06 Reunited
withhis
betrothed,
Stella,in
“Magicto
Makethe
SanestMan
GoMad.”
07 WithLorca
in“Choose
YourPain.”“Costumes always help you fi nd
yourcharacter. Dwight Schrute has
a polyester suit, has got a calculator
wristwatch. He wears a beeper, even
though beepers are defunct, because he
didn’twant to give up his beeper. He’s
wearing one as late as 2013, when the
showended. Harry Mudd is almost part
pirate. It’s a little operatic: leather boots,
a lotof buckles and straps and rings. It
feelsvery ornate. He’s kind of conman,
smuggler, raconteur, roustabout, and it is
reallyinformed by his wardrobe.”A Shorter Trek
Discussions with Discovery’s producers
aboutWilson possibly returning to theshow in Season 2 led to him directing
“Th e Escape Artist.” He read the
script for the short, which he deemed
“absolutely hysterical and strange and
exciting,” and then was invited to
direct it.
“It was an incredible learning
opportunity,” he says. “I’d directed
three episodes of Th e Offi ce before,
but Th e Offi ce was pretty simple. It’s
like, ‘Where are you going to put the
camera, to cover the dialogue and the
desks?’ We used documentary-style
cameras on Th e Offi ce. Th is one was
a lot more demanding.
“I got to learn a ton about visual
eff ects and special eff ects, and howfirsttwoepisodes.“Howdastardlycan
yoube,andat thesametime,how
muchhumorandcomedyandcharm
canhebring?Findingthatbalanceis
alwaysinterestingwithMudd.I think
thattheywalkedthattightropereally
well.Hewasa littlemorecomedicat
first,andthenwesawin‘Magicto
MaketheSanestManGoMad’how
heturnedandtherewasa realedgeto
thisHarryMudd.Hewasnotquite
somucha buffoon,buthehastobe
believableas a realthreat.”
ColorfulClothes
It’sbeensaidthatclothesmake
theman.Well,theyalsomakethe
Mudd.Justas RogerC.Carmel’s
colorfulattireintheoriginalseries
complementedtheactor’sbroad,
playfulperformanceas Mudd,sotoo
haveWilson’selaboratethreadson
Discovery. AtthementionofDiscovery
costumedesignerGershaPhillips’
name,Wilsonimmediatelyheaps
wordsofpraiseuponher.
“She’sbrilliant,”heenthuses.
“She’sphenomenal.Thesecostumes
arenext-levelStarTrekstuff, andI’m
notjustsayingthat.I reallythink
they’reexquisiteandherdesigns
areimmaculate.
06
07INTERVIEW