10 RogerC.
Carmelas
HarryMudd
in“Mudd’s
Women.”monitorandwatchthelasttakeand
watchyourperformance,andmake
sureit’sfittinginwitheveryone
else’sperformances,”Wilsonnotes.
“Butyou’realsokeepinganeyeon
everythingelse,likewherethecamera
is,howtighttheframeis,andyou’re
thinking,‘Iseverythinghappening
intherightorder?Arewetellingthe
storythatweneedtotell?’
“It’sincrediblychallengingbeing
onbothsidesofthecamera,but
boy,it sureis fun.Fortunately,I’d
playedMudda coupleoftimes,
soI reallyknewthecharacterpretty
well,andI knewhowI wantedto
playhim.”
Fanreactionto“The Escape
Artist”provedtobequitepositive.It
wasa fast-paced,entertainingromp
witha coupleofneattwists.Wilson
soundsas if helikedit,too.“I’mreally
thrilled,”hesays.“Tobehonest,I
thinkit’sf***ingawesome.I think
it’sexcitingandvisuallycool.I gotso
muchsupportfromtheproducers,
andsomuchhelpfromanamazing
crewupthere.The castwasfantastic.
I couldn’tbehappierwithhowit
turnedout.”AnotherTrek?
Wilsonis currentlyhardat work
onhisnextproject,anAmerican
adaptationoftheBritishseries,Utopia,
inwhichhe’llco-starwithJohn
CusackandSashaLane.Alsoonthe
wayarethefilmsRobodog,Blackbird,
andDon’tTella Soul. Considering
thatmostoftheU.S.S.Discoverycrew
warpeddeepintothefutureintheStar
Trek:Discoverysecond-seasonfinale,
it’sanyone’sguessas towhetherornot
Muddwill– orevencould– wreak
morehavocinSeason3. Wilson,for
hispart,hopesfora revisit,andeven
hasa fewideasaboutthenextstepsin
Mudd’sdevelopmentas a character.
“I wouldlovetobebackonthe
show,”hesays.“I wouldlovetodo
moreStarTrekandmoreHarryMudd.
I thinktheevolutionis keepingthe
audienceontheirtoes.Youdon’tknow
if you’resupposedtobelaughingorif
you’resupposedtobeafraidforyour
life.He’sa masterofillusion.He’s
a conman,andnothingis everas it
seemstobewithHarryMudd.That’s
what’sreallyexcitingabouthim,andI
hopethatwe’reabletoplaywiththat
aspectofhischaracterinthefuture.”andtheirspecialeffectsandvisual
effectsandsetdesign,plustheir
composersandeverythinglikethat.
It feelslikea multi-multi-million-
dollarproduction.
“I thinkit wasalsoa challengeto
findthatbalanceof,‘This hastobe
reallyfunnyandentertaining,andit
alsohastofeelreallyreal,’”Wilson
continues.“The stakeshavetobe
high.It’snotjusta comedyinthe
samewaythatGuardiansof theGalaxy
hassomeoutrageousvisualfunand
greatjokesandone-liners;youhave
tocareaboutthecharactersandyou
havetobelievethatyou’reinthereal
worldwithHarry,evenas outlandish
as it is.”MultipleMudds
Therewereplentymorechallengeson
“The EscapeArtist”:envisioningvisual
effectstobeaddedlater,particularly
duringthesequenceswithmultiple
Mudds;hangingsuspendedinthe
airfortakeaftertake;and,perhaps
trickiestofall,actinganddirecting
at thesametime.
“Youhavetocall‘Cut,’and
thenyouhavetorunovertoa littleRainnWilsonhasbeenherebefore:inheriting a role
originatedunforgettablybya predecessor.First, for the
AmericanversionofTheOffice, heassumedthe part
ofDwightSchrutefromMackenzieCrook;and long
beforeWilsonplayedHarryMuddonDiscovery, the
esteemedRogerC.Carmelappearedasthecharacter
in theoriginalseriesepisodes“Mudd’sWomen” and
“I,Mudd”(andprovidedthevoiceofMuddin the Star
Trek:TheAnimatedSeriesepisode“Mudd’sPassion”).
“Basically,I stoleallofthebrilliantstuffthat [Crook]
did,andthenaddedmyownstuff,andit wasgreat,”
WilsonsaysofTheOffice. “Andit’sthesamething
with[Discovery]. I inheriteda characterthathad been
previouslyplayedbyanotherbrilliantactor.I stole a lot
ofthingsthatI lovedfromhisperformance,and then
addeda lotmoreofmyown.
“It’sa testamentto[Carmel];whataninteresting actor
hewas.Youcan’ttakeyoureyesoffhimwhenhe’s in an
episode– sofulloflight.Thereis a wonderfullight and
darkqualitythattheoriginalwritersbroughtto[Mudd].
ButI thinkthenewwriters[onDiscovery] havealso
broughttheir[ownspin].He’smischievousanddeadly
at thesametime,andthat’sa funbalancetowatch.”10
Mudd: In
His Shoes
INTERVIEW