Giancarlo Esposito praises ‘Parish’ role, location

Eduardo Javier Canto – a writer and executive producer of the new AMC and AMC+ series “Parish” – asked himself two questions when he started adapting the British series “The Driver” for an American audience. What made the original series so successful and what can you do to add to it?

His answers to those questions can be seen with Giancarlo Esposito playing Gracian “Gray” Parish, a family man and proud owner of a luxury car service in New Orleans. After his son is violently murdered and his business collapses, an encounter with an old friend from his days as a wheelman resurfaces old habits. That sends Gray on a high-stakes collision course with a violent criminal syndicate.

The basic plot of a man put in a pressure situation is the same as the original series. The big change is getting Esposito to play the character at the heart of the story.

Canto says, “When you have an actor like Giancarlo who’s is the lead, you have a chance to elaborate on the character in the situation, tell a story that’s really relevant to today’s America and know that he’ll be able to authentically convey grief and frustration and ambition and all of these things.

“New Orleans just felt like a really good city to put that in because after Katrina, you find a city that’s rebuilding itself, trying to find its new identity. We felt that that very closely mirrored Gray’s journey.”

Also starring in the series are Zachary Momoh who plays a New Orleans-based Zimbabwean gangster and Paula Malcomson who portrays Award-nominee Parish’s wife and mother to his two children. Rounding out the cast is Skeet Ulrich, Bonnie Mbuli, Ivan Mbakop, Arica Himmel and Dax Rey.

Emmy, SAG and Critics Choice Award-winner Bradley Whitford recurs as Anton, the intelligent face of industrial business in Louisiana who covertly heads a criminal organization.

The series has special meaning for Esposito as he has been with the project for more than eight years as it went through numerous incarnations. He wasn’t sitting quietly waiting for the series to launch as Esposito was busy with productions such as “Better Call Saul,” “The Madalorian,” “The Jungle Book,” “Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur,” “Godfather of Harlem” and “Harley Quinn.”

Esposito praises AMC for giving the series a home and understanding what the team was trying to say. “Parish” airs at 9 p.m. Sundays on AMC and then is available to stream on AMC+ and ALLBLK.

“I think the strength of ‘Parish’ is that we have a very powerful story that I’m really hoping that some of you will be able to see someone in your life through that mirror of that story,” Esposito says. “The pluses and the positive part of it is that I’m there always and have been in many different incarnations and I have to let go of the old incarnation to welcome the new incarnations and to share those ideas and to listen.

“It doesn’t mean that I know the story better than anyone.  It means that I have to be in an open position to hear everyone’s point of view and to garner what is best for the whole story.  And to me, that’s a unique position to be in.  I love it a great deal.  It takes much of your energy but it also is very fulfilling because you’re taking something that was just on paper and an idea.”

Esposito connected with the character from the first day because parts of the story exemplify and resemble what he has lived. He is convinced that his connection will translate to the audience embracing the character and story.

One big link between the Emmy-nominated actor and his role is that Esposito loves to drive. He finds getting behind the wheel a relaxing experience.

As for setting the series in New Orleans, Esposito calls it a perfect choice.

“It’s a city with demons and a city with great light.  It’s a city that has a majority of churches, more than any other city in America.  So it’s a city where there’s bars on every corner, and you can party till five in the morning,” Esposito says. “It seems like a place where you have to make a choice.  And our show was a lot about the choices that Gracian Parish makes whether they be good choices or bad choices and how they affect his family.

“This was a city that we came on and knew it was the right one when we chose it.  There are other cities like this, and who knows where we could go in the future but, right now, New Orleans seems to be the place where you struggle with the ghosts of your past and the ghost of your future.”

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