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The Romanoffs third episode, House of Special Purpose, is a horrifying metafictional fun-house mirror.
(Also, I enlightened Huston about the fact that he was wearing a Pokemon hat.)
I like your Pokemon hat.It is Pokemon?
Yes, it really is.
That thing on the side is a Poke Ball.
You throw them and thats how you catch the Pokemon.
And there are teams in Pokemon Go.Is blue a good team?
This is so funny.
Someone said this to me the other day, like, Hey, cool Pokemon hat.
I was like, I dont know what that means.
You should know it does make you part of a specific team.Shit, man.
Im deep in Pokemon without even realizing.
Im glad that I could clear that up for you.Wow, thats mad.
I cant believe it.
Here I am, everyones like, Jack, hes an avid Pokemon fan.
Hes seriously into Pokemon.
Im sitting at home playing, or doing, what would I say?
Could I be a Pokemon, or that doesnt make sense?
No, youd be a trainer.
Anyhow, your character assaults someone in this episode ofThe Romanoffs.Yes, I do.
I do … yes, exactly, on from Pokemon to assault.
How do you film a scene like that so everyone involved feels safe?Its a really good question.
Matt [Weiner] is so specific in what he writes.
He also has his thumb in every part of every single thing.
Me, Christina, and Matt together.
It was so specific.
Oh my God, every single part.
Everything was like that.
But a lot of this rings true.
I think thats why it was so brilliant.
Its exaggerated, but at the same time, its things that everybody knows or can relate to.
Can you give me an example?Your costume, the way your hair is, even the movements.
If you walk, Matt will be like, Raise your arms just a little bit higher.
I think it would be foolish.
Any time someones like, Go and do what you want, something goes wrong.
Especially reading that scene, you realize the context of the scene means thats the wrong thing to do.
Sowecant do the wrong thing.
The other great thing is also such a shorthand that Matt has with Christina.
They worked together for years.
I think the only person who couldve played that part was Christina.
Weve all been through it in our own way.
Weve all had bad experiences, weve had great experiences.
In a sense, its made me stronger because theres sometimes where youre like,This is crazy.
I cant do this anymore.
But the lovely thing is coming on a set like this, which was the complete opposite.
We were in Prague, the most beautiful city.
Everyone was just so happy to be there.
But you say youve had bad experiences.
Have you seen actors get manipulated?Ive had it.
Ive had tough directors.
Do you think directors gaslight actors?You cant generalize.
I dont mean everyone.
But do some directors behave that way?Sure.
But he knew that he was getting something out of me.
Is it worth it?Thats a great question in everything.Is it all worth it?
Is it?I know thats not what you mean.
Do you know why?
Youre like,Thats what Ive been working for.
For a moment of this is gonna sound so corny pure truth, in a sense.
But for that, weirdly enough, youre like,It was worth it.
But you have to.
I think that gets tough.
you might say, Is it worth it?
I dont think its as simple as that.
In life, I would say, No regrets.
As soon as you start regretting something, then it wasnt worth it.
That would be the simple way around it for me.
You do take it home.
I know when I go home after a tough day, its still there.
And you have to shake it.
But its not easy to shake.
That goes the other direction too, right?
If youre just doing it for a paycheck, youre gonna phone it in.
You want the connection.
You want someone to be passionate, almost to a fault.
Hence, why Daniel Day-Lewis has three Oscars.
After the assault scene, your character apologizes to Christina Hendricks character.Yeah, he apologizes.
And she goes, What, youre gonna use the method as an excuse?
And then she sort of forgives him.She sort of does.
Now people are a lot more careful, but that wasnt always the case.
Whats not acceptable today would have been acceptable once upon a time.
Im saying only the movement now has made us see things like this.
And we all got on with it.
How do you think people would actually react to Samuels behavior?I think hed get nailed.
I think hed get nailed for doing something like that.
Forever?No, but thats the hard thing.
I wouldnt give a shit, but thats me.
So, its about whos who.
You could punch me in the face and Id feel glad for it.
Its each person, individuals.
What are people comfortable with?
Now, today, I think its a very different thing.
This interview has been edited and condensed.
