Steven Bauer – Ray Donovan

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

A) “Ray Donovan” is the main crux of what I do. Now the season is just ending, so I am starting to explore some other things. I landed a guest starring role on “Hawaii Five-O,” so I am getting ready to go to Hawaii in a few weeks. That’s fun because I know Scott Caan and his dad a little bit. They are good people and they are really nice people who do the show.

Q) How was your character Avi on “Ray Donovan” originally described to you?

A) They were unsure whether to make him a very large Russian who eats a lot or a very tough, cerebral ex-Mossad Israeli. What I did was I convinced them is that I had enough experience in Israel (because I have been there) and I had met a lot of those guys. I also played a Mossad agent in the 80’s in a movie. I had a lot of contact with those men and I know they way they speak English. I have a talent for language and accents. So, that accent really rubbed off on me. It was very easy for me to duplicate. So, I went in and showed them my Israeli version and they loved it. I went in and they chose me on the last day of casting. I have to say that Liev [Schreiber] was nice enough to come in on that day from his home just to see me and read with me so we could see what the chemistry was like (and see if I was big enough to be his bodyguard). We had to look good physically and he approved me. He was very helpful and very supportive of me getting the role.

Q) What have you found challenging about the role?

A) People think it must be hard to talk like that all day, but I can go in and out of the accent really easily. That’s the easy part. The hard part really is to be that guy for “Ray Donovan.” Ray is a very quiet man. His emotions are pretty much in check. It’s hard to read him so I have to be in neutral. I have to be sort of idling all the time and be ready at any time for what he may propose to me. The other thing is also sometimes I am called upon to be his conscience because he does make impetuous, impulsive decisions based on temper and his will. He goes from zero to outrage really quickly, even though he is not an emotionally showing character. He does get to the point of outrage really fast. The script does call on me to stand up to him and be the voice of reason, so to speak, and be calm when he is losing it. He wants to take action that will probably be detrimental to us, our business and him. It could land him in jail. I usually try to talk him out of it. That’s the challenging thing, to play those scenes in a way that is believable, that I can actually stop a train like Ray Donovan.

Q) The chemistry between you and Liev on screen is fantastic. Was it there in your initial read with him or have you built a bond through working together?

A) I think that’s one of the reasons they gave me the job on the spot. Liev and I had a bouncing back-and-forth thing. Again, he’s a man of few words as the character. Liev is kind of goofy and likes to laugh a lot when he is not Ray Donovan. When he is Ray Donovan, he keeps his cards close to his vest as they say. On that playing field, I’m a little bit of a joker with him and try to keep him a little light because he gets so morose and dark. With Avi, I just kind of joke with him a little bit. I try to pull him out of it a little bit. I think that was there right from the start and he allows that in a way where he looks at me like he’s going to kill me. I try to pull him out of his mood. If I just persevere and stay in my light mood, he eventually will break down.

Q) What can you tease is in store for Avi and Ray in the remainder of the season?

A) There are some testing moments. I can tell you that there will be some really, really testing moments. It tests our working relationship and our friendship. The audience will be surprised and shocked in some cases. It sort of comes as a surprise all of a sudden. A lot happens with him this season. There is a lot that goes on in his life and sometimes he just takes things on him. The people around him care for him and sometimes he doesn’t want to be cared for. He gets a little testy with anyone caring that much.

Q) What have been some of your most memorable moments from filming “Ray Donovan” this season?

A) Some of the testy moments because they are challenging to both of us and to the director.  The director has to work it out with us and give us free range to find the proper tone of the scene. You don’t want to give the wrong signal to the audience. You don’t want to say “this is the end” or have it seem irreparable. You want it to seem like a relationship and relationships have ups and downs. Those are my favorite moments, when it becomes complex between two human beings. There is so much testosterone and a real caring that exists. They care about each other, but it is really unstated. I also finally get the opportunity this season to work with one of my favorite actors, Elliott Gould. He is one of my favorite people and that was really, really fun and really memorable for me. He and I have had a nice relationship from the moment I first came on set. Meeting him after seeing him in so many movies throughout the years, finally getting to know him and then after two seasons I got to work with him.

Q) What do you think it is about the show that has made it a fan favorite show so quickly?

A) I think that it is dark and provocative. I think the element of family is something people relate to, even though they are a Boston family. I think there is a universal appeal to the tightness and the emotional rollercoaster of being a part of that family, siblings that have gone through similar hell growing up with having that kind of father. People have a father who is a scoundrel, but is lovable. I think Mickey Donovan (Jon Voight’s character) has pulled in a whole audience that has been unexpected. It causes so much division between the audience because you like him, love him or hate him. He’s a divisive character, but he is hard to ignore. Everyone is waiting to see what he is going to do next, what disaster he is going to create in the lives of the people he supposedly cares about. I just think that the writing is so strong and such beautiful American language that it is believable. People relate to it. Finally, I think that Liev has created such an iconic American anti-hero that it has really created a sensation. He’s so watchable because he’s so quiet and unexpressive while being expressive at the same time. It’s good timing for a dark, real mature adult show. It’s a very American show.