oil salesman of a father who was teaching him that it’s not enough to be smart, you have to fit in. You’re special! Here’s the master bedroom. He basically had this family hostage emotionally, physically, sexually. So we got to watch that all play out on him and then meet him when he’s in high school.I wanted it all to build up to that great Heart of Darkness/Apocalypse Now kind of confrontation that they have at the very end. That was kind of our inspiration for that. We wanted to have that final confrontation where you got the feeling if he just lashed out at his dad or punched him or killed him, he wouldn’t have killed anybody else. But because of that moment he turned inward, it later gets expressed outward for other people. We’re all responsible for the choices we make and the actions we take, but Andrew was a victim. We wanted the people to say, “Can I on some level sympathize with a monster?”
Was that in Maureen Orth’s book, that Andrew went to Manila to see his dad?
He did go to Manila and he did see his father one last time. Some of the dialogue and circumstances are imagined, but that’s what makes [Versace writer] Tom Rob Smith so brilliant, and they had all kinds of research going on outside the novel.Jon Jon Briones as Modesto Cunanan is incredible. Did you have input in casting him?
Yes, it’s owed to a lot of people. I had been asked to direct before on things I was acting in, but I didn’t want that half-assed first experience directing. I wanted the whole experience. I wanted to be in every casting session I could. I wanted to be on location scouts, design meetings. It’s a real testament to Ryan Murphy, but Jon Jon had been brought to my intention very early on by Darren and Tom Rob Smith, who had both seen him in as the Engineer on Broadway in Miss Saigon. So I immediately reached out to Ryan and the producers and said, “We have to make sure we get this guy on tape.” He gave a kick-ass audition. This is a guy who has been doing mostly Miss Saigon for mostly the last 20-something years, but who was ready for this opportunity. Ryan is willing to take risks on people in order to serve the story. He’s done it for me in the past. This was that moment. My favorite part of this experience was getting to work with Jon Jon and getting to see somebody rise to the occasion.In lesser hands, that performance would be broad and not so gray. But it’s so shaded.
I saw him as Willy Loman. This is somebody who comes from the rural Philippines and has to pull himself up by the bootstraps. He really had to make his own way. It’s that middle-class thing of you work and work to make to that higher class. What do you sacrifice in the process in terms of your morals and your ethics? It’s a very American, human, relatable story.Where did Darren’s dance come from at the high school party? Was that improvised?
It was largely improvised. They also had a dance instructor there. We were so excited about that moment and that reveal. It was Ryan’s idea to have “Whip It,” which is such a specific beat and not the easiest thing to dance to. Darren just had a ball with it. In my original cut, it ended with him and Annaleigh Ashford on the dance floor and her falling into a full split.We shot three different endings to this episode, and one of them was the two of them. But one of my favorite scenes to shoot was them by that fire, and you see that fire of their initial romance and coming together.
What do you want people to take away from your episode?
I think we discover in this episode that Andrew was also a victim. Like I said, we’re responsible for the choices we make and the actions we take. But he at one point was an impressionable, open child who was inured to violence at a young age, and messaging that’s not healthy for anyone to have. The things his father says to him and does to him both as a child and when he’s older that he internalizes were a big part of getting the full, holistic picture of who he was by the time we’re in the final episode with him in Miami.Will we see more “Directed by Matt Bomer” credits?
I would love that! I had such a great time doing it. I was also really blessed because when you’re working with Ryan Murphy, you have the best people in the business around you. I know that I’m going to get to another job at some point and it’s going to be like the Real Deal Holyfield and it’s not all my friends that I’m working with. But I just loved it. It was a huge episode. The first cut was 90 minutes long. I think half the battle is just knowing, oh my gosh, I can do this. I can be given this massive script and do it on time and get it done. Hopefully there will be more stuff, but it’s got to be something that moves me.Tell me about doing The Boys in the Band on Broadway!
We start rehearsals on Good Friday. I’m so excited. Just to get to share the stage with those guys and work with Joe Mantello as a director and watch and learn. So much of my understanding of our history starts with Larry Kramer and Torch Song Trilogy. To go back another generation and understand what pre-Stonewall life was like and the fact that these guys are all cooped up in this house together because if they’re dancing in public they’ll be arrested! The stakes are so high! Society has told them that they are “other,” “less than,” and “shameful.” So there are all these misdirected emotions coming at each other in different ways, and what they really want to say is “I love you” and “We’re the same!”
‘Assassination of Gianni Versace’: Matt Bomer on directing that pivotal origin episode
‘American Crime Story: Versace’ Director Matt Bomer on Bringing Three Different Continents to Life Within L.A. City Limits
The penultimate episode of “The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story” is almost like a checklist of all the challenges a director might face in crafting an episode of TV. For Matt Bomer, that’s exactly why it made for the perfect directorial debut.
“We had two child protagonists in the first couple acts of the episode, so you’re already on child hours. We’re in three different countries, five different cities. Party scenes, trading floor scenes, a period piece,” Bomer told IndieWire. “I was so grateful to be thrown so many challenges my first time directing because I was able to tick off so many boxes of things that I don’t have to worry about any more. Half of it was just getting it done and knowing you can do it and do it on schedule.”
Known for his work in front of the camera, Bomer had other opportunities to direct before but always wanted to wait for the optimum chance to immerse himself in a project. When “American Crime Story” became a possibility, Bomer devised his own personal film school to get himself ready to meet the challenge.
“I was waiting patiently in the wings. Ryan had reached out to me back in December [2016] and asked me to direct. After I passed out and regained consciousness, I said yes and really spent four and a half months on this episode,” Bomer said. “I read over 3,000 pages of books on directing, I shadowed two different directors on the show. I sat down with film and television directors who are friends of mine who were willing to be mentors. I did an intensive at the DGA. I knew the level of artistry that was [happening] on set and I wanted to meet everyone on their level.”
Part of Bomer’s signing up for “American Crime Story” was the chance to fully commit to the task. He was on set for a month of shoots while the show was filming other episodes in the season, affording him the chance to know the full crew before he started.
“I didn’t want that partial directorial experience. I wanted to really immerse myself and approach it like any director would. I wanted to be there for all the scouts. I wanted to be in the room for all the casting. I wanted to be in all the design meetings. I didn’t want to just lean on the director of photography to get me through while I worked with actors,” Bomer said.
For an episode that meant turning L.A. into locations as wide-ranging as San Diego and the Philippines, it was an investment that paid off down the road.
“I had to find three different countries within a Los Angeles area,” Bomer said. “We had an incredible production designer in Jamie Walker McCall. She worked her magic, particularly what she did in the Baliuag shack. That final confrontation between Andrew and his father is a setpiece we talked through that she built. I think her work on that was tremendous.”
The pivotal piece in the “Creator/Destroyer” puzzle is Jon Jon Briones, who plays Andrew Cunanan’s father Modesto, a man whose pathological drive to appease his son lays the groundwork for the rest of the “Versace” saga that came before this. Briones’ reputation as a performer had preceded him on set, with “Versace” star Darren Criss and writer Tom Rob Smith both praising his legendary, long-running work as The Engineer in “Miss Saigon.” Through the audition and right up through the first day of shooting, Bomer knew they had the perfect man to play Modesto.
“We started with that move-out scene early on. He had this guy and he knew this man. We were also shooting this while he was in a Broadway show, so we had to shoot all of his stuff out in six days straight and then he had to fly back to New York,” Bomer said. “That final scene, that ‘Heart of Darkness’/’Apocalypse Now’ confrontation at the end of the episode, that was really when I went, ‘OK, this guy is sensational. He’s got this all mapped out and he knows how to do this.‘”
Building a relationship with the two performers at the heart of the episode was key. Even though Bomer didn’t come in with a predetermined directorial style, he had the advantage of having already seen what Criss was doing with Andrew Cunanan as a character before it came time to show how he got there.
“I had been witness to what Darren was doing on set and had been blown away by it from Day One. I knew how he liked to work. I think a big part of directing is when you’ve got something great, get out of the way. Just set a good frame that tells the story right, stage it right,” Bomer said. “I try to give the actors a lot of information about what the scene’s about by how I stage it. There are also times when it’s a three-page scene between two people and I go, ‘I’m not giving you anything. Let’s rehearse until we get something that’s organic and true and then we’ll shoot that.’ So there’s no one-size-fits-all. You’re always dealing with a different box of crayons, depending on which artist you’re working with in any given scene.”
That preparation meant that even the smaller moments in the episodes, ones on a much simpler scale, had the opportunity to take advantage of everyone’s shorthand.
“One of my favorite things we did was that really quick scene where he puts on the CD and he’s picking out his big reveal outfit for the party. It was a tiny little thing, but we were just vibing creatively with the camera people, with Darren. Everything was coming together at that point. I think we did it in one take,” Bomer said.
That sense of understanding came from collaborating with people that Bomer had previously worked with on other Ryan Murphy projects. Those individuals were part of every step of the “Creator/Destroyer” process, from the on-set crew to the stewards of the post process.
“I was so fortunate because when you’re working with Ryan Murphy, you’re working with the best people in the industry. I’m not talking about episodic. I’m talking about in the industry,” Bomer said. “The camera crew, the production designers. Simon Dennis, the director of photography. Alexis [Martin] Woodall, what she does in post-production, the way she tones these shows is phenomenal. My editor, Shelly Westerman, was a personal hero of mine. She did ‘Velvet Goldmine’ and worked on so many of the films that were really central to my cinematic experience as a young man.”
That editing process shines in the boardroom scenes where Modesto is essentially pitching the American dream to his employers, both before he’s hired and after his penny stock scheme has been sniffed out.
“This is Sidney Lumet-esque style, where these performers are all bringing their A-game. Shelly and I knew we wanted these scenes to live for a long time, not to be this MTV, jump-cutting thing. Stay in masters longer and not chop and chop and chop to distract,” Bomer said. “Particularly in an episode like this, it’s so psychological, you needed to have this creepy drifty feel and live in these moments that are uncomfortable and horrific and scary. Especially when you have performers operating at this level.”
Bomer said he’s back to being patient about any future directing opportunities, but having this finished and released to the world is the first step in keeping those future options open.
“It was all a learning process, but I feel like with anything, discipline can give you freedom. I was so overly prepared because I had the time and the luxury to be overly prepared. The first couple days we finished a bit early and I was able to take some deep breaths,” Bomer said. “I know that there will be a time when I am directing and I’m having to deal with some much harsher realities that you don’t have to deal with when you’re working for Ryan Murphy television. The best thing this gave me was this sense that I can do it.”
The Assassination of Versace’s Jon Jon Briones Explains How He Transformed Into Andrew Cunanan’s Father Pete
If there’s one constant in the thrilling The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story, it’s unpredictability; from the very title itself, which obscures the fact that the series is really about Andrew Cunanan, to theseriousness given to pop culture icon Donatella Versace, Ryan Murphy’s series keeps the surprises coming. That’s true of the penultimate episode “Creator, Destroyer” too, which offers up one of the strongest performances not from Darren Criss but from Jon Jon Briones, who plays Andrew’s father Modesto “Pete” Cunanan. Briones arrives late to the show, but leaves a lasting, chilling impression as Andrew’s disciplinarian dad obsessed with success — and Andrew.
A native of the Philippines, Briones was part of the original London run of Miss Saigon in 1989, and went onto reprise his role in various productions of the work including a West End revival. He became a U.S. citizen in 2010 — a path he shares in common with Pete, who served in the Navy and became a stockbroker. As depicted in Versace, Pete Cunanan worked slavishly to give his children the advantages he didn’t have, even if a sense of entitlement and eventually contempt warped his intentions and turned him into a con artist. Briones gives Pete a sense of combustible intensity imbued with danger and though Pete has just now been introduced in series, Briones perfectly encapsulates the portrait of Pete painted in Vulgar Favors, from his tenderness to his insatiable drive and his propensity for outlandish lies and violence. Because of Briones, viewers go into the final episode of with a new understanding of Andrew — and perhaps a sense of unsettling empathy. TV Guide caught up with Briones over email to talk about the episode, how he got into Modesto’s mind and what he hopes people take away from his performance.
How’d you prepare for this role?
Jon Jon Briones: Research was a big part of the preparation, but it was a bit of a challenge in the beginning as there wasn’t much information on Modesto Cunanan. Fortunately my director, Matt Bomer, lent me his copy of the book Vulgar Favors by Maureen Orth, which is the book the show is based on, and I was able to read it before I began filming. It also helped that Maureen Orth and Tom Rob Smith, the screenwriter, were on set and I was able to pick their brains.What about Modesto and Andrew interested you?
Briones: Modesto was such a driven individual in his single mindedness toward the pursuit of his goals and his vision of the American Dream. He would do anything to achieve it. He envisioned it and lived in that world, which was really a fantasy as he never actually achieved it. He surrounded himself with lies and grandeur beyond his means; such a tragic and flawed character, as an actor that is so interesting to delve into and so much fun to play. [Andrew also] is such a tragic character. The way he was raised by his parents to believe that he was better than anyone, including his siblings, and that he deserved everything. He seemed to be doomed from the beginning.It’s really easy to hate Andrew up until seeing you play his father. Did you empathize with Andrew more after playing Pete?
Briones: Absolutely! We learn from our parents at an early age. They are the “sacred” voices we listen to and learn from. As Sondheim said “Careful the things you say, children will listen. Careful the things you do, children will see and learn.”You give Modesto some very singular movements, like slamming hands down on the table or slapping them together for emphasis. Where’d that come from?
Briones: I guess the key to that is understanding Modesto’s wants and how he tries to achieve them. He is very intense and it’s about him getting the attention he needs. When he’s speaking he feels people should listen and he will do what it takes to make that happen. So on set, all of these things came out organically. Modesto is definitely a man who likes a good entrance and exit.Did Modesto’s sense of discipline, his sense of aspiration resonate with your own experience as someone who immigrated from to the US?
Briones: I believe all immigrants can understand, but not necessarily agree with, Modesto’s pursuit of the American dream. I know when I was growing up in the Philippines, I thought America was this magical place where money grows on trees. I think Modesto must have thought the same thing. Then he managed to get himself to the US and realized that as an immigrant he had to work even harder than most people to achieve that dream.There’s a very eerie and sometime surreal feeling through this whole series. Did you experience that at all?
Briones: The writing is just amazing and I felt the eerie and surreal sense of it while reading the script. Even while filming there were hints of it. Some of the things I was directed to do in certain scenes seemed a little intriguing to me, but now after seeing the preceding episodes I understand the whole flow of it. I believe the eerie, surreal feel makes it even more riveting for the audience.What was it like filming the scenes depicting the Philippines? How’d that impact you?
Briones: It was cool getting to the sound stage and being shown Modesto’s house. They did an amazing job because as soon as I sat on the chair in the kitchen and they turned on the rain machine, I was transported somewhere in rural Philippines. In the middle of FOX studios, Hollywood.There has been speculation that Andrew’s’ father was abusing him. Did you have that in mind while playing him?
Briones: I did not have that in mind while playing the role. I believe that Modesto loved his son more than anything or anyone in the whole world. It might have translated into something else, but he wouldn’t have seen it that way. In his mind, he was always doing the right thing and being a loving father. He may have been delusional, but not with evil intent.What do you hope people take away from your performance?
Briones: I want people to know that Asians are good storytellers. There are a lot of us just waiting to be given the chance, just as I have been given with this role.
‘The Assassination of Gianni Versace’ Introduces the Most Influential Person in Andrew Cunanan’s Life
Tonight’s episode of The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story centered on Andrew Cunanan’s origin story. Spanning several years in Andrew’s early life, from childhood through to his late teens, “Creator/Destroyer” explores his formative relationship with his doting-yet-abusive father, Modesto “Pete” Cunanan. The elder Cunanan is played by actor Jon Jon Briones, who, in the space of just one episode, turns in one of the series’ most mesmerizing, frightening performances.
Modesto’s obsession with building a successful life in America at all costs gave him the drive to land a job at Merrill Lynch against the odds, but—as the episode portrays—also drove him to commit massive financial fraud. When he’s discovered, he flees the country, leaving his wife and children with nothing. But before all that, he dotes on Andrew to an alarming degree while ignoring his other children and openly abusing his wife, all of which fuels Andrew’s sense of entitlement and his instability.
For this week’s recap, Briones spoke to BAZAAR.com about Modesto’s psychology, the lack of complex roles for Asian actors in Hollywood, and working with Darren Criss on that extraordinary final scene.
On his astonishment when he first encountered the role:
“To tell you the truth, when I first read the script, I immediately thought ‘is this really written for an Asian actor?’ There are, truthfully, not a lot of roles for Asian actors that are written with this much complexity, or that offer such a rich story. I had to calm myself down, because I was putting a lot of pressure on myself when I first read it. This is one of the biggest, meatiest roles I’ve ever read for an Asian actor, so I felt a real responsibility to do it justice.
"Before this, I was getting offered a tiny role for a terrorist, or drug dealer, or the guy behind the counter. There’s still a lot to be done, but I’m hoping that my performance might open up some minds a little bit in Hollywood, because there are a lot of amazing actors that could have done this role, but they just don’t get the opportunities.”
On what he focused on to understand Modesto:
“What really stood out to me was that this guy is an immigrant who came from very small means and is essentially self-taught; he put himself through school and got into Merrill Lynch, back in the days when it was just Caucasian Ivy League graduates. He’s an amazing man, in many ways, but he’s also hugely flawed and delusional. His pursuit of the American Dream is so intense, and in the end his single-mindedness was his downfall.“
"I’m a father, and I can understand loving your child, but his love is like it’s on steroids. In a way, it’s like he replaced his wife with Andrew. When the family moved into a bigger house, we see him bringing Andrew in, showing him the master bedroom, instead of bringing his wife in and introducing her to it, like ‘This is our house.’ It was all about Andrew. I think it came from pure love, but in a twisted, twisted way.
"Playing the abuse was hard. I understand it, and I know where it came from for the character—he just wanted success more than anything, and more than anyone. So when he doesn’t get his way, or when it’s not how he envisioned it, the frustration is like a volcano erupting.”
“I’ve always been a big fan of Darren’s, but to act with him up close was amazing; he’s such a giving actor. We rehearsed that scene a huge amount, we walked through it— myself, Darren, Matt and the first AD [assistant director]—and blocked it out ahead of time. He let us just move around the space, feel it out, and so it was like doing a play. When we actually came to film it, there was such a flow to our movements that the emotions would just explode from us. The lighting in that scene was so surreal, too; it reminded m a little bit of that "horror” scene in Apocalypse Now between Marlon Brando and Martin Sheen.“
On Matt Bomer, who made his directorial debut with this episode:
"He is amazing. I can’t believe that this was his first directorial gig, considering his understanding of the material and his preparedness. I was grateful that he’s also an actor, because he understood the insecurities of actors. This was the biggest on-screen role that I’ve ever done, so I felt a lot of pressure to deliver, and every time we would cut Matt would come out of the monitor village to give me encouragement. Also: he’s so talented, he’s so nice, and he looks like that?!”
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