Sean Bean - Interview on TNT’s New Crime Drama, Legends
INTERVIEW: SEAN BEAN
Sean Bean speaks about his role as Martin Odum on TNT’s “LEGENDS”
Talking with Sean Bean in person for the first time is rather surprising. First of all, there’s no intense, imposing persona that accompanies most of his screen roles, whether heroes like Ned Stark in GAME OF THRONES and Richard Sharpe in the numerous BBC SHARPE’S miniseries, ambiguous characters like Boromir in LORD OF THE RINGS, crazy leaders like Ulrich in BLACK DEATH or absolute villains like John Ryder in THE HITCHER and Ian Howe in NATIONAL TREASURE.
Instead, Sean Bean comes across as affable and unassuming. Also, no matter what projects he’s in, he rarely uses his real speaking voice, which pegs him squarely as a native Yorkshireman.
Sean Bean is at the Television Critics Association Q&A session for LEGENDS, the new TNT series based on the novel by Robert Littell. Sean Bean stars as Martin Odum, an FBI agent who is brilliant at assuming long-term undercover identities, also known as “legends.” However, the character is starting to question whether his real self, Martin Odum, is all that real, or whether he’s been brainwashed into believing he’s someone he’s not.
LEGENDS is executive-produced by Howard Gordon (HOMELAND, 24), with another executive producer, David Wilcox, taking on show runner duties. Sean Bean is so impressed with Wilcox’s work that, after the Q&A session and after the small group of journalists asking Sean Bean follow-up questions has dispersed, the actor turns back and hurries over to a reporter to make sure he’s heard on this topic, “to just special mention for David Wilcox, because he’s the one who’s been putting these things together. He’s got a wonderful imagination. He’s displayed that in the scripts. I’d like to just say thanks to David, really.”
During the earlier panel, someone compares the way the character Martin gets into his legends with Method acting. Sean Bean is asked whether he’s like Martin and tends to stay in character even when he’s not “on,” or whether he switches his character persona off the instant the camera stops rolling.
“I guess I’m kind of in between, really,” Sean Bean replies. “I do obviously, as we all do, totally immerse ourselves in the roles that we’re playing, and that was particularly relevant to this production. And it took time.” He cites Martin’s alias as Leon Dittmann, a shy man with a stutter who joins a right-wing militia. “There was research and preparation. He was a quite fascinating character, and I did a lot of research into, he’s got this stutter, which actually works in his favor. He’s quite goofy. He’s an American guy, so I prepared for the accent. But I try and keep it very close to me, the character. I’m not someone who will live that life in real life. But then it is sometimes hard to switch off. The more intense the production is, the more you’re involved. Then there is a residue that you take home with you, and that can be tricky sometimes because you have to shake it off and live with your family.”
As to the kinds of details Sean Bean brings to the character, the actor says of Martin, “By playing goofy and playing a bit dumb, he’s actually getting right to the core of this organization. He’s ripping it apart. So there is a purpose behind acting that way. But I started off in it [with] a kind of makeup of what I thought would compliment that. It’s up to you to say things like, wear my hair like this, have my shirt to one side, I’m going to wear these glasses. It’s up to you to actually say little things that make up a character that’s credible, and I had a lot of fun. Then I went into another character who was totally different, very smooth, suave, sophisticated man, kind of a steely character, and I was totally different. I thoroughly enjoyed that because I drove big nice cars and wore Gucci costumes and went with a lot of women.”
When the panel concludes, Sean Bean obligingly makes himself available for further discussion. What attracted him to LEGENDS?
“Character, experiences, adventures,” Bean replies. “The quality of the writing – great writers that are around now in telly. And Howard Gordon has done some wonderful, wonderful work and you think, ‘Well, this is good stuff.’ And I think people appreciate it, I think audiences appreciate it. They think, “Well, we’re not just watching the same old stuff now.” We’ve got good actors coming in to play interesting parts with unpredictable endings. Not everything’s tied up and wrapped up at the end – it’s not as predictable. LORD OF THE RINGS, GAME OF THRONES, I was a good guy and had my head chopped off,” he notes with a laugh, “so anybody can die at any time, which is a good thing.”
The actor is enthusiastic about the state of television in both the U.S. and in Britain. “A lot of the stuff when I was younger, my career in British television, especially for the BBC, and they were very good dramas, maybe just one-offs, an hour long, but that’s how you learn your craft, by doing that, this job, BBC, a production here or there. It seems like America is kind of adopting that challenging kind of thought-provoking television that we were once involved with twenty years ago. And we’re still making great productions, but I think the Americans are really going for it, with BREAKING BAD and WALKING DEAD. I mean, there are so many wonderful productions and performances that everybody wants to be in it. And that’s the way it should be, because it gets out to people who don’t go out to the cinema too much. It comes right into your living room.”
Martin going deep into the legend of Leon Dittmann isn’t actually the first time Sean Bean has played a relatively timid character. Back in 1990, he costarred in an independent Irish drama, THE FIELD, which the actor recalls with pleasure. “I played Richard Harris’ son Tadgh McCabe. Bull McCabe was a very dominant father, crushing the spirit out of the boy. Not intentionally, but he was such a strong guy. And the son was kind of mentally behind, because of his father’s dominance and such high expectations that his father put before him. And that was quite interesting to play, a young man who was very introverted and he was afraid of speaking his mind, and when he did express himself, it was in aggression and hostility. And there was a great guilt behind that afterwards. So that was quite a complex, interesting character in THE FIELD. That was a great film, I thought.”
Sean Bean can see some parallels between Dittmann and Tadgh, though he points out there are differences as well. “I would imagine Dittman – there was a side of introvert. But then very similarly, extrovert, so they think he’s a bit of a fool. One of the Caesars, Claudius, he made everybody around him think he was a fool, and he actually was very clever and he got rid of all his enemies and he became emperor. So by behaving like a goofy guy, a goofy senator, he became part of the Roman Empire.”
Although Martin Odum’s speaking voice is not exactly Bean’s real voice, it is closer than those he adopts for the legends. Is it helpful that Martin at least sounds like he’s from the U.K.?
“I guess so, yes,” Sean Bean replies. “I mean, it’s just finding the right notes to do an accent. I played a character called Len Barlow in one of the episodes. He’s from Texas. And that was a bit easier to learn than just a regular American accent, just because there are so many extremities,” he laughs, and so many words that you remember. It’s very kind of idiosyncratic. But I use a voice coach for a few weeks before we start, just to get the tonality and the register.”
Having worked with so many luminaries, are there any directors Sean Bean would especially like to wok for? “I’d love to work with Ridley Scott or Martin Scorsese.”
Does Sean Bean know overall what he hopes is ahead for him? He says no, and adds that he’s fine with this. “I’ve never really had some grand plan. I’ve just enjoyed the surprise and the opportunities that have come along, just seeing which different parts come next.”
Interviewed by Abbie Bernstein
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