Kyle MacLachlan (‘Lucky Hank’) on how his college president ‘doesn’t have a lot of compassion or empathy’ [Exclusive Video Interview]

Matt Noble
·3 min read
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“I’m much more of a feel player,” admits Kyle MacLachlan about how he approached his guest role on “Lucky Hank.” For our recent webchat he continues, “I tend to want to feel it in the moment. I bring that and a sense of understanding about what we are trying to do in the moment.” Watch our exclusive video interview above.

The AMC dark comedy is about an English department chair Hank, played by Bob Odenkirk, going through a midlife crisis at an underfunded college. MacLachlan explains, “It’s kind of a hybrid. It’s got these wry comic moments which are sometimes a little more slapstick, combined with some very real pain. It felt very true to life. I couldn’t think of a better person than Bob to carry that.”

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MacLachlan plays the president of the college, Dickie Pope. The actor reveals, “He’s an interesting character. I was trying to think of a character in my career that’s similar. I was having a hard time. He’s almost robotic. He doesn’t have a lot of compassion or empathy for his own man, but he really tries to make it appear that he does.”

In the fourth episode of the series, ‘The Goose Boxer,’ Dickie meets with Hank to encourage him to recommend department cuts so the college can save money, but Hank won’t budge. MacLachlan says, “As an actor, your first goal is to connect with the character you are playing opposite. That’s what I was trained to do. This was very much a scene about disconnection. Not even wanting to connect, but making it look like he was trying to connect. You’ve got a lot of things going on to juggle. I couldn’t think of a better partner in the scene than Bob. He understands the rhythm, the timing and what’s needed. He goes right along with you on that journey.”

Back in the 90s, MacLachlan received two Emmy nominations for his iconic role of Special Agent Dale Cooper in the David Lynch series, “Twin Peaks.” For “Lucky Hank” he will be appear on the Comedy Guest Actor ballot. He reflects, “There were a couple of moments where Dickie just stares at Hank. Taking a moment like that is challenging because television is about moving forward. When you stop the rhythm, you are saying that the synopsis are not completely working within the character. You very much are open to interpretation from the audience. I love stuff like that. I love red herrings that take you to new place. It’s sort of my stock and trade with David Lynch, and playing Dale Cooper. It’s a similar type of rhythm. Just a little bit eccentric and difficult to get a handle on.”

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