Alia Shawkat (‘The Old Man’) on ‘the challenge’ of ‘playing a role that doesn’t have any cynicism or humor’ [Exclusive Video Interview]

Matt Noble
·3 min read
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“A lot of my work as an actor has been in comedy,” admits Alia Shawkat in our recent webchat. She continues, “Part of what drew me to ‘The Old Man’ was the challenge I would be playing a role that doesn’t have any cynicism or humor in it.” Watch our exclusive video interview above.

“The Old Man” is an FX drama that follows former CIA agent and fugitive Dan Chase (Jeff Bridges), who is on the run from the FBI and assassins. The Bureau recruits Harold Harper (John Lithgow) to lead the hunt for Chase. Shawkat plays FBI agent and protégé of Harper, Angela Adams. Although a secret connection to Chase has her loyalties confused. She explains, “She’s someone who feels self-assured and smart. Then these secrets start to reveal themselves and she’s starting to question the ground she’s standing on. Now we are filming Season 2 and the answers to these questions get just more elaborate.”

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SEEJeff Bridges interview: ‘The Old Man’

Shawket rose to prominence playing Maeby Fünke on the Emmy-winning comedy series “Arrested Development.” And now, “The Old Man” allows her to spend most of the first season acting opposite Lithgow, who won three Emmys for his comedic role in “3rd Rock From the Sun.”

On playing dramatic scenes with Lithgow on “The Old Man,” Shawket reveals, “John just had an immense amount of energy. I love the way he took the role seriously but also kept it so light on set. He’d be telling these great stories and go, ‘ok I’ll tell you after.’ And then we hopped into this intense scene on the airplane. He would just trade hands so gracefully. I learned a lot from that. I don’t have to be in a weird mood just because I’m playing someone who’s upset.”

She reflects that “’The Old Man’ is kind of an old folk tale in some ways. The stories we tell ourselves about the westernized man who saved the country. ‘The Old Man is a chapter years later that goes, ‘was he the good guy?’ That’s what drew me to the show, and Angela is kind of at the crux of that crack, where she starts to question all of these realities. In the archetypal world, it’s actually her father. The father energy in society is what she’s questioning. Is my father really a good man? Am I to listen to the paternal figure always? I had fun getting lost in those types of questions.”

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