For many years Jeff Daniels was known for his film roles in movies like “Dumb and Dumber,” “The Squid and the Whale,” “Fly Away Home” and “Pleasantville.” But all that changed because of the late actor James Gandolfini.
“Jim Gandolfini made it happen,” says Daniels. "’The Sopranos’ (in which Gandolfini starred) changed television, as did HBO, Showtime, Netflix, Amazon. All of a sudden, you've got all these other places to go ... It's not TV versus movies.”
Television used to be regarded as an inferior art, says Daniels. “Back in the days of Redford and Hoffman and De Niro, you didn't lower yourself (to TV). And I've always done TV. I thought that's where I'd end up. I never thought I'd last in the movies. And then to get to do things like ‘Newsroom’ and ‘Looming Tower,’ with Bill Camp, who went on to do ‘Queen’s Gambit.’ I don't know that Bill or I would get the roles that we would get if it weren't for places like Showtime and others. That's where all the writers went.”
As the demand for original material increased with cable and all the new streamers on board, writers did flee to television. One of those is Dan Futterman, a former actor who’s known for his award-winning screenplay for the movie, “Capote.” Futterman has transposed his writing talents to the new Showtime series, “American Rust,” based on Philipp Meyer's novel and starring Daniels.
TV is far less indulgent than movies, Daniels continues. “Television doesn't allow you to do 10 takes so you can feel good and warmed up,” he says.
“Maybe a big budget movie where they're wasting money, you can do that. NOT in a Clint Eastwood movie. In television, you get one or two takes. You can either be scared of that and fight it, or you can figure out a way to embrace it. And so ‘Newsroom’ taught me: know it, and know what you're going to do with it, and then be open to what your partner is going to do, and then react.”
Television offers the actor far more breadth, he thinks. “Yeah, maybe you have to do it more quickly. And we've developed an acting style on ‘American Rust’ that embraces that versus being frightened of it. I think it's great. I think it's the Wild West, and it's led by the writers. And I couldn't be happier, because it has kept me in this business, being able to challenge myself like I've been able to from ‘Newsroom’ on. And that happens to be because of the influx of cable networks that want writing, want story.”
In “American Rust” Daniels plays a police chief in a small decaying town in the Rust Belt. He’s torn between his duty as a cop and his feelings for a woman whose son might be implicated in a crime.
“A lot of what we're going for in this is real people, they’re good and they’re bad, they’re strong and they’re weak,” he says. “Just like people in real life. This is less of a Hollywood-polished version of southwest Pennsylvania and more of this cast trying to blend in and become one of them.”
Daniels himself is one of them. He grew up in a small town and knows the turf. “I grew up working class. I worked at my dad's lumber company. I drove a truck during the summers. I unloaded stuff,” he says.
“That's what I did. And I knew these guys. I am one of these guys. I am from a small town. And I know how this kind of isolates you, that kind of provincial ‘This is our whole world. We know there's another world out there, but this is the only one we live in and care about,’” he explains.
“So, I knew that kind of claustrophobic kind of small-town thing. And I knew that sometimes these folks are considered less, inferior, not as smart as those on the coasts. And, you know, we feel it.
“I know I did as a young actor going to New York with a chip on my shoulder, going ‘Well, I'll show the guys from Juilliard and drama school and RADA. I'll show them!’ And we feel that. So I knew these guys.”
Daniels confides that often the secret to a good performance is the ability to lose your ego and to become the character you're playing.
“I think a lot of what we did on ‘American Rust’ — everybody did — was take the mirror down. And a lot of actors in a lot of movies — you certainly go on TCM (Turner Classic Movies) and watch it. They're all acting — (well) not all. But they're acting in front of a mirror. It's ‘me, me, me, me.’ And half the performance is in the other actor.”
Non-subscribers to Showtime can see the premiere episode of “American Rust” free on streaming platforms and on demand when it premieres Sunday.
Selena Gomez and her crazy uncles
Selena Gomez finds herself co-starring with two of the most famous comics of all time, Steve Martin and Martin Short, in the new series, “Only Murders in the Building” streaming on Hulu.
“I was very nervous, to be honest,” she admits, “because I didn’t know what to expect. Because sometimes I find that comedy people can sometimes be a little bit distant. And so I didn’t know what I was getting myself into. And now I have these two crazy uncles in my life that basically give me boy-advice and I sing rap songs to them.”
Gomez, 29, is best known for her Disney-produced series, “The Wizards of Waverly Place.” “I signed my life away to Disney at a very young age,” she says.
“So, I didn’t know exactly what I was doing ... I was just riding around on set and now I just — I feel like a sponge, and I soak up all the wisdom that I can. It’s really nice to be back on TV. And it’s nice to be cast as my actual age, which never happens.”
She says she’s duly impressed by the two comedians. “How they lead a set is so commendable. They are so humble and they are kind. And they are there till the very end, and they are just really — they've set such an example for me,” she says.
“They’ve been doing this longer than I’ve been alive, and if anything, I would be so lucky to have a career that lasted that long ... I love the way they talk to people. I love the way that they just come to set and make everybody feel good and that makes me want to be that and do that more. Plus, I’m just so lucky. I just sit down and laugh all day.”
Steve Martin jokes that he and Short could barely make it to their showbiz trailers because of the crush of paparazzi. “We actually had to throw Selena out there so we could get to our trailers,” he says.
“And for some reason, the paparazzi stayed with her and we got away,” adds Short. “We even turned to the paparazzi and said, ‘We're leaving!’ They didn't seem to care.”
'Doogie' gets tropical reboot
When TV creators are short of ideas, they resort to a reboot of something that was successful in the past. Disney+ is doing just that with its new “Doogie Kamealoha, M.D.” premiering Wednesday.
Some may remember the hit series, “Doogie Howser, M.D.” which aired for four years and was about a teenage genius who was also a physician. Neil Patrick Harris played the adolescent MD.
This time Doogie is being played by Peyton Elizabeth Lee formerly of Disney’s “Andi Mack,” and the series is set in tropical Hawaii.
“When I first got the audition for the show, I was not personally familiar with the original ‘Doogie Howser,’” says Lee. “I mean, I think I had heard some parent references about it, but I wasn't familiar with it because it was just a little before my time. But right when I got the audition, I remember my parents being so excited because they loved the show. And so I had to sit down and start watching it immediately. And it was kind of cool because I was discovering the original as we were developing our reimagining of it sort of simultaneously, which was really fun for me.”
ABC (also owned by Disney) is rebooting “The Wonder Years” for the ABC network, set to premiere Sept. 22. Only this time it’s a Black family and Dule Hill (“Psycho”) plays the dad.
“Who didn't know Kevin Arnold?” he asks. “But I will say, also, who didn't have a crush on Winnie Cooper? I mean, the show was great. It really was something that in the time that I was growing up was a part of the conversation. Like, you all looked forward to seeing ‘The Wonder Years.’”
Daniel Stern served as narrator of the original series. Don Cheadle will take on that role this time.
Underworld saga explores the Irish 'Mafia'
You’d think that organized crime would be the same the world over. Not so says Peter McKenna, creator of the new Irish underworld saga, “Kin,” premiering on AMC+ Thursday.
“It's a slightly different model,” he says. “Irish people have a very unique relationship with gangland ... It's where in Ireland, we had a major criminal arrested last week and it's been on the front pages: where he was arrested, what he was eating in Spain, the kind of clothes he was wearing.
“Two weeks or three weeks ago, two criminals who were under arrest, went into town and had a cup of tea. And that was on the front page of the papers of them walking through sunny Dublin, smiling, drinking tea ...
“So we treat them a bit like reality stars, and we have this obsession with them,” he says. “And I suppose that’s what really interested me in this world. What’s it like to be this family in this world where you’re almost like mini-celebrities, but you’re also criminals, and you have all the dynamics of a family?’
Dubliner Aidan Gillen co-stars in the series. Known for his role as Littlefinger in “Game of Thrones,” the actor tells me he relishes pretending to be other people. “I like being in make-believe situations. I used to be a lot shyer than I am, so I used to be quite inarticulate and shy and not able to talk to people,” he says.
“So I started acting at a very young age when I was about 13, 14. I went into a youth theater group in Dublin, and I became really attracted to this idea where the situations were artificial. The dialogue was written by somebody else, but you're put into these intense situations with people that you don’t really know — but you get to know each other really fast — and all the work is done for you, but you still get the emotional payoff.”
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