COLLIDER: Colm Meaney Talks HELL ON WHEELS, Working With Robert Pattinson in BEL AMI, and His Work on STAR TREK
by Christina Radish
November 6th, 2011
On the new AMC Western series Hell on Wheels, actor Colm Meaney plays Thomas “Doc” Durant. Based on a real life character, Durant is a rich entrepreneur taking full advantage of the changing times, as he becomes more and more concerned about his place in history.
During this exclusive interview with Collider, Colm Meaney talked about how he thought the pilot for Hell on Wheels was one of the best things he’s ever read, how good writing is very easy to learn and perform, that Durant is a man on a quest, and how show creators Joe and Tony Gayton have been a tremendous help in the research for the time period. He also talked about another historical story he’s a part of, with the drama feature Bel Ami (starring Robert Pattinson, Uma Thurman, Kristin Scott Thomas and Christina Ricci), what it’s like to have been a part of Star Trek (with The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine), and why he loves returning to the theater...
... Collider: Your character has that great line in the pilot where he says, “What is drama without a villain?” Do you see Durant as a villain, or do you see him as someone who’s just greedy?
MEANEY: "I don’t see him as a villain, at all. He’s certainly not a straightforward villain. I don’t even think it’s necessarily about greed with him. Greed is there, of course, and I think he probably was a greedy businessman to begin with, but this goal is something he’s driven to do. It’s the equivalent of going to the moon in the 1860′s. He’s on a quest. It’s become more important to him than the money. You become aware of that, as time goes on. That’s the way it felt to me, even in the pilot. He realizes that he has to make money and bribe people, and there has to be all sorts of chicanery going on, in financial terms, but ultimately, it’s to achieve this goal he has, and to be the first one to do it..."
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