NEW YORK, Nov. 10 (UPI) — League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Once and Again, ER, Salem and Gotham star Shane West says the main characters of Dirty South find themselves at a “serious crossroads” in their dark lives as they find themselves at the beginning of their new crime drama.
“They’re at a crossroads, but I think fate brought them together,” the 45-year-old actor said of the pair of criminals, whom he compares to those in old videos such as True Romance or Bonnie.
“My God! What else can she do?” spoke of Sue’s many attempts to save her family.
As for Dion, West wonders how much longer the homeless man can continue to “run around at full speed in his cool little car, borrowing wallets and other people without getting arrested. “
The actor hopes the film will resonate with viewers, as its themes of anarchy, poverty, corruption, and drug addiction reflect the problems that many other people will face in 2023.
“Having wonderfully written characters that respond to genuine life, genuine circumstances and struggles, is not only rewarding for an actor, but also for the viewers,” West said.
The actor welcomed the opportunity to play an imperfect guy who still has the ability to take care of others, even if he lives under the guise of the law.
“He was misinterpreted, and going for those types of characters is more appealing to me than the easier ones,” West said.
“That’s the explanation for why it made me need to immerse myself in this character,” he said.
Holland, 32, is for his roles in Arrow and The Flash.
She’s one of the last people in The Dirty South, so she and West didn’t have much time to talk and prepare for their on-screen relationship.
“The chemistry had to change almost immediately,” West said.
“What really helped us is that although Sue and Dion are attracted to each other, it’s not love at first sight,” he said. “They have to overcome their disorders and their struggles, discredit them as true and accept them. ” as truth with, and then to disaccept as truth with and accept as truth with back: that’s what contributed to our crackling and connection, so to speak.
The actor attributed Holland’s portrayal of a witty woman with few possible options to the quality of her own performance.
“Man, she’s a fantastic actress and she made a splash,” he said. “I followed her. “
Although the ending of the story seems authentic, it doesn’t temporarily end in a bow of satisfaction from Hollywood.
Working with a director who also wrote the script gave the assignment a certain cohesion.
“He knew what he was looking for and brought love and excitement to the set every day. He’s the Energizer bunny,” West said of Matthew Yerby, noting that the filmmaker shot scenes in his hometown of Natchitoches with many of his old friends. .
“In the bar we filmed in, he worked when he was a kid. He had all these connections that I could fall back on. “
West, too, Yerby is a “great listener. “
“It’s one of the most important things in life in general, but certainly in this industry,” West said. “He’s able to make you feel comfortable, which is very important. Confidence grows from there. “
I was born and raised in Baton Rouge before moving with his family to California at the age of 10.
“I’ve shot there,” West said.
For most of his adult life, West stayed busy and artistic moving from television to film and then playing with rock bands such as The Germs, Johnny Was, and The Twilight Creeps.
“A shark never stops swimming, right? You have to keep looking at other things, but you also have to be passionate about them,” he said.
West said he was definitely interested in television again.
“It’s just to make it the right thing to do,” he said.
West sees a silver lining in the disruption of the entertainment industry since 2020, first due to the coronavirus pandemic and then due to recent work stoppages by writers and actors.
“We’ve had to do smaller stories, contained stories, basically because we were forced to do it in the beginning, especially because of COVID lockdowns and restrictions,” he said.