Working with Ryan Murphy is an actor’s dream, or at least it was for actor David Corenswet. With his breakout year, the actor collaborated with Murphy on two major projects: first in The Politician and then in a starring role in the Netflix limited series Hollywood. “Ryan really loves actors and giving them authority,” Corenswet says, and that is exactly the nature of their working relationship in the new Netflix limited series. Not only did Corenswet sign on to star in Hollywood, but he also was able to push himself creatively behind the camera as an executive producer.
In Hollywood, Corenswet plays Jack Castello, an incredibly green aspiring actor chasing his dreams of finding a community in the industry he idolized. In a series that explores a revisionist take on cinema’s golden, it is easy to question what role someone like Jack plays in that narrative. In a conversation with Awards Daily, Corenswet dives into that topic and explores the themes that turned the limited series into one of the most talked about series of the year. He also talks about what he took away from that revisionist narrative, the collaborative nature of the project, and what it was working with his Juilliard idol, Patti LuPone.
Awards Daily: You have had quite the breakout year working with Ryan Murphy first on The Politician and now on Hollywood. What keeps you coming back to work with him?
David Corenswet: It’s an actor’s dream to be able to work with the same people over and over again. There’s always a learning curve. The first day on set everyone is trying to gauge each other’s speed and how they work together. The real joy of working with Ryan and his team is that they are constantly working together, so you get to skip that awkward getting to know each other phase. The actors are often new, but the infrastructure of the show allows actors to establish a strong pace with a confident ease. As an actor, it adds a layer of comfort and excitement.
AD: One of the exciting elements of Hollywood was that it blends a world of real-life figures with these new characters. Your character, Jack Castello, is one of the original roles of the show so what was it like creating him from scratch and what did you look towards for inspiration?
DC: I think my biggest inspiration was Singin’ In The Rain. I watched it hundreds of times while growing up as well as all of the Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers movies. I would say the tonal touchstone for me were actors like Fred Astaire, Gene Kelley, and Donald O’Connor. It felt appropriate for Jack’s earnestness. I also had the pleasure of looking towards Brando and Dean and others like that, but they were a little too cool and a little too edgy to be strict inspirations. Jack never gets to that level of brooding bad boy. The musicals I watched growing up were much better gravitational pulls throughout my process.
AD: As I revisited Hollywood, Jack’s earnestness was something that stood out to me because nowadays we don’t really see that. Instead, depictions of this industry are a lot more jaded, more cynical, especially from actors. Was it difficult to pinpoint that sincere optimism?
DC: I found it to be a great entry point into the character actually. There’s this feeling that he doesn’t know very much, his expectations are straightforward, and it was refreshing to have a character like that who was then shaped by the characters around him as the story moved along. It opened me up to my scene partners having a character without baggage. In this case, I was surrounded by really interesting, elevated work that I was able to play off of.
AD: Hollywood received a lot of buzz for its revisionist approach to the Golden Age of movies especially for creating a world where people of color, women, and queer characters were able to pave their own paths. As a cishet, white man, Jack doesn’t really fit into that in a traditional sense so I am curious what role you think he plays in this revisionist story?
DC: He is an outsider which is what Ryan wanted the show to be about. Although Jack doesn’t fit into any of those boxes, he is an outsider in the sense that he is a veteran coming back from the war who thinks there will be a clear path for him in Hollywood. He finds out very quickly that although he doesn’t face any of the obstacles the other characters are facing, he is still in the same reality of facing a roadblock with no one interested in giving him the time of day.
What I find so interesting about Jack is that he is the only one who doesn’t realize that he is an outsider. The reasons he is going to be rejected aren’t immediately obvious. It fits in with his earnest, wide-eyed perspective that he gets to learn about these injustices and obstacles that his friends face and thus becomes the gateway through which the audience learns about these obstacles and how they overcome them. In the end, he finds his own place and overcomes his own obstacles, but he also gets to learn the lesson that there’s more fulfillment in supporting your friends and the people you believe in than achieving his own accomplishments. Finding the joy in being a puzzle piece that fits into a larger puzzle.
AD: Hollywood also explores these relatively unknown parts of history, the kind of underbelly elements of the industry we don’t typically see. Things like Scotty Bowers’ gas station brothel and George Cukor’s queer sex parties. What was it like exploring those aspects of history?
DC: I grew up watching movies from the era but I wasn’t really familiar with the untold stories of Hollywood until I signed onto the project. Working on this project was my first deep dive into all of it. A couple of months before, I actually read Scotty Bowers’ memoir Full Service: My Adventures in Hollywood. Other than that I didn’t know much so I relied heavily on the other actors who did a lot of research on their real-life characters. Patti read Irene Selznick’s book. Jeremy read a lot of James Baldwin. Laura came in with a lot of research on Dorothy Dandridge.
It is a little bit of a cheat, but it makes sense. Jack comes into this world having seen the movies but knowing very little of Hollywood. I showed up in the same state as my character which is pretty ignorant of it all and learning from the research of my castmates. I think it’s a much more way to do research because it adds a collaborative element. I remember shooting a scene with Holland Taylor where her character is teaching Jack about the new method of acting. Holland sat me down and told me all about learning from Stella Adler. It all wove together seamlessly.
AD: Speaking of Jack taking acting lessons, the series begins with your character not being the strongest actor. What is it like as an actor trying to portray someone who… isn’t quite there yet?
DC: It’s surprisingly easy! Everyone always talks about it as if it’s a challenge, but it’s much easier to portray bad acting. Even the greatest actors turn in bad performances. It takes a lot of focus and work to be good. It’s not like speaking a language. There’s nothing inherently good to judge a great actor off of. I found the middle ground much more challenging where you are expected to be good, but not that good.
AD: I read that, while you were a student at Juilliard, you mentioned that working with Patti LuPone was a “pie in the sky dream.” I can only imagine how excited you were to achieve that. What was your reaction when you found that out and then saw the script and realized you were beginning the series with her filming these raunchy rendezvous?
DC: Definitely not! I fly by the seat of my pants, so at this point in my career nothing surprises me. I never even expected Ryan to ask to do another show with me after The Politician, so all of it was out of the box for me. I couldn’t imagine any of it. When it came to my work with Patti, I sort of didn’t know it was happening until it was happening. Those first rendezvous at the hotel were added in the middle of shooting. They were rewrites. We had already gotten to know each other, and there was a seamlessness to it. It wasn’t until much later until I woke up and realized what was happening. You could call it a pinch me moment but that might have some awkward connotations in this case!
AD: This is also your first major role as an executive producer. How did this multi-hyphenate role come to fruition and what was that experience as a producer like?
DC: It is an amazing gift for an actor who loves filmmaking. There are some pure actors who just want to show up and do their thing and don’t even watch the finished work. I really love storytelling and filmmaking as a broader project so I will jump at any opportunity to see any part of it that becomes available. Being involved in those conversations, learning the ins and outs of how this was made, it was special. Ryan really loves actors and giving them authority.
AD: Now that you’ve had a taste of it do you have any plans to get back behind the camera?
DC: Strangely, I think filmmaking can be a great solitary project. In lockdown, I’ve been busting my camera out and shooting some stuff and keeping my creativity sharp. In terms of bigger projects that is something that is on the agenda. I love filmmakers and I love logistics. I am ready to jump in at any level.
AD: One of your first credits was a web series that you helped create that you made while still a student at Juilliard. I started thinking about that in relation to Jack and the way that Hollywood has changed drastically over the past 70 years. It feels like the internet has granted actors and filmmakers more autonomy over their work while also giving them more opportunities to make a name for themselves. Did you find this to be the case?
DC: You know, I really have no idea. On one hand it is so great to be able to make your own art but on the other hand is there so much stuff that it’s harder to be noticed? I don’t really have an answer to that but what I do know is that it is really fun to be able to make stuff with your friends and with new technology it’s easier than ever to make high quality content.
In terms of breaking out I don’t know what any of that means or if it is even permanent. Is it an optics thing? What I know from school and collaborating with friends is that there is no substitute for making work that you really care about with friends and colleagues that you truly respect.
Hollywood is available to stream on Netflix and is up for consideration at the 2020 Emmys for Outstanding Limited Series and all related categories.