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By
Suzanne

Interview with Dylan McDermott of
"American Horror Story: Asylum" on FX
12/13/12
Final Transcript
FX NETWORK: American Horror Story: Asylum
December 13, 2012/10:00 a.m. PST
SPEAKERS
Roslyn Bibby-Madison
Dylan McDermott
PRESENTATION
Moderator Welcome to the American Horror Story: Asylum
teleconference call. At this time, all participants are in a
listen-only mode. Later we will conduct a question and
answer session. As a reminder, today’s call is being
recorded.
I would now like to turn the conference over to your host,
Senior Facilitator, Ms. Roslyn Bibby.
R. Bibby Hi, everyone. Before we begin, I’d like to quickly
thank Dylan for taking the time to be with us on the call
today. He turned in such a fantastic performance last season
on the show and we look forward to seeing your work, Dylan,
this go around. Thank you, journalists, for your unwavering
support on a weekly basis with your recaps. We really do
appreciate you.
A very important note here; the next two original episodes
of American Horror Story: Asylum that would have aired next
week Wednesday, December 19th, and the following week,
December 26th, will be on hiatus. Then the show will resume
on Wednesday, January 2nd, with Episode 10. So, Steven, with
that, let’s go ahead and open it up.
Moderator Our first question will come from the line of
Michelle Alexandria with Eclipse Magazine.
M. Alexandria I actually wanted to ask you what is the
strangest thing that has happened to you on set, or
personally, from doing this show.
D. McDermott Well, I mean if you watched all the episodes,
you know that I’ve had to do some strange things clearly,
but I was part of the ride when I talked to Ryan [Murphy]
about this show. Obviously the cry baiting and walking
around naked, and now I’m playing a serial killer, is all in
terms of doing American Horror Story, this is what comes
with the dinner. So you just have to be up for it.
M. Alexandria This is a show that really stretches your
acting abilities and part of your personal fear factor. Is
there any one fear that you would like to try to conquer by
doing this show?
D. McDermott Well, I think if you had any fears walking—you
better not have any fears walking into this show because all
your personal things are public. So I think that you really
have to be not too shy to do a show like this, let me just
put it that way.
M. Alexandria Then can you tell me a little bit about your
character and where you hope he ends up at the end of the
season.
D. McDermott Well, ‘Johnny Thredson,’ obviously he’s a
troubled man; so where I hope he goes and where he goes are
two different places, but I think he’s got a sole purpose in
life and really that is, he feels so scorned by his mother.
Everything is about his mother. The reason he’s doing all
these horrible things is because he was rejected so harshly
by his mother, obviously aborted. His father was a serial
killer. His mother aborted him and he still lives. So his
whole trajectory in life is really about her.
Moderator Our next question will come from the line of Greg
David of TV Guide Canada.
G. David Can you just give us a breakdown as to how you got
involved in this show again? Were you looking to come back
and what happened? Did Ryan give you a call and say, listen,
I’ve got this sick, twisted character that I want you to
play?
D. McDermott Yes, we talked in the summer and he said he was
looking for something for me to come back. I wanted to come
back and we weren’t sure in what capacity. Then the day the
show aired, he called me and said he wanted me to come back
as the son of ‘Bloody Face,’ the modern day ‘Bloody Face.’
He just told me; I hadn’t read any of the script, so I knew
nothing about it. It was sort of a blind call.
When he told me the story of it, I was just like
flabbergasted. I mean, I couldn’t get—because it was just so
horrendous how this guy would survive and what he would
become and who he was. I was just fascinated by him. It was
so different from, obviously, ‘Ben Harmon,’ to come back to
this same show with a different character. I just thought it
was a great way to make television completely different from
anything you see on television, because when do you get to
play different characters on the same show.
G. David Without giving too much away, can you tell us how
many more episodes you’re going to be appearing in?
D. McDermott I will be, I believe, in the next three out of
four.
Moderator Our next question will come from the line of Ethan
Alter of TV Without Pity.
E. Alter Because you’ve been through this once before with
Ryan, when you came back, when you made the decision to come
back, were there things that you talked about with him about
specific things you wanted to do this time around, to make
this character distinct? Did you have a lot of input in
shaping how you wanted this character to be?
D. McDermott I mean he really—he’s the one who designed the
character. Then we talked at length on how he would look and
what we wanted. We came up with this mullet idea and the
tattoos and how I’m really a blue collar guy as opposed to
the psychiatrist of ‘Ben Harmon.’ So I think we were both
looking to do something radically different than we had last
season, but this was, once again, Ryan’s invention.
E. Alter Right; and at least in your first appearance, you
were sort of off on your own—you didn’t interact with the
rest of the cast. So it is interesting how the cast now is
made up of some holdovers from the first season, who came
back, and also all new actors. Did the veterans talk to the
newbies at all about working, doing this kind of show,
what’s involved in doing it?
D. McDermott I mean, I think you know what you’re stepping
into when you just see four minutes of this show. You
understand that this is a very dark, twisted world. So when
you come on this show, whether you’re a guest star or a
regular or whatever, you know what you’re getting into.
E. Alter Yes, and obviously it’s early yet, but would you
see yourself coming back for the third series, if Ryan came
up with another big idea for you?
D. McDermott Yes, I mean I love this show. I just think it’s
just really—if I wasn’t on the show, I’d be watching it; so
I’m a fan of this show as much as an actor on the show. So
whatever—like I said before, I really trust Ryan and he has
a great instinct with me. If he asks me to come back on, of
course.
Moderator Our next question will come from the line of
Kristyn Clark of Pop Culture Madness.
K. Clark I know you had mentioned some thoughts on the issue
with the role and storyline, I’m wondering if there are any
other characters whose storylines that you’ve been like
really following this season? Are you curious to see how
they kind of pan out?
D. McDermott Yes, I mean, it’s funny because I was really
following Zach’s [Quinto] character and Sarah’s [Paulson]
character and it’s funny that they would end up being my
parents. Because I had no idea and then all of a sudden, I’m
their son. So it’s funny that it would all work out in such
a way.
K. Clark What would you say is one of the biggest reasons
that this show seems to resonate well with viewers, at least
in your opinion?
D. McDermott It’s a funny thing. I think that people, as
much as they deny it, they want to be scared. It’s sort of a
phenomenon, really, why people want to be scared when there
is so much violence in the world and there’s so much
craziness in the world. People still really enjoy being
scared.
It’s a conundrum to me. It’s hard to explain. It’s an
unconscious thing, really, why people like that so much. I
don’t like the slasher stuff myself, but I do like the
psychological horror of Roman Polanski and that world. But
it’s curious to me why people do like to be afraid.
K. Clark Oh definitely. This psychological stuff is all the
more terrifying I think.
D. McDermott Yes.
Moderator Our next question will come from the line Jerry
Nunn of Windy City Times.
J. Nunn I want to know what made you audition for the show
in the first place and how did you get involved in it? Did
you know it was going to be a hit? Things like that.
D. McDermott It’s funny; you only have these instincts every
once in a while and I remember on The Practice, I had a huge
instinct around it that it was going to be very successful.
Then again, when I heard this story of American Horror, I
had a similar instinct about this show. I remember my agent
pitching me the idea for it and I, immediately, was
attracted to it. Like I said, I had this similar instinct.
So when I sat down with Ryan, it all came to fruition, you
know what I mean.
Like I said, I never—I’ve only had those instincts very few
times in my career and The Practice and the American Horror
Story were both of them. So I don’t know what that is. I
don’t know if it’s just my gut. My gut was really telling me
that this was the show because I was looking for something
different and looking for, obviously, a show that was going
to be successful and that was going to resonate and I think
I found it with American Horror.
J. Nunn Definitely; I mean congrats on everything.
D. McDermott Thank you.
J. Nunn Come visit us in Chicago and promote these new
movies you’ve got coming out.
D. McDermott I’m from Chicago. Chicago is the most amazing
place because the portions of food there are bigger than
anywhere else in the world.
Moderator Our next question will come from the line of
Christiane Elin of SciFi Vision.
C. Elin I just wanted to know—I know much of this show is
very twisted and dark. Is there anything that resonates with
you in this show that you take home and it’s hard to shake?
D. McDermott Yes, I mean there are a lot of things. There
are a lot of things in this show that are disturbing and
hard. There is a lot of violence in this show and it’s hard
to get around that, you know what I mean, and it’s real. It
makes you feel things and it’s upsetting; but nonetheless,
as an actor, you can’t judge it.
You have to be in it. When I’m playing a serial killer, I’m
in it. I’m not judging him. I’m not judging his environment.
I’m just sort of like looking for the why; why he is the way
he is. But there’s no doubt that you have to take—if you’re
a good actor, you’re going to take this stuff home with you.
C. Elin Do you have a favorite type of horror story?
D. McDermott I’m really, like I said before, I do like the
Polanski stuff more than anything else. I mean, Rosemary’s
Baby is still one of my favorite movies of all time. The
idea of her being impregnated with the devil and all that
stuff is just like so frightening and being in New York at
The Dakota, it’s so scary.
So that probably is—I’m going to work on a movie, actually,
in February, called Mercy from Jason … on the paranormal
activities and there is a similar theme to Rosemary’s Baby
in the movie. So somewhere I am attracted to that in a
strange way, so that does scare me; the sort of demon baby,
more than anything else. Like we had in the first season of
American Horror.
Moderator Our next question will come from the line of Erin
Willard of scifimafia.com.
E. Willard I loved your work so much last year and this year
has certainly started off with a bang. Is the atmosphere any
different on the set this year than it was last year?
D. McDermott I’ve sort of been in a bubble of my own work;
but it doesn’t feel that much different than what it was.
Some of the crew is the same and going back to Paramount in
Hollywood and Ryan; so to me, really, the show is like going
home at this point. I think in whatever capacity and
whatever character I play, it really is. Right now I know
it’s sort of strange to say, but it’s sort of this safe home
for me, if you will.
E. Willard Sure. Last year’s story had this wonderfully,
neatly tied up ending, at least for most of the
characters—for yours especially. Does this year’s have a
similar kind of closure to it?
D. McDermott Yes, without giving anything away, I think it
does. I think that you’ll be satisfied in terms of what
happens. All the characters will definitely—you’ll have
closure with all the characters. It’s hard to wrap up the
season in one show, but I think that having read it and now
performing it, I think that you’re going to be satisfied for
sure.
E. Willard Then what has been the most fun aspect of this
year’s role for you?
D. McDermott I think because it’s so radically different
from last year. Playing the psychiatrist role, a white
collar guy, and going to a blue collar guy who’s a serial
killer and has these enormous problems with his parents and
the way he feels. I think that’s been fun to play, for me,
personally. The idea of diving into his past and creating
this guy, this sort of like wounded person who is just
lashing out at the world; so I refer to both of these
characters in American Horror Story as twin brothers with a
different father.
Moderator Our next question will come from the line of Stacy
Roberts of seriouslyomg.com.
S. Roberts Is there anything you can tell us about what’s
coming up in the next three episodes that you’re in?
D. McDermott I mean, I think we’re going to look into
what—he really is after some sort of closure with his
mother. I think he can’t understand, he can’t wrap his head
around why someone would want to throw him out, throw him in
the trash. So I think we’re going to peek into his
psychological world in the next three episodes and then
we’re going to have closure with his character in the
finale. But it’s really—it goes into the psychology and the
pathology of who he is.
He’s not just like a serial killer and out there on the run
with no reason. I think we really get into the reason of
“Johnny Thredson.” People behave badly and people are in
prison and people are on death row and there are no excuses
for everybody’s behavior, but most people are coming from
abuse. I think “Johnny” is not alone in that. I think he
just really suffers from an enormous amount of abuse and
there’s a reason he’s doing the things he’s doing and that’s
not justified, but we’re going to peek into his world.
S. Roberts You’ve had a lot of shocking moments on this
series. What would you say is the one that stands out most
for you?
D. McDermott Well I think for everybody, it’s got to be the
cry baiting. I think you would agree on that. People still
talk about that. That’s going to be with me for awhile.
That’s okay because that was “Ben Harmon.” If people were
afraid to play “Ben Harmon” because of that scene,
people—they just couldn’t do it. I always picture myself the
guy running into the burning building, not running out. That
was certainly evidence of that moment right there.
Moderator Our next question will come from the line of Diane
Morasco of Morasco Media.
D. Morasco I have to ask since you like psychological
thrillers a lot, like the whole demon baby aspect, would you
ever consider doing the remake of Rosemary’s Baby?
D. McDermott No, because that’s a great movie. I don’t think
you can—it’s like remaking psycho. You can’t. Some movies
you just can’t remake and that certainly is one of them.
Some things should be just left alone and that—maybe the
sequel to Rosemary’s Baby, but not the remake.
D. Morasco Do you have a preference? Do you prefer taking on
the drama role or do you prefer the straight-lace ones or do
you like this outlet of being crazy bananas?
D. McDermott Well, this has been a good year for me. I was
doing American Horror and then going into The Campaign with
Will Ferrell and Zach Galifianakis doing a comedy and then
making Olympus Has Fallen with Morgan Freeman and Melissa
Leo, Aaron Eckhart, Gerard Butler, a sort of a taut
thriller; and then playing a comedy again with Selena Gomez
in Behaving Badly, and then back to American Horror. So it’s
been a great year and a lot of different characters and
that’s the stuff I love. I really am a character actor in my
heart of hearts, because I really do like developing
characters and kind of painting a past for them.
D. Morasco My last question is when we’re delving into this
serial killer and we’re looking back into the history on why
he’s behaving this way, is there anything that’s creeping
you out that you’re taking home after the set, that you’re
feeling a little unnerved about or maybe coming into your
dreams?
D. McDermott It’s funny because this particular role—you
don’t know it when it’s happening because it’s unconscious.
But, yes, this guy has got under my skin a little bit, I
have to say. Like I don’t take the tattoos off; I keep them
on. I sort of have been living with him a little bit more
than other characters that I have played. You don’t plan
that out; it just sort of happens. It’s an unconscious thing
and for whatever reason, I have an understanding of who he
is. Don’t ask me why. It’s just that some characters stick
more than others.
Moderator Our next question will come from the line of
Michael Gallagher of stayfamous.net.
M. Gallagher What do you think is the most underrated aspect
of American Horror Story? Is there anything about the show
that you think deserves a little more praise from the T.V.
critics?
D. McDermott I think it’s widely praised. I think that
sometimes people are afraid of the genre and maybe they’ll
judge it. It’s sort of like The Walking Dead, I think
deserves to have more nominations and deserves to be up for
more awards and somehow I think the genre maybe gets in the
way of that; that people dismiss it, maybe a little bit
more, because of the genre.
But if you look at American Horror Story and you look at
Walking Dead—and these are two phenomenal shows—and I think
maybe other shows might get more nominations or awards
because they’re sort of—they fit the notion of what a drama
should be. These are groundbreaking shows. I think American
Horror is a groundbreaking show and ahead of its time.
Sometimes when things are ahead of its time, people don’t
always get it in the moment.
I think that’s happening right now. You look back on things
and say oh, wow, that was a great show. Sometimes people
maybe miss it; not to say that they are missing it, but I
think sometimes this idea of horror is hard for people. It’s
not for everybody, but I think it’s hard for people to wrap
their head around in terms of awards.
M. Gallagher If you were giving awards out to the cast and
then based on the performances that you’ve seen, is there a
particular scene or an individual performance that really
stands out as being powerful?
D. McDermott Oh, yes. I think that, obviously, Jessica is
always doing incredible work. It never ceases to amaze me
how the performances she turns in week-in and week-out, but
I also think that Sarah Paulson is doing terrific work. I
think “Billy Dean” … is doing terrific work and Zach Quinto
and Evan Peters. I mean this season, they’re all—James
Cromwell—everyone is doing remarkable work on a very high
level, and last season as well. I mean Ryan, obviously, is
casting some of the best actors in the world to be on this
show and there’s a reason for it.
Moderator Our next question will come from the line of Lisa
Steinberg of Starry Constellation.
L. Steinberg Are we sure this is Dylan McDermott and not
Dermot Mulroney?
D. McDermott No, it’s Gerbil McDillett.
L. Steinberg That’s right. That was a very good tribute to
you on Saturday Night Live.
D. McDermott Thank you.
L. Steinberg I was wondering if there is anything about this
particular character that you added to the role that wasn’t
originally scripted for you?
D. McDermott Yes, you’ll see him in, I think in the next
episode, I started smoking some crack. I don’t think that
was in it. I wanted him to be—I needed him to have an outlet
for it and then when I started smoking crack, they started
putting it into scenes. So that was an important thing that
I wanted him to be high because a lot of these guys are high
and a lot of people do, obviously, terrible things on drugs.
It was important for me to have him to be a drug addict as
well.
L. Steinberg What do you think it is about American Horror
Story that makes it such a fan favorite program?
D. McDermott I think it’s different. I think, like I said
before, it’s groundbreaking. It’s hard to be different on
television. It really is because people do, no matter what
they say, they want to have ratings and a lot of those
things are derivative. So really the same show with
different actors, over and over again, and I think that
American Horror really broke that trend in many ways and I
think fans appreciate that.
Moderator Our next question will come from the line of Ryan
Turek of shocktilyoudrop.com.
R. Turek So, two questions; one, how much of a rush was it
to put on that “Bloody Face” mask? Also, you’re a big
Polanski fan, were there any maniacs or twisted individuals
from Polanski that you kind of drew from to kind of inform
your “Bloody Face” character?
D. McDermott Not really, no. Obviously, when you put that
mask on and you can hear your own breath, it’s like a
mini-horror show inside your own head. So that’s frightening
in itself, when that thing goes on. I twittered a picture of
myself with it on against a wall that said, “Beware,” and I
have a machete in my hand and it’s truly a frightening
picture. But no, this guy he came to me very naturally. Like
I said before, sometimes you have to search for inspiration
with characters and other times, they just drop out of the
sky and they arrive and “Johnny Thredson” was one of those
for me.
Moderator Our next question will come from the line of Earl
Dittman of Wireless and Digital Journal.
E. Dittman I’m just so excited. You know when the season
started and I didn’t see you there, I thought, oh my god. I
know that Connie wasn’t back, of course, but I thought, oh
my god, I can’t believe - no Dylan. So this is great news.
I’m just so happy. I’m glad Ryan is such a brilliant guy.
D. McDermott Yes, absolutely.
E. Dittman So for an actor, it must be really satisfying to
have something like a repertory theater kind of company kind
of thing going on with television and it must be really
satisfying for you.
D. McDermott It really is because I don’t know how the show
is going to pan out in the next few seasons, but if this was
all there was in this whole ride; it was an incredible ride.
I really enjoyed it. I really enjoyed playing “Ben Harmon,”
how selfish he was and his breakdowns and then to come back
as “Johnny Thredson” to play this serial killer, you don’t
get to do that much on television. Most of the time, you’re
walking around with a pair of tweezers and a flashlight,
looking for some evidence. But it’s nice that we’re doing
something different on the show and that I was a part of it.
E. Dittman Well, you mentioned that in some of your work
this year, of course, you were in one of the best pictures
of the year, The Perks of Being a Wallflower. That’s one of
the top three films of the year, as far as I’m concerned.
D. McDermott Thank you.
E. Dittman It’s already on my list. I mean it’s fantastic
and Stephen is a fantastic director. Everything,
everybody—it’s another thing like this. It’s a great, all
around package. So I think you have a better nose or a
better ear or a better eye for picking material than you
give yourself credit for.
D. McDermott Oh, thank you. That’s what it’s all about is
really material. That’s the only thing that’s going to
separate you from other actors is the material that you
choose, whether you know that are not. You’re going into a
project; you know that the material is good or bad no matter
what anybody says. I mean we all hope it’s better than it
is, but you have to pick the best material. Sometimes we
don’t have the luxury and people have to pay the rent, but I
think that I try to choose the most interesting material
there is.
E. Dittman Yes, and one last note; since we asked a whole
lot of questions about that, I just wanted to focus a little
bit more on your choices. I mean, you’ve been making some
great choices, obviously. You’re working with Antoine Fuqua,
I think, that you just mentioned. Also, I guess the question
I need to ask is that you said you’re a character actor, but
I think you’re a stunning leading man as well. Do you prefer
doing leading roles as opposed to character? Or is just
whatever comes best, as you said, a best material?
D. McDermott It’s funny because I, like I said, I think in
my heart of hearts, I’m a character actor, but the leading
man thing is, obviously, the great ride if you can do it.
But it’s a very tough ride as well, because you really have
a target on your back and not many guys can pull it off.
They seem to rise and fall very quickly. Luckily, I’ve been
around many years, knock wood, and I’ve got to play many
leading men and I got to play character roles.
I mean, I still love it is the bottom line. You know what I
mean? I still love acting. I really enjoy the process of it
and I’m glad I still do because a lot of guys out there who
are just kind of doing it without the love. I do still love
it.
E. Dittman Well, I appreciate your—oh and before because I
know somebody is behind me—but I heard a little rumor that
there may be - might be a Practice movie, T.V. movie. Was
that just wishful thinking on somebody’s part or have you
actually heard anything about it?
D. McDermott I’d never heard boo about that.
E. Dittman Okay, it must have been somebody’s wishful
thinking. I appreciate it and I hope you come back next year
and more this year and thanks, Dylan, for your time.
Moderator Our next question will come from the line of Eva
Layne of darkmedia.com.
E. Layne I was wondering if you worked at all, directly,
with Zach Quinto on your characterization of the son “Bloody
Face,” or if anything you watched him do prior to the season
informed choices that you made as a character?
D. McDermott I kind of just watched him and picked up a few
of his mannerisms. There is one scene coming up where we’re
in the same room. I guess in the writer’s room, they put up
a picture of me and Zach and Sarah to see if I could be
their son, when they were casting it. I guess I passed the
test, but I think that we do have some similar qualities in
our darker features, so I don’t think it’s much of a leap.
But I did kind of try to listen to his voice and look at his
mannerisms a little bit.
E. Layne Also, on a prior call with Zach, he mentioned the
nature of the horror this season as opposed to last season.
That last season being primarily supernatural and then this
being, obviously, more human driven between you guys being
the main thrust of that human driven horror. So I was
wondering what you think about the difference between the
paranormal and the more human driven horror and if you
prefer one or the other.
D. McDermott I mean I like the psychological horror
personally. I think the show is radically different from
what it was last year and what it is this year and I’m sure
it will be again next year. I think that’s just what
American Horror Story is. It really is an anthology series
and I think it’s always going to be changing, no matter how
many seasons it’s on. I think it’s going to change its
location and character and I think that’s just the nature of
the beast.
Moderator Our next question in queue will come from the line
of Perri Schwartz of Spin Off On Line.
P. Schwartz I have a question for you. The scene where
you’re talking to this therapist, that set looks a lot like
your office from Season 1. Was that the same set? Or am I
just going crazy?
D. McDermott People have mentioned that. It’s not the same
set, but you’re right. It does have a similar mood and theme
to it. It’s funny enough that you’re not the first person to
say that. I think there’s an image to many things in that
scene, obviously. The first being the reversal of the doctor
and the patient and then maybe the office looking very
similar, so there are many things going on in that scene. So
if you did an essay on it, I think you could find a lot
more.
P. Schwartz All right; maybe it was just wishful thinking
hoping that we’d seen Murder House again. My other question
for you, you’ve mentioned that you’re more a fan of the
psychological horror than the slasher genre, which is sort
of what we’re doing this season. I’m just curious what type
of horror genre would you be interested in seeing Ryan
explore next season.
D. McDermott I’m not sure. I mean, I don’t know how many
genres of horror there are really, but I’m sure he’s going
to make it interesting and fascinating no matter what he
does.
Moderator Our next question in queue is a followup from the
line of Stacy Roberts of seriouslyomg.com.
S. Roberts On a non-AHS note, what did you think of the
Saturday Night Live bit from this weekend?
D. McDermott They asked me to go there and do it, but I was
working on American Horror. I thought it was hilarious. I
mean I really thought it was funny as hell, so I don’t know
what was going to happen if I came there and Dermot was
there. I mean the television might blow up; I don’t know.
But I really thought it was funny and how many times do you
really get to be immortalized on Saturday Night Live. You
can look at that and show your kids that and they’ll laugh,
so I thought it was really funny.
Moderator The last question in queue at this time is also a
followup from the line of Earl Dittman of Wireless and
Digital Journal.
E. Dittman Two quick questions; you mentioned earlier that
this show obviously doesn’t follow, as you mentioned, the
awards. I think you’re very right. I mean, FX has Sons of
Anarchy. It has this. It has Justified. Do you agree that
maybe in another network’s hands, it may not have been as
successful? That FX is—to me, FX is a very groundbreaking,
revolutionary network in itself. Do you agree? Disagree?
Kind of going along the same way, would this have worked on
another network maybe just as well, or not?
D. McDermott No, because I’ll tell you why. I think FX
really lets the creators of their shows do what they want to
do. A lot of times on television, it is a television show by
committee and the committees get their hands in there and
they want to do this and they want to do that and they want
to change this and they want to do this and all this stuff,
and the show is completely watered down and it’s generic. It
doesn’t have any meaning. It’s just sort of on-air. You know
what I mean?
But I think the difference with FX is they really let the
creators sort of create their show and they stand behind it
and they put it on the air and they publicize it and they
let them be. I don’t think that they really put their
fingers in it too much. I think that’s why they have so much
success.
E. Dittman Yes, would you like to work with them more in the
future if you had the chance?
D. McDermott Oh, of course. I think they do phenomenal shows
and they continue to do phenomenal shows. They really are
quite different from all the other networks and there’s a
reason why they stand out.
E. Dittman One last thing and then I’ll let you go. So by
doing the show, obviously you don’t subscribe to the thought
that by watching violent TV shows get violent because of it.
What is your stand on that? I mean, often that’s what the
critics say about violent shows.
D. McDermott Yes, I know what you mean. I mean, I really, as
I said before, I think there’s an argument for that
absolutely. But as an actor, you can’t judge your material
or your character. I really try to—I learned in acting
school a long time ago not to judge my characters because
that could … of them once you judge them.
So I play a lot of different people; some of them good, some
of them bad, some of them violent, some of them nice, all
across the board. That’s the fun of it for me, but I do
think that you’re right. There is an argument for it and I
won’t shy away from that either. I mean there is a
tremendous amount of violence in the world and it’s
something that has to be addressed and this is entertainment
and it shouldn’t be taken seriously in that way, but I
understand what you’re saying.
Moderator There are no further questions in the queue at
this time to panel. Please continue.
R. Bibby Again, thank you, journalists, for your questions
and for those who are in listen mode. Thank you, Dylan, for
your time and participation. A transcript from this call
will be available one to two days following today. So I’ll
send it as soon as I receive it. Thank you guys and have a
nice day.
D. McDermott Thank you very much.
R. Bibby Thank you, Dylan.
Moderator Ladies and gentlemen, that does conclude our
conference call for today. On behalf of today’s talent and
hostess, I’d like to thank you for your participation and
thank you for using AT&T. Have a wonderful day. You may now
disconnect.
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