[IMG:L]The cast of TNT’s The Company could be an all star who’s who of comic book superheroes. Chris O’Donnell and Michael Keaton did duties as Robin and Batman respectively in separate franchise entries. Alfred Molina was the visually stunning Dr. Octapus in Spider-Man 2.
In The Company the actors play CIA agents in the dramatized history of the covert organization, including Molina who plays Harvey Torriti, “The Sorcerer,” a high ranking field agent.
Hollywood.com caught up with the Molina recently to find out more about the three-part miniseries, kicking off Aug. 5 on TNT.
Hollywood.com: How does your character evolve over the decades that this series encompasses?
Alfred Molina: Well, that was the most interesting thing about it in a way was to get the chance to play a character that ages from the 1950s right through to the 1980s. We knew that was going to be challenging because as you know, TV and movies don’t get shot in sequence. So in fact, my first scene, in the third evening there’s a scene with Chris and I where we’re at our oldest. That was the scene, by that time, my character’s retired, we’re old, gray, I’m hugely fat, gray and balding. I’m trying to play golf and I can’t. That was the first scene we shot. That was the very first scene we shot. That’s how we went all the way through so there’s a challenge of keeping the timeline clear. But also, all the makeup to suggest the aging and so on. From a character point of view, it’s a really interesting thing to think about because you’re telling a story through a different perspective each night because the man is older and more experienced and so on, so you start thinking about how you carry yourself. So it was an interesting character to play.
HW: How does old-age makeup compare to metal tentacles?
AM: It’s always difficult and it’s always problematic, although facial makeup is a lot easier to deal with than mechanical stuff that’s strapped onto you. At least with facial aging makeup, at least you can still move around. With those tentacles on Spider-Man, it was hard to just be mobile.
HW: Each night of the miniseries has a different tone. Did you pay attention to playing those differences?
AM: No, I think that’s really how it came out and how the director perceived it. I think there was a conscious, deliberate decision to give each night a different feel. But in terms of how we play the role, that isn’t something you play. You can’t really play that. You can’t act a concept. You can only act what you’re given to do. So we just played our roles and played our characters. I’m very old fashioned that way. My idea of acting is basically do what the director asks you to do.
HW: Were you a CIA buff?
AM: I was never a CIA buff but I’ve always been a fan of spy stories. I grew up reading John Le Carre, Ian Fleming, when I was younger. I loved the Bond movies and stuff so yeah. I think spy stories are really, really interesting. I think they’re interesting because of all that intrigue, the secrecy. It’s just made for entertainment.
HW: Was your character real or fictional?
AM: He was a fictional composite although there is a character called William Harvey King who ran the Berlin station in the ‘50s whose description is very similar to Harvey Torriti in the sense that he was a drinker and he was a rather sort of old fashioned, a bit of a maverick when it came to running his station. Why Robert Littell, in the original novel, had some real people and some composites, no one really knows. As far as I was concerned, the character was who he was in the script. I read Robert’s book and a couple of other books just to get some background information but essentially all the work is really concentrated on what’s required in the script.
HW: Was it a big decision for you to do TV?
AM: No. It was just a good part. The part came up and I was offered it and I thought, “Yeah, I like this.” That’s always been my way. That’s always been my way of deciding what to do. I’ve never really had a game plan in terms of what kind of work or what kind of movie or what kind of role. I just go with whatever’s good or whatever’s the most interesting.
HW: And you work a lot, so you can be choosey?
AM: Yeah, touch wood. I’ve been okay the last few years but it’s cyclical. It goes up and down. If you’re an actor for anything longer than 10 years, I’ve been acting for 32 years now, you have good times and you have bad times. You have moments when you can’t stop working and you have times when you can’t get arrested.
HW: Do people recognize you more now?
AM: Yeah, I suppose they do, especially since Spider-Man. I get a lot of, “Hey, aren’t you the guy from… Are you the actor in…” That’s fine and it’s okay because nine times out of 10, people are really nice. They’re very excited and pleased to meet you. It’s very rare that you get someone who’s an asshole.
HW: Was there another big jump after The Da Vinci Code?
AM: No, not really. I think Spider-Man really was the big [one]. That’s when I became I think probably well known to a much bigger mainstream popular audience. Up until then, the films I’d done tended to be a bit more kind of like smaller budget, smaller scale. Although the very first film I ever did was a big movie, [Raiders of the Lost Ark] but I had a very small part in that. Playing a leading role in a big film, that really was the first time.
HW: Did you want to go back to smaller films after doing some big blockbusters?
AM: I’m happy to go back wherever they want me. Like I said, I don’t really have a game plan. I just take each job as it comes along. My only criteria is if it’s a good part and if I’m free.
HW: What were best, juicy things you got to play in The Company?
AM: There were some great scenes between Chris and I. there was some really nice stuff there. My character wasn’t really so much the action guy. I spent most of my time behind a desk or in an office. There were lots of scenes where we were kind of working out strategy and working out what to do. Those scenes were great fun because they were just the actors really dealing with good, serious, interesting plotlines and stuff. Those were the standouts really.
HW: Do you understand more about politics when you work in this world?
AM: Not really. I don’t think doing a job like this gives you any real insight into the political scene. That’s not really what we’re doing. If I wanted to do that, I’d go to a seminar.
HW: You’re also going to be in Kenneth Branagh‘s HBO film, As You Like It. Are you good at getting your mouth around Shakespeare?
AM: Yeah, I was a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company back in the ‘70s and ‘80s. That’s part of my training when I was an actor in England. Yeah, I can get my mouth around it.
HW: What do you think of his approach to setting it in Japan?
AM: I loved it. I thought it was a really interesting idea, really interesting choice because Ken really is probably the smartest guy around when it comes to rendering Shakespeare for film. He’s done some great work in that field. He’s the only one really. He’s the best and the only one out there doing it.
HW: Is it important to keep bringing those works back?
AM: I think so, yeah. As long as there’s an audience for classical work then there’s always going to be actors doing it because it’s great work. It’s fascinating work, it’s hard work, it’s challenging work. As we become less and less literate and less and less articulate in mainstream entertainment, if you’re spending most of your time professionally doing dialogue where you’re doing movies where you’re required to say, “Freeze, motherfucker.” Then a chance to do a bit of Shakespeare or any kind of classical work is welcomed.
HW: Don’t you have to be Samuel L. Jackson to say that?
AM: I think so but lots of other people try. You know what I’m saying. If you get a chance to do some classical work, then it’s all for the good.
