You've got a character who does some very dramatic things, some very violent things, but you still look to be taking a less-is-more approach to playing him. How did you decide on the scale to this performance?
Anson Mount: The first thing I try to do when I'm handed a quote-unquote "tough" character or a "strong" character, the first thing I try to do is find moments of weakness and that means finding moments of stillness. Otherwise it's just boring to me. What's more interesting about characters and people in general for me is not in their strengths, but in their weaknesses. So it's not necessarily a "less-is-more" as it is that sentiment combined with the fact that the primary action in the pilot is watching and waiting. To be honest, there are times in the pilot where I feel like I'm successful in making that active and there are times where I find I'm not successful in making that active. But part of that is just getting used to to playing a new character and you need a little bit to get into it. Not necessarily for other characters, but for my character, I feel like the primary actions become more than just watching and listening later in the series.
It's hard to watch this without thinking of Clint Eastwood, frankly, and thinking of a number of Western archetypal characters. Were you thinking of Eastwood or any particular Western favorites?
AM: Dude, I wasn't just thinking of Eastwood, I was stealing from Eastwood. I'm a big believer in stealing from other actors, so yeah, I watched a lot of Eastwood. I watched a lot of Sergio Leone. I watched a little bit of Budd Boetticher. And yeah, I watch a lot of things within the genre of whatever I'm doing at any particular time.
Source: Full interview @ HitFix
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