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But inPerry Mason, the iconic defense attorney played by Matthew Rys is a hero in the truest sense.
For perhaps the first time in the entire series, Perry Mason is at peace.
There is a pride to it, Rhys says of Perrys decision.
Its like,I did something that I needed to do, and therefore Ill serve my time.
I have no qualms about it and certainly no shame.
Then comes the real twist: Perry going to prison for four months.
It could have gone in a few different ways, and they were toying with a different ending.
Its so much pressure landing these shows, I wouldnt wish it on anyone.
You have to deliver so much.
Its more anticipation from my point of view itsthemthat have to deliver it.
The expectation from us is like,Okay, I hope they do bring the juice.
His means are always dubious, but he has a strong sense of right and wrong.
He takes it upon himself to shoot them in the head so that expedite a less painful death.
For that he is tried by a military court and comes off the worst for it.
In his heart, he sees these things as black and white.
His sense of justice is very basic, but his means are wherein lie the complexities.
Perry is also quite the modern thinker for his era.
Hes not overtly racist.
He sees women beyond their expected roles of the time.That was a very conscious decision.
If youve been to rock bottom, your judgment of others wont necessarily be as extreme or objective.
His empathy for humanity opened up as a result of him being wronged so enormously.
Hes seen the absolute worst of it and nothings going to phase him.
Itll enrage him, but his shock comes from when people lie.
He visits the brothers in prison and screams at them.
He has that empathy.
His understanding of the human condition is very astute.
It takes a lot out of you.
I find it hard, in a way, to pitch it sometimes.
And then I remind myself,Well, Mason is still new at this.
Hes not an experienced trial lawyer by any stretch of the imagination.
Its a real luxury as an actor.
It seems like difficult dialogue to deliver because it could easily come across too preachy or too angry.
How did you decide to play that?Thats all Mason.
Hes very unsentimental, which is why hes a good trial lawyer.
Hes not into the theatrics, hes not dramatic, hes very matter of fact.
Any intelligent person should be able to see whats right and whats wrong.
Thats where he works from.
Ive never tried to be too theatrical with him because I dont think thats who he is.
Can we talk about the scene at the Japanese restaurant?
I very much appreciated your food acting in that scene.
We were so tired of watching people nibble on a piece of cucumber.
Its our pet peeve that no one eats properly.
You just have to commit to it.
I remember there was a scene inThe Americanswith me and Noah Emmerich eating pizza.
Youve got to eat so the people go, God, I want a piece of pizzanow.
That scene for some reason took hours and hours and hours.
And I ate so much beef I had the meat sweats.
I was like,Whoa, I must be getting old because this ones getting to me.
And it was written that Shea throws up afterward.
The little vomit was really funny.And thats what it should be.
It was so hot.
Shea will smoke and smoke and smoke.
Season two took a bit of a pivot from the first season and lightened up the tone.
Perry was very sassy.
How do you strike that balance in your performance?I rely heavily on the writing.
Which did worry me!
You cant turn these people on their heads and all of a sudden theres a comedic element.
But they struck the tone perfectly.
Its this heavily sardonic, sarcastic humor caustic almost.
Its a gallows humor that gets Mason through the darker hours.
I was glad that was the tack they went down because it was kind of the only way.
He was all crumbly.
