Author: Amber Dowling

March 29, 2016 8:10pm PT by Amber Dowling

 Prashant Gupta/FX

“He had the weight of the world on his shoulders,” actor Kenneth Choi talks to THR about Judge Lance Ito’s controversial decisions and surprising emotional state during the trial.

[Warning: This story contains spoilers from the ninth episode of The People v O.J. Simpson, “Manna From Heaven.”]

As anyone who followed the O.J. Simpson case at the time knows, there was a surprising number of twists and turns throughout the entire ordeal. But none sparked the type of public outcry as Judge Lance Ito’s decision to allow damaging tapes of Mark Fuhrman be heard by the court – and therefore the world – even if the jury itself was only allowed to hear two lines.

Those tapes became the subject of Tuesday’s penultimate episode of The People v O.J. Simpson. In it, Johnnie Cochran (Courtney B. Vance) and the rest of the defense fought to have Fuhrman’s (Steven Pasquale) tapes played for the jury, while Marcia Clark (Sarah Paulson) and Chris Darden (Sterling K. Brown) accused Ito (Kenneth Choi) of turning the entire trial into a circus, nearly landing themselves in contempt.

Adding to the melee was the revelation that Fuhrman had a past run-in with Ito’s wife, nearly causing a mistrial that would have swayed the entire course of history.

To break it all down The Hollywood Reporter caught up with Choi, who discusses Ito’s surprising emotional state, preparing for those tense scenes and how these decisions potentially affected the outcome of the trial.

What did you do to prepare for the role?

I started with Jeffrey Toobin’s book, that was my bible. Ito was one of the only major players who hadn’t written a book about the trial so I pored over the Internet to find any information about him. I watched hours and hours and hours of trial footage. You can pretty much watch the entire trial online so I went through a lot of footage and then videotaped a lot of the bits with Ito so I had about 30 continuous minutes of just Ito so I could observe him on the bench. I also reached out to him in hopes of meeting with him. Apparently, there was a suggestion that came from [executive producer] Ryan Murphy about actors not contacting our respective counterparts, but I didn’t get that memo which turned out fine anyway because Ito politely declined.

How did your impression of Ito change throughout filming the show?

I had always thought of Ito as being very professional and very stoic, emotionless, almost robot-like with his speech and demeanor. My impression of him actually changed during my research. Watching so much footage of him, I felt a sense of an actual personality coming through him. He had a very good sense of humor and at times a sardonic wit. Then I came across the footage where Ito talks about his wife, Peggy, which I had never seen. This moment is in episode nine. You can actually hear him choking back tears on the bench in front of everybody. I was surprised.

Do you personally question some of the decisions he made throughout the trial?

Throughout the trial, there was a lot of criticism of Ito and a lot of the decisions he made. As an actor, I have to do the opposite. I can’t criticize or be judgmental of the person I’m playing. I have to do my best to understand him and what he does. I personally think he had the weight of the world on his shoulders as this sort of ringmaster in this circus played out on such a huge scale. Could that have affected some of his decisions? Absolutely. But, he has always been regarded a very good, very smart, very fair judge, and I think he did the best that he could.

Can you break down the significance of the hourglass as he’s coming to a decision in that one scene?

Ito turning the hourglass over represented a second chance. He was so close to having to recuse himself which could have resulted in a mistrial. Our incredible director, Anthony Hemingway, wanted to dramatize that realization from Ito of having a second shot, and he brilliantly linked it to the hourglasses which Ito was famous for having on his bench.

Can you also break down what it was like filming the scene in the courtroom when he threatens to hold Marcia and Chris in contempt?

These kinds of scenes are always intriguing to me as an actor. You have people squabbling with each other, there’s a lot of conflict, and you have to really get in the headspace, which means you have to actually generate these feelings and emotions from what’s happening in the scene. Sometimes that can be challenging for a number of reasons. But when you’re acting opposite Sarah Paulson, or Sterling Brown, or Courtney Vance, half your job is done. As long as you’ve done your work and know your lines, all you have to do is strap in and listen and watch and react because they are coming at you with everything. So it becomes uncomfortable and exhilarating at the same time.

What do you think it was like for Ito to deal with such contrasting personalities as Marcia and Johnnie?

I don’t think their contrasting personalities would have affected him one way or the other. He was very good at his job, a total professional. As a judge, you face any number of different lawyers all with different personalities, it’s par for the course. That being said, I am sure they all grew tired of seeing each other for such an extended period of time. 

Ultimately how do you think the decision to release the tapes to the public but not the jury affected the outcome of the trial?

I don’t know that it affected the outcome. The jury heard the two snippets from the tapes, and I think that was enough. The damage was done.

There have been a lot of reveals during this series about things that happened behind closed doors. Has anything in particular surprised or shocked you?

When I read that Ito, both legal teams, the entire jury, and O.J. visited Bundy and Rockingham, I couldn’t believe it.

Looking back, what do you think Ito’s motives for wanting this case were? Did he really mug for cameras and love celebrity?

I couldn’t tell you what Ito was thinking in regards to getting/wanting this case. Same with the celebrity. Toobin hinted at these things in his book, but that’s conjecture. Only Lance Ito knows what Lance Ito was thinking.

Was his decision to televise the trial really “one of the worst moves in American judicial history,” as some have said?

I think it had some adverse effect, absolutely. It allowed for anybody to automatically have an “educated” opinion on the case because they were able to watch the whole damn thing including every media outlet which then caused the circus.

The People v O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story wraps next week on Tuesday at 10 p.m. on FX.

What did you think of the episode, Lance’s decisions and the Fuhrman tapes? Sound off in the comments below.

Twitter: @amber_dowling

March 22, 2016 8:01pm PT by Amber Dowling

 Courtesy of FX

“It changed him profoundly,” the actor reveals about his crisis of faith pertaining to Simpson’s innocence.

[Warning: This story contains spoilers for episode eight of The People v. O.J. Simpson, “A Jury in Jail.”]

As The People v. O.J. Simpson has pointed out time and time again, it wasn’t until a lawyer named Robert Kardashian — one of O.J. Simpson’s most loyal friends — joined the accused killer’s legal team that the name Kardashian started to become a household name.

As one of the few innocent bystanders in the whole process, Robert’s faith in his friend and in the system never wavered, until the evidence started pouring in and the DNA testimony began to change everything he believed in. During Tuesday’s episode, viewers began to really see that crisis of faith as Robert (David Schwimmer) started questioning O.J. (Cuba Gooding Jr.), and eventually confided in ex-wife Kris Jenner (Selma Blair) that after the trial, O.J. needed to be out of their lives for good.

THR caught up with Schwimmer to get his take on those pivotal scenes, find out what he gained from his own interview with the real Kris Jenner, and what he found shocking about this whole trial as he learned some of the new details decades later.

What did you originally get out of your conversation with Kris Jenner while researching the role?

We only had one conversation but she was generous with her time, it was about a two-hour conversation. At the time I had a few pages of questions, but the most illuminating thing that came out of it was her description of who he was as a family man and his personality traits. How attentive and loving, compassionate, generous and loyal he was. Family was very important to him; he loved big family meals and gatherings and worshiped his parents. The second thing that was helpful to learn was how religious he was. He had his own bible with him all the time. He prayed before meals and business meetings and he had a very personal relationship to his faith.

Did you get any insight from her in regards to the big moment between Robert and Kris in this episode? Did he really tell her he was done with O.J.?

We didn’t discuss that at all and I don’t know if that happened, I think that’s really speculative on the writers’ part. What we do know from the aftermath of the trial are a few things: He had doubts, he had trouble with the blood evidence and the DNA and the overwhelming evidence of blood in the Bronco and the sock and on and on. That was troubling for him; he was never able to wrap his head around the explanations that the defense team were giving. So he had doubts of O.J.’s innocence during the trial and certainly afterward. Their friendship pretty much ended. When the trial was over, the friendship was over. By all accounts they had very little if any contact afterward. My deduction is that Robert chose to end the friendship in part because of the doubt that he began to have. Episodes seven, eight and nine, you really begin to see Robert’s crisis of faith. His faith in O.J., his faith in his innocence and actually his faith in his own God.

What was playing that crisis of faith like and do you think it changed the real Rob’s faith in people at all?

I think it changed him profoundly in probably every way. This is just my guess, but he never really recovered after that trial. His health deteriorated, it ruined the new romantic relationship he was in. It affected him profoundly. We’ll never really know, but I certainly made the choice as an actor and with the writers that the trial had a devastating effect on Robert and he’s actually kind of a tragic figure. He’s someone who was dealt a really bad blow by the entire ordeal and then not too much longer afterwards we lost him.

Have you heard any reactions from anyone in the Kardashian family after this was released?

I have not. I hope they feel that I played him with respect, that I tried to convey a real person with real strong beliefs and convictions. 

Is there an irony to the fact that Robert was a private guy, but now the Kardashian name is one of the most famous around?

It’s ironic given how seemingly private Robert was. It is ironic that his offspring became internationally famous. It’s also interesting that his celebrity was totally accidental and unintentional. It was inadvertently thrust into every household in America and it’s not something he pursued or even enjoyed. But who really knows? I don’t.  

Can you break down playing the poker scenes with Cuba, either what kind of direction you guys were given or how you wanted that to play out?

The purpose of those two scenes were to really dramatize the fact that O.J.’s friends bailed on him. All his other friends, especially his white friends, just disappeared. It was also showing the difference before the DNA evidence was admitted and heard in court. We take DNA for granted so much now because of CSI and all these other shows, but at that time it just was new science. It was not really public knowledge how strong DNA testing and evidence scientifically was. This was one of the first trials that really highlighted it and it was one of the things that really devastated Robert, hearing that evidence. That was the major difference in those two poker scenes — one before Robert and the other white friends heard it, and the second when Robert came alone and the other guys bailed.

Robert, in that scene, is really trying to ask O.J. in so many words, “Look, I’m your closest and longest ally. If you can’t tell me the truth right now in this moment, then who are we? Who am I to you?” He’s really hoping that he’ll have a confession from O.J. in that moment.

There have been a lot of reveals about the trial through this series that weren’t really in the public eye before. Was there anything you learned in particular that was shocking to you?

So many things have surprised me and educated me. In particular the domestic violence and how it was seen by the public and how it was portrayed in court. Just the fact that Nicole [Brown Simpson] had many reports to the police about domestic abuse and violence that went unanswered. Following the trial, I don’t remember it having as much impact as it did when I was doing the research this time around and reading the scripts.

Also, just what Marcia Clark went through with the media. How the press really was partially responsible for how she was vilified. I remember at the time having negative feelings about Marcia — and my mom was a strong, top lawyer in California at the time. And still, I was duped by the media’s portrayal of her and had to catch myself from falling into the trap of having negative feelings about her and paying attention to things like her hair. No other lawyer had the scrutiny on appearance and her personal life that Marcia had to endure. It’s really telling of the time and the media’s part in it.

After doing so much directing, what has it been like to come back to television?

It’s fun. When Friends ended, I was focused more on films and did a lot more theater. And then I got married and had a daughter who’s almost 5 now. I guess I was enjoying being a dad for the first time, and being a husband. I just didn’t want to work so hard! To be honest, I just wanted to enjoy that chapter of my life. But now my daughter is in school and my wife’s career is taking off as an artist so I just feel like now I can do a little more work.

What was it about your new AMC drama, Feed the Beast, in particular that made you choose that role as a follow-up to O.J.?

I love that it shoots here at home in New York. Clyde Phillips is such a talented showrunner from Dexter and Nurse Jackie. And this character is just a great, great character. He’s an alcoholic sommelier. It’s a dark, gritty show kind of like the movie Big Night. It’s kind of a combination of Big Night and The Sopranos; cooking and crime and great drama and humor and really character driven stuff. It’s a great ensemble.

The People v. O.J. Simpsons airs Tuesdays at 10 p.m. on FX. What did you think of the Robert and O.J. scenes? Sound off in the comments below.

March 17, 2016 8:00pm PT by Amber Dowling

 Bernard Walsh/HISTORY

“It’s going to be a remembered death,” the show’s latest casualty tells THR about his memorable goodbye.

[Warning: This story contains spoilers from Thursday’s episode of Vikings, “Promised.’]

The body count on any given season of History’s Vikings is expected to be fairly high. After all, this was a time period in which people weren’t long for this world, as they all sought a better place in Valhalla amongst the gods.

That didn’t make the twist in the closing moments of Thursday’s episode any less shocking, as Lagertha (Katheryn Winnick) finally made good on her promise of finishing off Kalf (Ben Robson) for betraying her and stealing her earldom. After revealing she was “pregnant” with Kalf’s child and accepting his proposal, she easily slipped the knife into him on the wedding day itself before emerging from her tent surrounding by an army of female warriors ready to help her reclaim her throne.

To break down that integral moment and find out how he felt about Kalf’s swan song, The Hollywood Reporter caught up with Robson, who is currently working on John Wells’ newest series Animal Kingdom for TNT.

How did you find out about Kalf’s demise?

I found out just before I went back for season four from the producers. We had a discussion and then my fate was sealed as I returned.

Did you see it coming?

You’re always at the mercy of Michael Hirst’s fingertips as he’s at his computer. I think the second that Lagertha said she would kill me but that we would enjoy each other before then, there was always a strong possibility that it was happening. Anything Lagertha says should be taken very seriously and it turned out to be true.

Lagertha is such a fan favorite — was Kalf always facing an uphill battle having betrayed her in season three?

Yeah, it was. It’s always going to be difficult not to upset the fans when you’re doing things like that to a fan favorite, especially such a cult icon like Lagertha. I was a fan myself — I was an avid watcher of Vikings before I got the opportunity to jump on it. So I knew exactly how the reaction would be when Kalf’s actions were laid out for me.

Do you think he had redeemed himself by death’s door or was trying to have Bjorn killed the last straw?

Everything Kalf did was to put himself in a better position. Usurping Lagertha was to gain a position of strength. As he said in season three, he wanted the poets to sing about him in the same vein as Ragnar and to be recognized by the Gods in Valhalla. At that point it was about status. He did it to potentially turn Lagertha’s eye as well. In terms of the whole Bjorn thing, he became culpable by bringing in people like Erlendur (Edvin Endre). Erlendur is still very much wanting to get into a position of power similar to his father and those were the terms of agreement of him bringing his army and his kingdom to work alongside Kalf. I don’t think those actions were necessarily there to hurt Lagertha in any way or form; it was very much about survival and pushing forward. Those things he did, especially in coming back from Paris, were really to try and prove to Lagertha how much he did love her.

Was it a reciprocal love?

Yeah, I think you can see it by the end. There is such a chemistry; it wasn’t a sort of brutal way of being killed, it was very intimate in the way that it was done. It was done on the wedding day within an embrace. There were feelings. To be someone’s second in command and in someone’s private quarters is a very privilege place to be. They knew each other very intimately. She brought him into her world originally in that position. It all only changed when Kalf turned from a boy to a man to a certain extent that he became a much more powerful individual. There was a mutual understanding and love towards each other.

Would you consider his death itself a bit of a feminist movement thanks to the female warriors rising up?

Absolutely. There are many ways to look at it in terms of it always being harder for women getting themselves to the top as opposed to men —there’s obviously a very big discussion in that. You could also see it as a man squashing down a female’s opportunity of power and success and it’s retribution for that and how she felt towards it. I think it’s great how powerful the women are in this series. They’re incredible actors and characters. We’re still talking about a time in Vikings where people didn’t live long and were always looking over their shoulder. It’s going to be a remembered death. It wasn’t on the battlefield; it was about the complicated dynamic between two people and someone who took action in a way that felt necessary during that time period.

How do you predict she’ll rule without him now?

Lagertha is such an incredible character; her arc has been pretty astonishing from the beginning up to this point. Her ruling will be strong and very experienced. She’s been alongside the now King Ragnar and seen how he rose to that position. She understands everything in England with King Ecbert. And she’s been to Paris… she’s very worldly and has an incredible experience so I would imagine that she’d rule very well. She’s smart and not to be underestimated.

Some past characters have resurfaced in visions and dreams – could that happen with Kalf?

It just depends on where Michael is going with it and if we find out how Lagertha really felt about Kalf after the whole wedding thing. There might be a mourning process into how she feels or there might not be. It’s a relationship in which they’ve known each other a long time so it’s to be expected.

Vikings airs Thursdays at 10 p.m. on History

What did you think of Kalf’s death? Sound off below.

Twitter: @amber_dowling

Vikings