Do you feel that there’s any goodness in Logan?
Oh, yeah. I think there’s a lot of goodness to him. I think he’s very misunderstood. I think it’s just all gone horribly wrong. We have these little moments of — and they’re not dwelt on — the scars on the back, the story of the mother, the sister, the relationship with the brother. That’s where he becomes a human being because he is full of the foibles and all the problems that we all have on a day-to-day basis, and all the horrible decisions that we make or we don’t make.
And that’s what we [as actors] do. We reflect, we’re not it. And I think a lot of actors do not understand that. They don’t understand the responsibility of that position. They think it’s about, “Oh, I just subsumed myself in the character and then I live it 24/7.” A real problem that America has — and I think it’s also what our show is about — is that America is only interested in the pursuit of individualism at the expense of community. When you look at the European theater, it’s all about community and groups who have dug in and have kept going year after year after year. America hasn’t done that. It’s the ensemble, the community that’s important in any project that you’re working on as actors. You have to create the community and you have to behave toward the community; it’s not about your, “I have to do this; I only can do it this way.”
[Expletive] that. It’s absolute [expletive] nonsense. Join in. It’s a game. It’s playing. It’s what kids do. Kids don’t think, “Well, I’m this character and I can’t throw it off.” They have the natural instinct of play, and we forget about what playing is about. Sorry, end of lecture. [Laughs.]
Well, it’s nothing new for viewers to blur that distinction between actor and character, too ——
Oh yeah. I’m suffering from it!
—— and I’ve read about the way strangers ask you to tell them to [expletive] off. Does getting such a career-defining role at this stage feel like a gift? Or does it feel like it’s boxing you in? How does it feel when those strangers approach you on the street?
The power of the dramatic work is so extraordinary, and the need for people to make that identification — and somebody like Logan, he has become a cultural icon. But it’s a bit of a thing where you go: I’ve been an actor for 60-odd years. I’ve done a lot of great work. [“Succession”] is a very special work that I’ve done, and it’s given me so much, and I’m really eternally grateful for it. But it’s only a stop on the way. It is not the destination, as far as I’m concerned. Now that may be wrong. That may define me. But I’m just going to go on regardless.
