Andrew Howard – Watchmen

By: Jamie Steinberg

Q) What are the recent projects that you have been busy working on?

A) I’m currently learning lines for the show “Perry Mason,” which is another HBO flagship series for 2020. It’s being produced by the Downey Jr. family and Matthew Rhys is playing the lead role. It’s unlike the 1960’s Raymond Burr courtroom procedural. It goes back to the origins of the Erle Stanley Gardner novels. So, it’s 1930’s post-depression Los Angeles. It’s a very evocative time in the American psyche. Also, it’s very evocative for us as actors to inhibit these characters because we’re filming in downtown Los Angeles where the architecture and Art Deco are still there. So, we’re shooting in those spaces. Also, the wardrobe and cars…So, we’re shooting that at the moment and it’ll be out next year. I think it’s an eight-episode series. It’s an extraordinary ensemble cast with John Lithgow, Stephen Root, Lily Taylor and Gayle Rankin. It’s a very exciting project to be a part of and the great Tim Van Patton is at the helm.

Q) We’re currently seeing you on “Watchmen.” How was Red Scare originally described to you?

A) It was very much joining the dots and coming up with my own version of who Red is and coming up with my own road map. It is giant conversations that I had with Damon Lindelof. I know, originally, he was written as a humongous guy. They wanted a big behemoth guy. I was shooting in Utah and I couldn’t get back to LA to meet them when they wanted to see me. So, I made a small tape. I know from my conversations with Nicki Kassell (who is the brilliant woman who directed the pilot) that as soon as she saw the tape, she knew I was her guy – along with Damon. Obviously, he is written as a detective that is a part of the Tulsa police department. Being of the detective rank they are able to don their own persona and Red has come up with this post-Cold War communist, which harkens back to the original Alan Moore – Dave Gibbons graphic novel. Very little is known about him. The story is driven by Regina’s character, obviously, but what I can tell you is that although he seems like the brash loose cannon violent one of the bunch that potentially is not who he is under the mask.

Q) What did you find challenging about portraying Red?

A) The challenge with the character was to find all the things that an actor does – a voice and inhibit the costume and work in the mask because there was a lot of to and fro about how big we could get the eyes and how big we could get the mouth structured. Although it looks very haphazard, there were lots of different versions of the mask constructed until my face didn’t feel too constricted and I was able to deliver the dialogue. Then, it was coming up with a voice and my own origin story – along with the conversations with Damon. And it was finding the beats, the movement and the nuances of him, but also knowing that on the surface I was doing something that was potentially a character on top of the real character who is underneath the costume. So, I was playing with two different versions of himself even though the audience are not yet going to see the under the mask self.

Q) What was it like for you working in the mask?

A) When we originally came up with the look, we wanted it to look very haphazard, as if he’s just pulled a track suit out of the closet and never changed out of it – covered in food and grime. We had to figure out how this mask was going to work and not look too ridiculous and how to speak in it and talk in it. It’s fine. I’m very lucky that in between takes…Whereas with Regina [King] and Tim [Blake Nelson], they were way more trussed up than me because of the technology that went into creating Looking Glass’ mask was a variation of green screen masks and masks with a 360 camera on top of his head. Then, a real mask. So, he had to go through a whole accoutrement of stuff to make it work. Then, Regina is very, very trussed up in this extraordinary outfit. So, it was a lot of work for them whereas for me once they said “cut” I would flip it off and bang it back on when we’d go for another take. So, I was quite lucky really. It’s the quickest costume I’ve ever had to get into. It’s literally four minutes and then I’m a hundred percent ready to go. I don’t know if that’s ever happened before. [laughs]

Q) What kind of work went into find Red’s accent?

A) Well, I’ve played quite a few Eastern European characters before. I did a movie a few years ago called Limitless with Bradley Cooper and Robert De Niro. So, I’d already had quite a bit of Russian and Eastern European work done. I already had it in my armory and catalog, so I went back to that. Obviously, I didn’t want to do a carbon copy of what I did before. I’ve played quite a lot of Russians over the years, which I think stems back to my family on my mother’s side hailing from Eastern Europe (the Montenegro region). I think that partly tells you about how I look as a human being and why I get cast in these roles. So, I had to come up with a voice rather than the accent. I already had the accent down.

Q) Talk about working with iconic actors Regina King and Tim Blake Nelson.

A) Regina is just…There is no one better. I was talking to someone and I was reminded that throughout my career I’ve been very lucky enough to work with incredible women going back to Geraldine James and I got to do a movie with Glenn Close. That was a big moment in my career and a big learning curve. Then, it was working with Elizabeth Banks and Nicki Kassel. I always like working with women directors. I always have a good rapport with them. Then, up to Regina. She’s the best of the best. I’ve never known a work ethic and such a pro and such a charming, brilliant woman. She’s just the best of the best. I can’t knock her. To work with a woman who had just come off of winning an Oscar…I used to take the piss out of her when she was doing off camera work with me, “Poor Oscar winner has to stand and look at me with a stupid red mask on.” [laughs] We had a giggle about that. She’s an extraordinary woman and I’m really, really lucky to work with her. The same with Tim. He’s a brilliant man. He’s possibly one of the most interesting, greatest minds I’ve worked with within the profession. Also, he’s a f**king great laugh. We laughed a lot. He’s a brilliant man and a great, great actor. I think what he’s done with the character and the nuance and the way he underplays his role is just such a beautiful job. But he’s Tim Blake Nelson.

Q) How did you shake off a long day of filming?

A) It’s not difficult for me to shake off a long day of filming. It’s a privilege to be a part of it. It’s like when you come off stage there is a big adrenaline rush. Because this show is so huge and so grand in its scale, it was similar of having that adrenaline of finishing a big day and feeling like you’ve done a good job. I was just thrilled and bummed when we completed filming. A martini now and again doesn’t go a miss. Or a pint of Guinness! So long as I’m not working the following day. [laughs]

Q) What do you think it is about series like “Watchmen” with origin in comic books that have come to make them such a popular genre at the moment?

A) Well, what I think about “Watchmen” (aside from it originating with the Alan Moore graphic novel) is that it is more of a parable about what is going on in this country at the moment and kind of holding up the mirror to the American psyche. Not to get too, too deep about it, but it is that it’s really about the black trauma that has happened within America over the period of the last few hundred years. Hence, our show beginning with the Tulsa Race Riots in Oklahoma. So many people have come up to me and said they had no idea, generally, that this existed. Damon Lindelof was the first one to put the race riots on screen and that shows you the ambition and the guts and the emotional depth of this show wrapped up in something that is absolutely wonderful, thrilling, funny, charming, glitzy and bonkers to watch at the same time.

Q) What else do you want to be sure our readers know about working on “Watchmen?”

A) It’s all about Regina. Regina, Regina, Regina! [laughs] I never got to meet Jeremy Irons. That was a shame because I’ve always been a fan. It was like shooting a movie. He was in his bonkers movie and we were in ours. I’m sure I’ll run into him down the road. He’s story is so fascinating and fun to watch. Actually seeing that world of our show come to life has been one of the biggest treats for me. I’m thrilled and proud to be part of it. Hopefully, we’ll be giving it another rattle again not so long down the road.