Sean Bean has been doing lots of press for his new TNT series, Legends, which is getting pretty great buzz. I think part of it is that there’s so much affection for Sean Bean as an actor these days, post-Ned Stark, and part of it is about the actual show, which is from the same people who created 24. Oh, and I guess this is his first time working on an American TV show, filming in America? That too. I hope he likes the American TV schedule. Sean recently did a great Q&A with The Daily Beast – you can read the full piece here. He talks a lot about the new series, film deaths and Game of Thrones (of course). Some highlights:
Whether he’s ever been unable to shake off a character: “I don’t, but there’s a certain residue that kind of filters through, which you do carry on to some extent. But I’ve known people who have been Method actors, and that can take its toll. It can be very difficult to get out of. I tried to apply that to this, but without having to be a Method actor.”
His memorable screen deaths: “I think my deaths have gotten better recently, in the last few years. First it was just usually like “bang,” but since I’ve become a little more of a name, they seem to take longer! They stretch it out a little. Like Lord of the Rings, that’s one of my favorites because there’s a pathos to it, a heroic demise. But I’ve not died for awhile, actually.”
The death of Ned Stark: “Yeah, that was wonderful, the shock and like, “Wait a minute, we made a deal!” That was pretty shocking and that was very well put together. But I guess part of the reason is that I’ve played quite a lot of villains. As you know, the villains usually all die.”
Real-life near-death experience: “I once fell through a glass door when I was only 4 years old. That was like a guillotine. I always would lose my temper when I was at home, and banged on this glass door, and one day I banged straight through it and nearly took my leg off. I still remember the pattern of the blood on the carpet. My mom used to have to take me around in a pram for about six months, and I couldn’t walk. And it just missed a main artery, apparently. I was very lucky. I can still remember it now, and that was 51 years ago.”
Whether he has inside information about Jon Snow’s parents: “I think Ned knows, but I don’t! I always treated him, and especially my wife Catelyn, by her reactions, whenever Jon Snow is around, she’s kind of frosty, kind of cold towards him, but she thinks it’s because I had a son with someone else, that I was unfaithful. And I guess that’s what everybody believed. But now there’s this other theory, and I think it’s probably a very good one, that he’s really not Ned’s son. I don’t know.”
Whether he’s been called to appear in flashbacks as Ned Stark: “Still nothing! I’d like to! You could weave it in, and it’s very believable. Because he was a good presence, he was a moral compass. He was a man with a straight, moral principle. He was the only one who was keeping them together. I think that’s why people miss him.”
The shock of Ned’s death, and Boromir’s death in LOTR: “I love things like that. And if you can kill Ned Stark, then you can kill anyone. Both of them were very good men as well. Boromir was a good man apart from his obsession with the ring. But he was a very good man, and you forgive him for his obsession by his death, and his redemption…And when you talk about things like Lord of the Rings and Game of Thrones, it takes me back. And now I’m reminiscing. They were very fond memories. They’re good ones, aren’t they? They’ve made a big impact. And they’re long-lasting, quality productions that I’m really proud to have been involved in. I’m very lucky.”
You know what I just realized? Sean Bean is 55 years old. He’s been working in the industry for more than three decades. And while he’s been a relatively famous actor for much of that time, it must be weird for him to suddenly be so crazy-famous for one season of Game of Thrones. To his credit, he never acts like a diva when he’s asked about GoT or LOTR during Legends promotion. But it must be a little bit strange for him.
Two more things – Sean was on Today yesterday morning and he was charming (puffy, but charming). Go here to watch that video. And then this amazingness happened over at Funny or Die:
Photos courtesy of WENN.
What you said there, Kaiser, made me think about Hugh Laurie, who was almost broken by the 20+ episodes-per-season American TV schedule. He’s said he virtually hated being House by the end of it. Mind you, as a BBC-hired comedian, I don’t think he was ever expected to show much of a work ethic before that!
The move for the good stuff stateside is for better production and overarching storytelling over fewer episodes these days, though, isn’t it? Only the soapy stuff and the procedurals go for 20+ episodes now – or at least, that’s the American stuff we’re getting here in the UK.
I think Sean can cope with 10 episodes of Legends.
Sixer, I’ve always been curious why British shows have so few episodes per season/series? Do you know anything about the reason for it, historically? Is it budget?
I’d venture the question is really why the US has so many episodes per season? In the words of Our Lady Tina of the House of Fey: “This is Hollywood and if something kind of works we’ll keep doing it til everybody hates it!”
BBC shows are shorter because they don’t have the funds to produce 22 episodes of a show per season like Hollywood does. Not to mention, most British actors come over to America to work because it’s more lucrative.
@GeeMoney – you do know the BBC’s annual revenue is something in the region of £5bn, right? And that “most” British actors stay in the UK? I think your view is a little bit skewed. There is less money but it’s not that much less. The focus here has always been much more on storytelling and much less on procedurals. That is at least as much to do with it.
Also, with both the BBC and C4, they have a legal responsibility to make programming to suit as many demographics as possible, because they’re public service broadcasters, not commercial entities who make shows that advertisers will pay for slots for. This means more shows to please more people but less emphasis on the most popular (as I think Abbott above was hinting at).
Traditionally a show would be written by one or a handful of writers, rather than a whole group. Plus we don’t do filler.
I think just custom mostly. There is less money sloshing about but not that much less, you know? Also, we do have soapy/procedural dramas with very long seasons – Saturday night Casualty, anyone? – I just don’t think they get bought by US networks.
Sixer, there’s different sorts of networks here. House was on FOX, which is a traditional free network and those tend to have the more traditional style of 20 episode seasons and are also subject to tighter FCC standards on language/adult content/nudity depending on the time of day being aired, but still pretty strict. Legends will be on TNT, which is a cable network – we pay for cable – and the cable networks tend towards shorter series seasons and can be a bit looser with the standards and do tend to be a bit more creative.
I must admit, I don’t really understand the structure or terminology of US TV, so that was helpful. Merci! So we’re saying the creative storytelling (and shorter runs) is mostly cable and the procedural/soapy dramas (long seasons) are mostly network?
Our styles are mostly determined by channel – C4 goes gritty and social commentary; BBC goes adaptations; ITV goes populist. That’s not writ large in tablets of stone; just a general feel.
In terms of rudity (this is a new word coined by Sixlet Major, which I think is wonderful), we have a watershed of 9pm that is supposedly applicable to everyone but the pay-TV people such as Sky get around that with parental PINs – so you would, for example, get GoT repeats shown pre-watershed occcasionally.
Yes, the procedurals, the soapy dramas, and the half-hour sitcoms tend to be on the free networks, which are supported through advertising. There is “family” viewing time and then more adult content allowed in the later hours but even that is pretty regulated. There are several tiers in the cable networks. The reality shows tend to be split between the free networks and the basic cable networks. We pay for the basic cable networks by they also have advertising during the programs. Some of them are just reality shows, some are just sports, some just political commentary pretending to be news, and some air original dramatic programming that can be a bit more adventurous than the free networks. Breaking Bad and Mad Men fall into this group. Then we have premium cable networks like HBO and Showtime where anything goes, any time of day and they produce shorter series like The Sopranos, Sex and the City, Game of Thrones, True Blood, etc.
Sean does look very puffy in that Today show interview. We may need to put him back in the boot for restorative purposes.
SUPER HOT!!! A REAL MAN.
I got nothing else!
WORD.
YUM!!!!!!!!!
I like the badass healing wounds on the back of his right knuckle in first pic — like he just punched someone out in a bar fight last night. Also love the scar over his right eye that Harrison Ford gave him with a boat hook in filming Patriot Games. He looks like the tough guy he usually plays, a real man. But I’ve been impressed with his ability to to play tender as well, and his cast against type performance as transvestite Tracy Tremarco in The Accused was a tour de force of pathos and really going for broke with a role.
Gawd he was pretty back in the day. Wish he’d give up drinking and go on a lean protein diet to lose the puff. He looked amazing with a lean yoga body only 8 years ago in Ca$h with Chris Hemsworth.
I love Sean Bean even though he’s a drunken mess at times. His new show looks awesome, can’t wait to see it.
Me too, his voice is so sessy and he’s a damn fine actor. I don’t even mind the puff…
I hope it’s a big hit for him. He’s a real good actor and he makes too many straight to video films.
Ruggedly handsome, but looks like it’s been a rough 55 years. Like him, though.
I think that’s because he’s a heavy drinker. I adore him, I’ve been a fan since Patriots Games.
Legends does look like a good show and Sean is a terrific actor. He’s a good sport in answering the same GoT and LoTR questions over and over again. It would be nice to see Ned Stark make a guest appearance again in future seasons, there is text support for it in the books. I doubt the show will do it though.
Well you know, Sean, George R.R. Martin just love to kill off characters, even the popular ones, sometimes wholesale. So no shock there. Also, you are a walking spoiler so your character dying is very certain.
His new show begins tonight. I will be tuning in.
I adore Sean Bean. Drunk, bloated, Sharpe costume, Greek battle skirt, it doesn’t matter. He’s the bees knees.
As for him being hot and sexy, not anymore for me. The older he gets, the more he looks like my dad’s twin brother.
Sharpe was SUCH a babe. glaaaargh
Sean Bean is the new Oliver Reed. Love him.
He’s hot. I’ll be watching.
I really liked the funny or die skit. Sean’s such a good sport!
So, there’s a chance he’s not killed off in this show? That wouldn’t seem right somehow LOL. I want Ned Stark back!!!