I like to put a little spin on traditional styles as I see them now, probably somewhat inspired by my current job on ‘Boardwalk Empire.’
There’s a different kind of comfort that comes from knowing that you are putting your best foot forward. It’s called psychological comfort. Look at a picture of the Coney Island boardwalk in 1925. Men were in full-on three-piece suits, hats. They may have only had one suit. But they pressed it. They made it look as good as possible.
One of the nicest things I ever read about our show was that a critic felt ‘Boardwalk Empire’ could be the beginning of the blur between television and cinema, because the production values are so high and the storytelling is so compelling.
I started with the book ‘Boardwalk Empire’ and then immersed myself in the history of Atlantic City, World War I, the temperance movement, Prohibition, pop culture. I even read the news and magazines of the period just to soak in it. That was before I even started thinking of the story.
I think that ‘Vinyl”s faster-paced. I think ‘Boardwalk’ was much more luxurious in its storytelling.
I’m addicted to ‘Scandal.’ Joe Morton is the devil, and I love him. I am addicted to ‘Boardwalk Empire.’ Jeffrey Wright is the devil, and I love him.
There’s nothing routine about ‘Boardwalk Empire.’ It’s like being in some secret society where they call you up and tell you where to go: ‘Meet us at the corner of such and so.’
‘Boardwalk’ has kind of exposed me to a different demographic. And it upped my skills in terms of the speed with which I can prep a scene, and I’m excited to apply that.
‘Boardwalk’ begins literally on the first day of Prohibition, which I think was a wonderful way to start – to have the story kind of come out of this massive historical phenomenon. And the more I researched the ’20s, the more I discovered just how interesting it was.
I love an arcade. I love a boardwalk game. But I also love a rollercoaster. Though I think the rollercoaster love comes from the fact that it took a really long time for me to reach the height requirement, so I promised myself very early on that when I reach that, I will not take it for granted.
We must take down the carnies. I think we need to start a campaign to defeat their scamming ways. I never win the boardwalk basketball game.
In terms of preparation, if there’s some historical context that’s needed, I do like to read a lot. Working on Joe Kennedy for ‘Boardwalk,’ I read a couple of biographies on him. It’s nice to have a broader context of the man outside of where the show is coming from.
When I walk down the boardwalk, people stop me and say, ‘Oh, your house is the one that glows.’
I remember riding my bike down the boardwalk with nowhere to go and looking at the girls. It was really innocent.
Sometimes I like to watch TV, though I never get to watch any of the shows in real time. I’m a fan of ‘Downton Abbey,’ ‘Boardwalk Empire,’ and ‘Boss.’ There’s a British series called ‘Luther,’ but in England, they think a series means four episodes. And I like ‘Mad Men.’ Otherwise, it’s always good to unwind with a book.
I love ‘Boardwalk Empire,’ but there were moments where I thought it didn’t have the constant through-line that ‘Breaking Bad’ did and ‘Better Call Saul’ does.
I don’t know if we would have stuff like ‘Deadwood’ and ‘Boardwalk Empire’ if ‘Twin Peaks’ had never happened.
My girlfriend tells me if I’m doing a movie I’m a roller coaster of emotions all the time, but on ‘Boardwalk,’ because I’ve done it for so long and I’m so in tune with the character, she says I’m pretty happy most of the time.
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