Fan Forum - View Single Post - Connie Britton #3: “I have said this before but every role that I play, I want to be different from something I have done before"

soapbubbles511 · 06-05-2018, 11:43 PM

Interview: Charles Esten Reflects on Playing Deacon Claybourne

Quote:

What was the most difficult part of playing this character?

Early on, I felt like I knew who this guy was. I thought there for the grace of God go I. I was able to empathize and feel those things. I’ve lived long enough and been doing it long enough. I have a Rayna in my life, but we didn’t have to spend all those years apart. You think, "Man, what would that be like?" I felt like I understood him rather quickly, even in terms of the audition. From there on out, I would think about it a lot.

A lot of the times, I would just feel it. When you see Deacon being moved, that’s me being moved by the situation and the great actors that I’ve been surrounded with. During the first season, a little after the pilot, we had a couple months off. That time off, I can remember coming back to the second season wondering, “Do I know what it’s like to be Deacon? Do I remember?” Then you walk back in the door, and you put those boots back on, and those jeans and that denim shirt, and you hold that guitar, and you sit across from Connie Britton, and you become that guy again.

What did you learn from Connie Britton in her role as Rayna Jaymes?

I learned so much. I was already a fan from watching Friday Night Lights. It was instantly obvious that she was committed to speaking the truth, and speaking truthfully, as she said it. You felt like you were talking with someone who was actually listening to you and actually responding to you. That was the answer to making any scene better.

There was almost a “BS meter” that would start to go off -- not that she would call you on anything. When you’re acting with someone who is being very truthful in the moment and you do something that’s a little heightened or “actor-y,” it feels more that way than when your scene partner is joining you in that. I liked the way she would fight against those things that seemed to not be true.