In The White Lotus season two, Mike White sends the overprivileged characters of his deliciously funny HBO anthology series to a luxury resort in Sicily. It’s here that we find F. Murray Abraham as Bert Di Grasso, a widowed patriarch traveling with his son, Dominic (Michael Imperioli), and grandson, Albie (Adam DiMarco), on a once-in-a-lifetime trip to discover their ancestral roots.

Bert, who initially scans as a sweet and kindly grandfather, flirts with every young woman he encounters, audibly farts at inappropriate times, and generally says whatever’s on his mind. (The first episode also features a family dinnertime conversation between the three men about the mechanics of onanism in your eighties.) Because it’s F. Murray Abraham, known for his booming voice and legendary roles as Antonio Salieri in Amadeus and Omar Suarez in Scarface, the performance is still pretty charming and imbued with off-the-charts gravitas.

Here, Abraham talks to GQ about working with Mike White in Sicily, his memories of filming Amadeus and Scarface at the same time in the early 1980s, and what he finds relatable about Bert.

GQ: How did the role of Bert Di Grasso come your way?

F. Murray Abraham: It’s one of those lucky things that happens. Mike White—I can’t say enough about him. It doesn’t happen often that you have a whole atmosphere of positivity and creativity and pleasure. Wes Anderson, the same thing happens on his set. And the Coen Brothers. It’s like a little present from heaven. I ain’t kidding.

Mike is one of the most idiosyncratic people working in Hollywood right now. What’s he like when he’s directing you?

He’s ideal because he insists that you try to find it on your own. Or he’ll say it’s not nasty enough. He kept pushing me to be … well, you know how I treat my son in this thing.

Sure.

It’s really always attacking and attacking. And he said, “Go further. Keep going. Don’t let it bother you because it doesn’t bother you.” And it became fun after a while. The irony is that Michael and I have become very good friends. He and his wife and I were a trio. We spent a lot of time together. Still do, by the way.

So what appealed to you about Bert?

Well, he really is a relic. He’s completely out of step with the present day. One of the reasons I think he gets away with some of the outrageous things he says is that he’s so innocent about it. And he’s not ashamed. He’s not censoring himself.

I have to tell you, these days, especially in our business, you have to be censorious about your thoughts. About how you express yourself. I come from Bert’s era. I’m not proud of that whole era, of course. I’m a feminist, actually. And that’s the last thing that Bert is.

But also he makes me laugh, this character. He’s charming. He’s so outrageous that when I was playing him and saying some of those terrible things, I’d make myself laugh. And I’m hoping that’s what happens to the audience. They’ll forgive him the stuff because it’s so outrageous.

Gabriella Paiella

Source link

You May Also Like

I Can’t Stop Thinking About the “Maneater” Scene in ‘No Hard Feelings’

Picture me with my stepmother in a college neighborhood in Seattle. We’re…

Elite Early-Romance Move: Travis Kelce Keeps Inviting Taylor Swift To Games He Knows He’ll Dominate

New romance is always fun, especially all the firsts. You know: your…

Siouxsie Sioux to Play First Show in 10 Years at Latitude Festival

Siouxsie Sioux has announced she will return to the stage next summer…

Legendary Journalist Barbara Walters Dead at 93 – E! Online

Barbara Walters, the broadcast journalist whose impressive career spanned over 60 years,…