At this point, you’ve been playing Langdon for a relatively long time. Do you feel like you can read a script and say, “Oh, Langdon wouldn’t say that,” or, “I don’t think Langdon would do that”?
I mean, not really. Again, coming from the theater, I come from a world where the script is wholly written. Tennessee Williams wrote what he wrote. And it is my job to interpret that. I think Samuel Beckett says every word is an interruption of an otherwise perfect silence, or something like that. [Editor’s note: In a 1969 Vogue interview, Beckett said, “Every word is like an unnecessary stain on silence and nothingness.”] Whatever the writers have me saying and doing, I meet them and follow them. And luckily they’re very good at what they do.
I’m also wondering what it’s like working with Noah when he wears so many hats on this set. He’s your costar, but he’s also your executive producer, and sometimes your director and sometimes your writer. Is your relationship similar at all to Langdon and Robby’s?
Yeah. Robby and Langdon, I think these two guys understand each other. I think they see each other. And I think there’s a friendship there that extends beyond mentor-mentee. I feel the same way with Noah. Noah and [executive producer] John [Wells] and Scott took a huge risk in hiring me. Langdon is an incredible part that they had incredibly big plans for, and they hired me with basically no experience. They took on the responsibility of training me and guiding me through this whole process.
Noah has been really amazing about that, both in terms of how to make television and also just navigating this new space where strangers on the internet know who you are. It’s an incredibly blessed moment that I’m in, but it’s also a lot. It’s a big change.Noah has really been there to offer guidance.
Were you surprised by any of the backlash to his character last year, from fans who were upset that Robby was not as nice as he was in season one?
I haven’t read that much about it. But I think it’s really interesting. When you’re growing up, your parent is not a person: They’re just an accessory to your growth. That is their sole function in the world. And then as you become an adult, you realize, Oh no, my parents are people. They have problems. They have considerations.
I think Langdon, over the course of the season, sees Robby not just as a mentor, but as a person who is also struggling. And he realizes that Robby is not just there for Langdon’s healing journey, but is on a journey of his own that has nothing to do with Langdon. He’s imperfect, and he never claimed to be perfect. I think if the audience is feeling some sort of way about Robby being imperfect, good. Great! That’s the story that we’re telling.
What do you think about people who want Langdon and Mel, Taylor Dearden’s character, to be romantically involved?
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