Tony Curran – Your Honor

By: Jamie Steinberg

Q) How was your character Frankie on “Your Honor” originally described to you?

A) That’s a good question. He was somewhat of a consigliere, as it were to Michael Stuhlbarg’s character. He was his confidant, his right-hand man, his friend. Jimmy came over from Scotland and I came over with him. He’s got a lot of loyalty to Jimmy Baxter. In many ways, he has a lot of loyalty to Jimmy. I think Frankie has a dark past. He may have been in the Army and he knows how to take care of himself and how to take care of other people as well if they were to have a disagreement with my boss. Let’s put it that way…

Q) Did you and Michael Stuhlbarg spend much time together to develop that loyalty bond needed between Jimmy and Frankie?

A) Yeah, in the beginning. Last year…August-September. We were lucky enough before the lockdown to go out for dinner with me, Hope Davis and Lilli [Kay]. We all had dinner together and got to know each other a little bit. When we talk about the family, the world that we’re from…They owned hotels and restaurants – everything is legit. They imported oysters. Completely above board until you get a little deeper into the family. Then, you might realize not everything is kosher.

Q) Going into the series, was there someone in particular you were looking forward to sharing a scene with?

A) Very much both. It’s got a really great cast. Obviously, Bryan [Cranston], Hope, Michael, Lilli and Hunter [Doohan] – everybody is equally as they are talented. They are equally as nice as people. So, obviously, I was looking forward with Bryan – from “Malcolm in the Middle” to “Breaking Bad” and everything in between. I enjoyed working with everybody. I’d worked a few jobs with Michael Stuhlbarg before. He was just a joy to work with and Hope as well. Working with Bryan, he’s such a pro and he’s so much fun. We had such a good time on it. He’s such a great collaborator as well. There are a lot of big names there who do their thing and are not as quite engaged with everybody else – as some people might be. And that’s fine, but Bryan Cranston is a delight and he has a hell of a nice tequila. When you get a chance, you should try Dos Hombres. It’s pretty good. [laughs]

Q) With such intensity to your role and the series, how did you shake off a long day of filming?

A) That’s a good question. The first scene that we actually shot was a scene where Hope, Michael and I go to the crash site. I remember I had already met Michael at this point and we got on and we talked about stuff – me being his man and so on. But I had never met Hope yet. And it was a night shoot, so it was maybe 9PM or 10PM. It was an intense scene going to the crash site and I just remember looking over and I saw Hope. People were in the zone so I didn’t want to bother anyone, but as she left her trailer, she sort of walked by me. She took my hand and she went, “Hi Tony…” And she shook my hand very firmly. It was very much like, “I’m in this. We’re in this.” She just looked me in the eyes and I thought, “My boss is not to be trifled with.” Gina is neither…So, we did that scene until like 4AM or 5AM and we all got in the back of this range rover. Hope sort of said something funny like, “Thank God that’s over! Is everybody okay?” The mood sort of lightened and we all started laughed and chatted. To answer your question, yeah, it depends on what time you get home. I ended up doing a lot of jigsaw puzzles in New Orleans. I’d have a glass of wine and do a few jigsaw puzzles.

Q) Which episodes truly stood out to you and that fans should be looking out for?

A) Obviously, the first episode when he walks in and is going to do the right thing and he’s going to bring his son in. He sees who the child’s parents are and when Hope Davis screams and hugs her husband at that moment…That moment, for me, was the catalyst. The judge turns and about faces and walks out of the police station. That’s where the whole story kind of goes boom and it’s like, “Where is this going to end up?” That, for me, was a big moment. I guess later on when the judge tries to pull other people in later on in episodes…There are other people in peril. I won’t say too much, but he’s in so deep that to save his son’s life he may have to go down a darker path. It’s going to change his soul, in many ways. It’s going to change who he is. As the name of the show is “Your Honor,” his honorable status as a judge is going to be changed. Also, it gets very dark around episode eight and nine. Some heavy things kick on. Obviously the Baxters are involved. And there are some really terrible things that we might have to do to tie up loose ends in about episode four or five. I think the last episode, because of what has happened with COVID, the finale (because we had seven months between episodes seven, eight, nine and ten that we had to finish) we’ve incorporated Black Lives Matters and COVID. When I read the final episode, it was extremely powerful. It was extremely powerful before, but now it has all these social, cultural developments and a global pandemic involved. That’s all been incapsulated in the final episode. It touches on so many different areas of society and the cruel nature of many aspects of the pandemic. And the finale is going to be bonkers! [laughs] We shot it two or three weeks ago and Bryan was directing, which was awesome. There is this incredible set piece scene at the end, which I think is going to be pretty powerful.

Q) What do you think it is about “Your Honor” that will make it a fast fan favorite series?

A) Why a lot of people enjoy dramas so much is the unexpected nature of how it unfolds. And the registers of some of the characters and how this world is created and how they respond to each other and how unexpected some of the twists of the turns can be. You just want people to be engaged. Also, it’s Bryan Cranston’s first time being back on television since he played Walter White. I think it’s a very different character. There are a lot of similarities to it. But I just hope people enjoy it and are moved by it. I think it’s incredibly moving and I think in many ways you do put yourself in the shoes of the judge – Michael Desiato. And no matter what line of work or what you do for a living, what happened to his family and his son (with different labels) maybe it could happen to anybody. How would you respond to that? If you were going to cover it up, how would you cover it up? How could your conscience deal with that if you had to – if you were forced and felt, “I can’t tell the truth here because if I do tell the truth it may be the end of me.” Some of my friend were texting me, “that’s pretty disturbing.” [laughs] It’s an awful moment when he’s trying to save the victim. It’s quite shocking and the kid wants to say something, but he’s drowning in his blood. His lungs are filling up. I guess you just want people to enjoy it and to talk about it. To feel like what would you do if you were in that situation.

Q) What would you like to say to everyone who are fans and supporters of you and the work you do?

A) I’d like to say thank you for watching. Please keep watching. [laughs] Enjoy the rest of the season. It’s amps up with each episode, so pour yourself a glass and hang on to your hat.