We sat down with stars of the new FX series 'Feud: Capote Vs. The Swans' Tom Hollander and Naomi Watts, and asked them to explain a few things—from how Tom embodied the mannerisms of Truman Capote to Naomi's favorite trait of her character 'Babe Paley'.
Category
🛠️
LifestyleTranscript
00:00 Hello, I'm Tom. Hello. I'm Naomi and Esquire's asked us to explain some things. Let's dive in shall we?
00:07 Yeah, let's dive in
00:09 The long-awaited FX series feud returns with season 2 what should we expect to see juicy lies and secrecy and
00:24 women in their prime love loss heartbreak glamour amazing tailoring and then tragedy and then betrayal and then
00:32 heartbreak Truman Capote played by Tom Hollander the brilliant Tom
00:38 Can you explain the relationship between both of your characters and how it evolves? Yes, I can we play
00:45 Babe Paley who was the wife of the founder of CBS Bill Paley her closest emotional friend was with
00:54 Truman Capote who was in his own lifetime the greatest writer of his age
00:59 But who was also a terrible drunk after a 20-year friendship. He
01:04 Betrays her he doesn't think he's betraying her and I feel this quite deeply because I was playing the character and he wanted to
01:11 desperately for the friendship to come back and she wouldn't let him and he called her day after day after day and she wouldn't answer
01:16 Him and and he got sadder and sadder filled with regret about it that she couldn't get to that place of forgiveness
01:23 And she was also supported by her group of friends who ganged up on me ganged up on me
01:29 Yes, because they were all humiliated and to be written about and exposed in such a way was too hurtful
01:36 You weren't I was celebrating you. Yeah, I know I know
01:40 Tom what was the most challenging part of playing the infamous novelist?
01:47 Truman Capote learning the lines because there were a lot of them. Yeah, they really were he had reams and some of them went
01:54 I look along how did you perfect the voice the vocal mannerisms by copying them off his TV?
02:01 Performances and doing vocal gymnastic training with Jerome Butler the most wonderful voice coach before we had a scene
02:09 I would listen to him and then I would and I would say it so he was in my head
02:14 Naomi yes, what was your favorite trait of your character? I think the both sides of perfection and
02:21 fragility and
02:23 holding on to those
02:25 Secrets and creating veneers that everything was absolutely splendid all the time
02:31 And what was your least favorite the smoking? Oh, yeah for many reasons
02:35 She smoked one to be slender and you know all those meals dining at Cope Baskin
02:43 Wherever else it was a better option to smoke and fit into these glorious clothes
02:49 And she died from double lung cancer
02:51 So you really were literally lighting one off the other and it was always nice to work with props
02:57 But they they made you I mean you'd get instant migraines. Yeah
03:01 Tom yes, what was the most annoying thing about your character?
03:08 I mean as a real person that none most annoying thing about him was that he knew what his own
03:13 Weaknesses were and he kept revisiting. He just was in a loop a circle of self-destructive behavior
03:19 So that's kind of annoying because you just want to go stop it
03:24 Can you share a moment on or off screen moment where your appreciation for me started to grow?
03:31 Yes
03:31 from the moment that I met you when you answered your door and
03:36 Invited me in and we began this journey of playing these two characters who loved each other
03:41 I remember this scene where we were playing dress-ups and yes
03:45 Yeah, mucking around just mucking around
03:48 Very also we'd met once before and we're both British and yeah, that's true sense of humor and we take it seriously
03:57 But not too seriously
03:59 For our story Esquire magazine that publishes answer present. So it's absolutely crucial
04:04 Yeah in our depiction of the story
04:06 He somehow tore the the palace down the fairy tale castle is sort of destroyed by it
04:14 Do you think they would it was was coming anyway? Oh, yes
04:18 Well, there's a brilliant episode in which the 60s are coming suddenly young women with really no money at all
04:26 Are the the acme of glamour and couture is replaced by Ozzy Clark and things like that
04:32 So it's kind of people are just hippiedom is coming and they're not hippies. None of these people
04:37 They're much more formal and old-fashioned. They were even old-fashioned in their moment in a way. I mean, they're not democratized
04:43 Are they I think that's what's coming is that sort of fun?
04:47 Everyone's gets to have fun in the 60s and 70s like Woodstock turns out we are all
04:52 Everyone's flopping around in the mud together
04:54 It doesn't really matter where they come from and all the aristocrats and fancy people are trying to trying to pretend they're not
05:01 Because everyone wants to go down whereas this is high
05:03 So and high so is never been the same since though there's a new sort of high
05:08 So now that if you're not part of it's invisible, so I'm not sure how you know, the world comes around again
05:14 Yes, it could call. Yeah, what specifically do you think makes Gus Van Sant such an incredible director?
05:21 He has the confidence to be still and silent
05:24 He would have us as a almost a warm-up exercise to play the whole scene
05:29 Without saying any words. So the behavior. Oh, yeah
05:33 Yeah, the silent takes and silent takes and sometimes people might be like what's going on here?
05:38 But actually it informs you of what's available without words. We never shot conventionally
05:44 He would often shoot long big long scenes in single sweeping shots and he would tell the story of the scene
05:51 With the camera it was very magical and mysterious
05:55 So there's an enormous trust as actors you kind of give yourself over to a director who has that level of confidence
06:02 And also he was Gus Van Sant. So yes, not hard to do that. You'd go. Well, it's Gus Van Sant
06:08 Thanks for watching. Hopefully we've explained things. Well
06:12 [MUSIC PLAYING]