Michael B. Jordan, Matthew Rhys, J.K. Simmons, Jeff Daniels, Jason Bateman and Darren Criss
The men of The Hollywood Reporter’s annual television Drama Actor Roundtable discussed everything from gender pay parity to penis prosthetics.
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Image Credit: Photo Credit: Koury Angelo -
Darren Criss
Image Credit: Photo Credit: Koury Angelo Darren Criss of FX's American Crime Story: The Assassination of Gianni Versace isn't afraid of a challenge. "Anytime somebody goes, ‘OK, I have something that might make you uncomfortable,’ I’m like, ‘Bring it.’ Like, I’m interested in that. With a grain of salt," he says.
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Jason Bateman
Image Credit: Photo Credit: Koury Angelo After reading the first two episodes of Ozark, Jason Batemen knew he wanted to do more with the show than just act. "I loved this world, and I wanted to be able to figure out what it looked and sounded like, and I knew that by having two hands on the wheel, one in front of the camera, one behind, it might increase my odds of hitting that little target," he says.
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Jeff Daniels
Image Credit: Photo Credit: Koury Angelo Jeff Daniels prepared for the role of real-life FBI agent John O'Neill in Hulu's The Looming Tower by meeting with FBI partners and agents. "I went to 10 FBI guys sitting in a bar for three hours, just listening about John, the good and the bad, till I had enough to go, 'That's all I need, thanks,'" Daniels says.
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J.K. Simmons
Image Credit: Photo Credit: Koury Angelo J.K. Simmons says he doesn't want to know anything about a project before he reads the script — meaning he didn't know he would be playing two characters on Counterpart.
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Matthew Rhys
Image Credit: Photo Credit: Koury Angelo Matthew Rhys initially believed some of what happens on The Americans is far-fetched — even though the show is "heavily steeped" in truth. "What the KGB was doing in the U.S. in the early '80s was farcical," he says. "So as much as I'd go to the writers and say, 'This is ridiculous,' they'd go, 'I know, but it happened.'"
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Michael B. Jordan
Image Credit: Photo Credit: Koury Angelo Michael B. Jordan believes that as an actor, you can't do everything. "And obviously you have agents who have their own agenda, everybody's trying to push you and navigate you toward saying or taking a job that you may not feel 100 percent comfortable with," he says. "Everything on paper may look good, but you have to go with your instincts."
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J.K. Simmons
Image Credit: Photo Credit: Emily Berl J.K. Simmons on #MeToo and Time's Up: "Obviously having a heightened awareness of this and people being discovered and called on the carpet and prosecuted, presumably, is good for everybody involved except for the culprits, who are deserving, but it's way, way, way, way beyond Hollywood."
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Darren Criss
Image Credit: Photo Credit: Emily Berl Darren Criss — who starred in Ryan Murphy's Glee before American Crime Story — called the "Murphy Camp" a gift that keeps on giving.
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THR’s Drama Actor Roundtable
Image Credit: Photo Credit: Emily Berl The group for this year's Drama Actor Roundtable confessed which roles they consider easy yesses — and easier nos.
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Jason Bateman
Image Credit: Photo Credit: Emily Berl Jason Bateman and Matthew Rhys admitted they don't like dancing. "I didn't even dance at my own wedding," Bateman says.
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Matthew Rhys
Image Credit: Photo Credit: Emily Berl Now that Matthew Rhys has wrapped The Americans, he says he's trying to greenlight a project about Griffith J. Griffith.
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Jeff Daniels and Michael B. Jordan
Image Credit: Photo Credit: Emily Berl After sharing what he'd tell his younger self about the industry, Jeff Daniels joked that when Michael B. Jordan eventually fails, he'll "fail miserably."
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Jason Bateman
Image Credit: Photo Credit: Koury Angelo If Jason Bateman could go back and give advice to his younger self, it'd be to not count on getting hired. "There are peaks and there are valleys, and how you enter into that valley dictates your ability to get out of it, in terms of confidence and self-esteem and identity. And if that is wrapped up into your ability to be employed, then things could be challenging because you can't control that."
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Darren Criss
Darren Criss says he feels like he's made "all the right mistakes," — "and all of it got me to this Roundtable with you guys."
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Jeff Daniels
"I talk to college kids sometimes, and you can't teach them about the rejection, you can't prepare them for that, for the bitterness, the depression, all that stuff that comes because of the peaks and valleys of a career," Jeff Daniels says. "But don't let it kill the love for what comes between action and cut. Hang on to that because you're gonna need that."
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J.K. Simmons
If J.K. Simmons could impart wisdom on his younger self, he says he'd use the words of another actor. "I'll give credit to Mark Ruffalo, who said this, but, 'I would look my young, aspiring actor in the eyes and say, 'It'll be OK.'"
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Matthew Rhys
Michael Rhys says he sees roles two ways: scary-scary and excited scary. "To me, dancing is scary-scary and playing other parts is exciting-scary."
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Michael B. Jordan
Michael B. Jordan says he didn't want to initially join Farenheit 451. "I wasn't interested in playing an authoritative figure with what was going on in the world with police and in my community. And being a black man, I didn't want to play somebody who was an oppressor." That changed after he read the book, learned Michael Shannon was on board, and he talked to the director, his family and friends.