Shawn Hatosy Interview - Public Enemies and Southland
Shawn Hatosy doesn't have to worry about being typecast quite yet, but he is playing a member of the law enforcement community in back-to-back projects: 'Public Enemies' and 'Southland.'
Related Articles
Shawn Hatosy - Movies, Shawn Hatosy Photos, Interviews, NewsAn Interview with Ian Biederman - - Executive Producer and Creator of Shark on CBSFather Knows Less Movie Comedy to be Directed by Shawn LevyWallace Shawn and Bai Ling Photo - Southland Tales Movie Wallace Shawn and Bai Ling PhotoMontgomery Gentry Concert Review - Feather Falls Casino - Oroville, CA - April 30, 2004
Transcript: Shawn Hatosy Interview - Public Enemies and Southland
Rebecca Murray from About.com Hollywood Movies at the LA Premiere of Public Enemies.
Shawn Hatosy - 'Agent Madala' in Public Enemies
So tell me about your role in this. You play an agent, an FBI agent?
Shawn Hatosy: "Yeah, not like an acting agent, but yeah an FBI agent. You don't want to play one of those."
What is it like to play in a movie set in the 30s? Why is it so popular now, that we care about the 30s?
Shawn Hatosy: "It's that mobster/gangster mentality. It's good guys/bad guys, and then when you throw in the element of Michael Mann being like one of the best - if not the best... Not only is it a guy's dream come true, it's an actor's dream come true. It was an amazing thing to be a part of."
Why was it an actor's dream come true? What is it about Michael Mann that brings something special out in you?
Shawn Hatosy: "Just looking at his body of work. I grew up on movies like Heat and Last of the Mohicans and Manhunter, Insider.. His body of work speaks for itself. Those are my favorite movies, so yeah."
How is Southland going?
Shawn Hatosy: "It's going great."
You guys are back next year, right?
Shawn Hatosy: "We are back and there's the lovely Ann Biderman, who also co-wrote Public Enemies, who's the creator of Southland. And she's wonderful. I love her."
I think it's an amazing series. You guys can cuss and they bleep you, and that's so real. Does it feel real on the set?
Shawn Hatosy: "You know, there's nothing that inhibits you. What we try to do on the show is create situations that are as real as possible, and then deal with them accordingly. And to have the freedom to say whatever we want, yeah, it's very freeing. It leaves an air of spontaneity."
Do you do a lot of ad-libbing or is it strictly by the script?
Shawn Hatosy: "No, we do a lot of ad-libbing and even if it's not... You know, we'll ad-lib to get to a moment and it may not end up on the air, but we do a lot of it. We're shooting on digital as well so you have the freedom to kind of go on for as long as you want."
Did you expect it to catch on the way it did? It went out of the box with a bang.
Shawn Hatosy: "You know it's hard in this day and age. I don't know what formula keeps a show on the air. We had okay ratings, it's NBC and there's a lot going on and it's a good show. At the end of the day, it's a good show and I'm glad that we have a chance to sort of develop. I still think that it doesn't know exactly what it is yet. It's still defining itself."