Patrick Sabongui – The Art of More

By: Lisa Steinberg

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

A) There is always something in the works. “The Flash” is kind of on going. So, there is always a little bit of that going on. I have a feature film that I wrapped recently called Interrogation that was directed by Stephen Reynolds and that was for WWE/Lionsgate. I co-star alongside Adam “Edge” Copeland. He’s such an amazing human being so I’m looking forward to fans seeing him in another capacity. I think he has matured incredibly as an actor over the years. You get to see a side of him that they haven’t gotten enough of.

Q) Please tell us the premise of “The Art of More” and about character.

A) “The Art of More” is about the high-end art auction world. It takes place in New York City, which is cool because it is something you don’t get to peek into often. We kind of explore how certain art pieces and antiquities in the world get into museums or high end art museums and then subsequently into the hands of art collectors. What is cool about the show is that it kind of juxtaposes the rich and glamorous world of the auctions and collectors and then puts it on top of the crime world with the smugglers and the forgers. I play a character named Hassan Al Afshar who is an Iraqi national that shows up in New York City where he reconnects with his old friend Graham Connor, who is played brilliantly by Christian Cooke. Graham used to be a US soldier stationed in Iraq and while he was there he got mixed up in a smuggling operation that would get antiquities out of the middle east and into the US. At the beginning of our story, I show up in NYC pretty much unannounced and unwelcome to rekindle that operation with Graham.

Q) What have you found challenging about your role?

A) I’d say balancing Hassan’s his need to survive and the things that he does to survive (the violent things, coloring outside of the lines and whatever he would commit) and balancing that with his humanity. He is actually a family guy who used to be an engineer back in Iraq before everything fell a part in that region. The only currency he is left with is the antiquities that he is actually quite passionate about, but the only way he can capitalize and make money to help his family survive is by smuggling. That kind of life of crime comes with a whole bunch of baggage like violence and unsavory activities. So, for me as an actor and storyteller, making sure he wasn’t just a mustache twirling bad guy was killer. He is a human being who is desperate and determined to help his family survive. He has a wife and kid that he is taking care of so his motive was that whatever he did (no matter how much people would criticize it) came from his humanity and his intention to do the right thing.

Q) Was there anything you have added to your role as Hassan that may not have originally been scripted for you?

A) One of my favorite parts of this project was that it was an original story written and created by Chuck Rose. So, we weren’t beholden to any preexisting material. It’s not based on a graphic novel, a TV series from the 70’s or a TV series of a film. It’s a completely original story with completely original characters. As we began to shoot, I got the sense that they were learning about the world we were creating as they were shooting. So, they were quite open to dialogue and collaborating between the cast and the creators, executive producers and the directors to make sure we captured the essence of each character and each circumstance. So, it evolved as we filmed, which kind of gave it a vibrant lively feeling on set because we weren’t bound by some pre-existing material. So, I like to think all those conversations about taking the material further that maybe certain ad libs or motivations that we would find on a given day would find its way in during subsequent episodes.

Q) What have you taken away from your time working on a show with such legendary actors?

A) Watching each one of those individuals work is like a master class. They are performers that are at the top of their game and they have all reached that legendary status through talent, hard work and years of perseverance. So watching them work, for me, the one prevailing characteristic that I learned from is absolute confidence in themselves and their work. Everybody would show up to set ready to take the story further and we would all have creative input. They’d have these bold character choices, but be absolutely confident in them. So, they are open to collaboration, but it is not from an insecure place or have the director tell them how to play a part. For me, as an actor, that is the one prevailing good characteristic that you have to work on. It’s having faith in yourself and trusting yourself as an artist, doing your homework and doing the preparation. It’s knowing what you want to accomplish, but then knowing that once you make a decision that it is the right one and you can commit to it fully. You are not holding back or apologizing for a moment or a bold choice, but that you just throw yourself at it. If you get redirected and if the director asks you to try something differently than that is where the confidence comes in. You can adapt to that and fully commit to that choice. So, it’s the confidence and the creativity to fully commit to every artistic choice that you make. That’s what I really learned from those legends.

Q) Who would win in a fight: Hassan from “The Art of More” or Captain David Singh from “The Flash?”

A) Unfortunately, David Singh doesn’t have super powers, which would seal it right there. I’d honestly have to say that it would depend on the circumstance. I think Hassan’s desperation and passion would carry him pretty far in the battle. He’d stop at nothing while Singh has to uphold the law. His goal is probably to protect, serve and make the arrest where as Hassan will blast you to get out of there. So out of sheer will and determination, maybe Hassan.

Q) As a part of social media, what kind of fan feedback have you been receiving?

A) The feedback has been really positive. I think what is exciting about being on Crackle and this new platform is that everybody gets to watch at their own pace. So, it’s not like “The Flash” where you know what episode is airing and you know where people are at in the storyline so everybody is kind of responding to a specific event. With “The Art of More” the feedback is trickling in and people are making general comments about the story and the whole arc of the character, which is kind of new and kind of interesting. A lot of have seen episodes before tweeting or talking about it on social media. The feedback has been fairly positive and I can kind of tell because I think Hassan’s arc in the series he changes and grows and you get to know him. You learn a lot about him so I can kind of tell where audiences are based on the type of feedback. If it is a lot about him being a villain and a bad guy then I know they are probably pretty early on in the series. Then, later on, I’m getting feedback about him being a family guy, doing the right thing and him being stuck between a rock and a hard place. Then I know they have probably made it deeper into the series.

Q) What makes “The Art of More” a good fit for the Crackle network?

A) I think creative license is a big part of it because it isn’t a network show. They have to adhere to with boundaries and those are being established for us as we go. It’s kind of a new arena. So, for them to craft a brand new show and for it to be on a brand new platform it kind of creates that bubble where we can take some risks and go forward with certain things. Crackle has been very collaborative in that regard in accommodating those kind of things we want to accomplish with the show. And also it is the fact that it is so widely accessible and you can binge watch it or you can pace yourself. It’s exciting to see how audiences are going to consume it. Even in creation of the show, there is this awareness that  we don’t have to repeat ourselves or reintroduce storylines several times because the assumption is that they have just watched the previous episode. So, we don’t have to explain and do a bunch of exposition. We can just kind of move ahead with the story. You can get to more story more quickly because you don’t have to review thinking it has been a whole week since you’ve last seen these characters.

Q) What can you tease is to come for Captain Singh on “The Flash?”

A) I’m a huge fan of “The Flash,” so for me being on there is a dream come true. All I can really say is Captain Singh is still around and you are going to get to see sides to these people or aspects of these characters this season that you may not have seen previously with risks happening between Earth-1 or Earth-2, a lot of interesting twists and turns are coming up.