During an interview with Collider for his new film The Ballad of Buster Scruggs, Tim Blake Nelson shared a few words on his casting in HBO’s upcoming Watchmen series, where he is portraying a new character by the name of Looking Glass. Nelson revealed that initially, it was just a minor role, although showrunner Damon Lindelof decided to expand it once the actor was cast.
“I talked to [Lindelof] on the phone, and it was an evolving process for Watchmen, which in part is what makes Damon so interesting,” said Nelson. “He, like the Coens, is very much in control, but he also improvises, to a degree, with what he has. And so, I was approached for Watchmen by his (producing) partner, Tom Spezialy. I read it and I read my character, and I found him interesting, but one doesn’t want to leap into television without knowing where a character is headed. And Damon, frankly, said, ‘Well, I’m not sure about this guy and whether there’s going to be enough for you, to where you would want to play this role. I’m not sure that having you in this role would be gesturally right, in terms of the casting, with what I have in mind for him. You may be, in a sense, too big of a gun to shoot a fly.’ But then, he started thinking about it and he changed his take on the role. He said, ‘You know what, I really would like you to be a part of this. Here’s how I wanna enlarge the role. If you’ll trust me, then I’d really like you to come on board.’ What he had to say was certainly enough, but more importantly, the pilot script and what it seemed like he wanted to address with the show, which is way beyond your run of the mill comic adaptation, really intrigued me.”
While he didn’t give away any specifics regarding his character or the show’s plot, Nelson did praise the tone of the series, which he described as “absolutely right” in terms of its source material: “I’ll only say that I haven’t encountered a false note. And I’ll also say that I’ve been allowed to color my own work, in a way that’s very specific to the world that I knew, growing up. That’s been great for me. It’s been really rewarding, and I very much appreciated Damon’s openness to that.
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Watchmen is slated to arrive on HBO in 2019, and features a cast that includes Regina King (American Crime), Jeremy Irons (Justice League), Don Johnson (Miami Vice), Tim Blake Nelson (The Incredible Hulk), Louis Gossett Jr. (Iron Eagle), Yahya Abdul-Mateen II (Aquaman), Adelaide Clemens (Rectify), Andrew Howard (Truth or Dare), Tom Mison (Sleepy Hollow), Frances Fisher (Titanic), Jacob Ming-Trent (White Famous), Sara Vickers (Endeavour), Dylan Schombing (Sharp Objects), James Wolk (Tell Me a Story), Lily Rose Smith (The Vampire Diaries) and Jean Smart (Legion).
