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Spoilers follow forSuccessionseason four, episode eight, America Decides.
Poor Darwin; hes just not someone who evolved to thrive at ATN.
How did this part come to you?We were just finishing up the third season ofThe Great.
I was like, I think, yes, Icando that.
Professionally in awe of how they make it.
The writing, the way its shot.
From the very first episode I was completely in.
Darwin is sort of theSteve Kornacki of ATN.
Theres great freedom within the structure of both the script and the way its shot.
Theyre at such a precision pitch of how to play this stuff and so deeply in their characters.
When we did get to improvise, we were just off and away.
Nick and Matthew, theyre just so funny together.
Did you actually get anything in your eyes?
But no, there was nothing actually sting-y put in my eyes at all.
It was all quite safe.
They rigged up special cans of whatever that soda was.
A nice, pure mineral water.
Did you think much about Darwins backstory?
We all know people who are just absolutely, passionately obsessed with one thing.
Its there physically in the way he speaks.
So the whole thing is vibrating at a pretty high pitch.
And that was the night we were re-creating.
Were you all talking with actual political journalists?They brought in a guy from CNN.
I could sense his enthusiasm, his passion, how meticulously the details matter.
Theyre not life-and-death decisions, but they have huge implications, and you have a huge responsibility.
You could feel the weight of it.
That also informed how I could explore the inner life of this character.
The brilliance of Jesse is that those little details just make the thing real.
From that basis, you could go as crazy as you like.
The echoes were very, very clear, and thats all part of the fun of it.
Were you sworn to complete and total secrecy about all the plot developments?
I put two and two together.
I didnt want to spoil anyones enjoyment.
I was vaguely aware there was somebody called Britney Spears out there in the public realm.
But now, yes, now I know a lot about her music, her genius, genius music.
Its an absolutely brilliant book by Jon Hartmere.
Weve got these extraordinary choreographers, Keone and Mari Madrid.
So, for me, its been a steep learning curve.
This play is using all sorts of muscles.
Its always good for an actor.
Its always good in life, I think.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
