TCA Press Tour: Donal Logue and Michael Raymond-James are FX’s new ‘Terriers’
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Donal Logue and Michael Raymond-James like each other so much that they decided to live together in San Diego when they were filming 13 episodes of FX’s new drama, ‘Terriers.’
The two actors met on NBC’s canceled series, ‘Life,’ and bonded over Jack Kerouac’s ‘Big Sur.’ Later, fate put them in the same room again when FX was casting the pivotal role of Britt Pollack, who is best friend to Logue’s character, Hank Dolworth.
‘I became a part of the casting sessions for the show... and I remember going to the first set of auditions and a bunch of guys were sitting around waiting to go in,’ Logue said. ‘And I saw Michael and we gave each other a hug and you could just see the deflation.’
The series about a veteran private investigator who teams up with his younger, hot-headed best friend to launch an unlicensed private investigation business was filmed entirely on location on Ocean Beach in San Diego.
‘My big concern when they told me they were gonna live together was, ‘Please don’t hate each other,’ ‘said executive producer Shawn Ryan (‘The Shield’). In fact, it seems the opposite happened.’
But it was their common addiction to carne asada burritos that helped to keep the mutual admiration flowing, Raymond-James explained.
‘I think our firendship and the amount of work we did when we weren’t working show it really helped the endeavor that we had,’ Logue said.
‘Terriers’ is the first TV venture for Ted Griffin (‘Ocean’s Eleven’).
‘These guys aren’t really interested in doing the right thing or getting to the bottom of things,’ Griffin said. ‘They’re just trying to get their ass out of the sling half time. Or what is the most direct line towards what they need or how does the case serve them. They’re something, quite like myself, very selfish about these guys.’
Logue said he was attracted to the role because he could relate to the stage of life that Hank is in.
‘What I liked is that he reached this point in his life when he blew a lot of good things in his life -- his reputation, his marriage,’ he said. ‘And there’s a certain kind of existential freedom that comes to people who realize that all the things they hold on to that they think defines them, once they’re gone, there’s this new freedom to determine how you’re going to live their life. And that’s the point where we meet these guys.’
Ryan said he views the story as an investigation of freedom.
‘When Ted and I and [FX president and general manager John Landgraf] were going over drafts, Landgraf said something interesting. He said that often times to achieve true freedom, you either have to be really rich or really poor. These guys can pursue this wonderful life of freedom because Hank’s lost everything and because Britt hasn’t grabbed on to too much. But to see these two guys is a kind of wish fulfillment in that we could choose to spend our days like these two guys. They do what they want.’
‘Terriers’ premieres on FX on Sept. 8 at 10 p.m.
-- Maria Elena Fernandez
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