White Russell on the “Sociopath” view of “Under the Banner of Heaven” thinking

[This story contains spoilers to the finale of Under the Banner of Heaven.]

Wyatt Russell tried to keep the role of Dan Lafferty Under the flag of paradise As authentic as possible, but there were times when he had to take creative license with the character.

The FX Limited series is based on the true story of the 1984 murder of Brenda Wright Lafert (Daisy Edgar-Jones) and her 15-month-old daughter Erika at the hands of her brother Dan and Ron Lafert. Sam Worthington). Andrew Garfield plays an investigative detective.

In his role as Dennis, Russell says he wanted to do the story justice, help the show’s producer, Dustin Lance Blake, create a story he needed to film, and make sure Dan played it honestly.

“Because this is a true story, you don’t want to get too deep into what the character was like,” Russell said. the hollywood reporter About a true crime drama based on John Krakauer’s bestseller. “I had a very deep idea of ​​what power was like because there were so many sources that were connected. So you want to keep it as authentic as you think it is and was the reality. ”

But there were times, even with hours of footage, when Russell wasn’t sure what the truth of the knife was, or if he really believed what he was saying at the time. “It’s adding some elements and a little bit of reading between the lines,” explains Russell.

In the interview below THR, Russell explains the character’s thinking about being “clearly sociopathic” and his experiences in unwanted roles.

How would you describe Dan Lafert’s journey? Under the flag of paradise?

The actions he took are almost impossible to put into words, especially the human game. So how do we manage to do without touching the very big aspect of what can sometimes be portrayed, remember that these are real people who died, who lost their lives, it was about portraying. For him honestly. This was followed by the fact that he was a really good guy. People really liked Dan. You don’t follow people you don’t like. They are maniacal and manipulative cult leaders, not people people don’t like. It was important to see why Brenda and others, including her family, would say, “Okay, yes.”

One of the things I found was my own feeling or discovery, probably in the midst of it, I think Dan didn’t know what he was doing. I think Danny was just a manipulator who wanted his father to love him and wanted to feel safe in his later life. He wanted to have some kind of security in life, and that was thinking, “All I have to do is be as faithful to the text as possible,” and that relieved a lot of his fears. He was just trying to get around people, manipulating them. So no matter how crazy you think, the great manipulator will say, “This is a great idea. Of course you will. Is not I the idea is Your The idea: “You keep going down that path all of a sudden… I don’t think he even knew how he got there. What he was doing”.

How did the idea of ​​playing someone like that come about?

Sometimes it was awkward and difficult because of the humor, right? Congenital. Mormons, their positivity and how you met them, can be funny because it’s so positive. It has many wonderful properties, but for those who are not used to it, it can be fun. So it’s important to remember that it’s still hilarious. Life is still hilarious in the most horrible, evil and maniacal places. People react very differently. I thought it was important, although I kept abreast of what was finally happening. That was the reality. This is stranger than fiction. And balance by inserting a knife into a rabbit hole. It wasn’t like every show you had to do specifically with Dan. So for every little moment, you can try to maneuver it gently so that it doesn’t clearly show up down the rabbit hole.

What were your initial thoughts about Dan when you read the script and the book?

I first read the book years ago and then read the script. My initial thoughts on this were the opinion of any cult leader: he is obviously very magnetic. It all starts with the core of kindness. He does this with love in his heart. This is not out of pure hate. He believes that this is the only way to get to heaven and this is indeed true. He thinks so. It’s amazing how anyone can achieve the feeling that this is the only way. My brain thought, “How can anyone be so sure about something they don’t know and what will lead them down that path?

With Dan, I think it all goes back to the father. He wanted to please his father. He wanted his father to love him and he wanted his father to think he was doing a good job. If your dad had told you, “You’re doing a wonderful job, man. I know it’s hard, but you’re fine. You’re a drug addict”, I think, everything would be different. I think Dan’s brain and personality are also designed to be somewhat sociopathic in a lot of ways. Such an interesting guy, I mean, I can’t say he’s not interesting. But, he’s not a nice guy.

How did you manage to be part of such a horrible true story?

You will get what you are. When it comes to a true story, you want to execute it fairly; Protect your character, that’s all you can really do. You help the director make a movie or show that needs to be filmed. Lance is the one with his fingers on every button and you have to be the right button to use it when he needs it. Because this is a true story, you don’t want to go too far into what the character was like. I had a deep-rooted idea of ​​what power was like because there were so many sources of power. So you want to keep it as authentic as you think it is and was the reality.

There are times when Dan says in interviews and stuff, you don’t know if that’s true or if what he believes now is different than what he believed then. So he tried to shoot the needle threads sometimes, where there’s a little license, where you’re, “I think I’d go there like that” because that’s not exactly what he said. This is adding some elements and a little bit of reading between the strings.

What did you learn from playing Knife and do you think you will be involved in future projects?

I need to understand the linear thinking process. Otherwise, it’s just memorizing the words and it’s no use. It was very difficult because I couldn’t understand. I’m not Mormon. I don’t know anything about it. So I had to dig a little deeper than I normally would, and I was like, ‘What do I mean by that? What am I really saying? It was really rewarding and that’s what I’m going to do more of now as I go along and I can really forget that you’re saying the lines, you’re just hearing the thoughts. This thought process was very important to my mind and that’s what I’ve been trying to do on every project, but it specifically emphasizes that. I think I’ll try to put more of that in everything I do now.

What’s it like to have a character that isn’t necessarily a favorite?

I was between 13 and 14 years old and it’s fun. You are long enough and understand all this. There was a time when it was like, “Well, he’s a stone thrower. Everyone wants him as a bricklayer,” and I couldn’t get a job like any other. (laughs.So it was like, “Oh, he’s a young green detective.” so i do skip 22nd street, And it’s like, “He’s a jockey, he befriends Channing Tatum.” Many times in my short career I have been nominated many times for what I consider a compliment.

[Unlikable] Playing the characters is fun because there are so many of them. You have a lot to do and it’s always a challenge to be able to play someone like that and make someone incomprehensible. This is an important part of playing with someone who is not loved. The most irrelevant person in the world, Donald Trump, right? There are a lot of people who like Donald Trump and there are reasons for that, and understanding why that person likes him is an important part of understanding why these people like him.

There are a lot of people who will look at Dan for something he says about something and say, “Of course I do.” This is a reality. And whether you do or not is just a matter of your understanding of how you view a certain topic or whether you can speak to or understand someone. To have a really important relationship with someone, you need to understand where they’re coming from. That was an interesting part of a knife set. And then I try to understand where they’re coming from when I can’t see it, but I have to be able to introduce it. And it usually comes from the feeling of hearing, misunderstanding or not hearing.

What do you think is the greatest pleasure. Under the flag of paradise?

On a show like this I don’t like to tell people how they should feel. This is not my job as an artist. But what I’ve done is when you think you know the answer and you’re 100% sure, and you feel like a speck of doubt is invading your life or a speck of doubt is invading your thought process. That’s what you think, let it invade. It’s good to have doubts about yourself. That’s what you have to do. Look in the mirror and say, “Am I really on the right track? I’m sure of that?” We’ve all done it. We’ve all heard words like, “I know I’m 100% sure I know.” So you look at it for 10 seconds and think, “I was wrong.” When do you think You know, just check it out.

You and Andrew Garfield’s constellation have an MCU in common. Do you ever want to see a US agent?Spider man Cross?

clear. Let me give it to Kevin Feig. If you come to Marvel, you can go to Kevin Page and see if he likes it. I will do a crossover for whoever tells me to do a crossover.

I really enjoyed playing the character and my experience working with Marvel was an amazing working and collaborating experience working with Anthony Mackey, Sebastian Stan and Carrie Scogland. The teams they have there are amazing, that’s why they do great things. So every time I get the opportunity or hear about the possibility of playing a character again or working for Marvel, it’s really exciting because the people are wonderful. So I hope I managed to do it again. Let’s see.

The interview has been revised for clarity.

Under the flag of paradise Available for streaming on Hulu.