Actors Talk - Come Inside The Acting Business

Actors Talk - Come Inside The Acting Business


032 ATP - That’s A Wrap - Actor Jay Huguley on HBOs TREME

February 28, 2013


HBOs TREME recently wrapped production in New Orleans, LA after shooting thirty-six episodes.


That is far too few episodes for a show that has consistently delivered some of the best acting, writing and directing on television. Do only the good (television shows) die young?


Join me for a glimpse behind the scenes on TREME with actor Jay Huguley. Huguley joined the all-star cast in season three as real estate developer Will Branson.


Jay Huguley and I spoke about his actor’s journey from hometown Tenafly, NJ to Treme and beyond.


We also talk a bit about the actor’s work, working with ‘black belt actors’, about the different dynamics an actor faces when moving from project to project – the guest star vs the series regular.


We ended our conversation talking about TWELVE YEARS A SLAVE, and what Huguley says is “the best script I’ve ever read…and I read a lot of scripts.”


ACTOR JAY HUGULEY


Actor Jay Huguley was born in Tenafly, NJ and remembers his parents taking him to see shows on Broadway. But the acting bug didn’t really start there. The high school years afforded an introduction into ‘show business’ as Huguley began to book catalog print jobs and other work as a model.


And it was in modeling that Huguley would get his first taste of success. After signing with a top modeling agency following college, he worked in Paris, Milan and Sydney, Australia.


Actor Jay Huguley


When the desire to become an actor took hold, he put in the work necessary to learn the craft and to grow as an actor.


A play brought Jay from New York, where he had studied with Anna Strasberg at the Lee Strasberg Institute, to Los Angeles.


There he studied at the Beverly Hills Playhouse with famed director and acting teacher Milton Katselas,(1933-2008.)


In Katselas, Jay Huguley found not only a great acting teacher but a mentor whose instruction, inspiration and faith in his ability remain an important part of this actor’s journey.


TREME

TREME, a creation of Eric Overmyer and David Simon is set in New Orleans, LA shortly following hurricane Katrina.


From Wikipedia:


In 2008 HBO commissioned a pilot episode for the series but did not “green-light” a complete series at that time. The pilot was announced at the 2008 Television Critics Association summer press tour. Simon initially hoped to film the pilot episode of the series in 2008 and to continue filming in 2009 if the series was commissioned. The series was planned to film on location and was predicted to be a boost to the New Orleans economy.


The pilot did not actually begin filming in New Orleans until March 9, 2009. Award-winning Polish director Agnieszka Holland was hired to direct the pilot. Holland had worked with the creators previously on The Wire, directing three episodes of that series. After the pilot was written HBO commissioned another ten scripts.


THE CAST

If you want to see a ‘who’s who’ of outstanding writing, directing and acting, just visit the TREME IMDb page and scroll through the complete cast and crew listing. The writing, directing, acting and production are all top notch.


Many in the initial cast had worked with David Simon on previous projects such as THE WIRE, THE CORNER and Homicide: Life On The Street.


Treme GraphicIf you’ve seen even one episode of TREME then you know that the music, the food, the city of New Orleans are used splendidly in the show as are the fine actors who make up the principal cast: Khandi Alexander, Academy Award Winner Melissa Leo, Wendell Pierce, Steve Zahn, Kim Dickens, Rob Brown, Michiel Huisman, Lucia Micarelli, India Ennenga, Clarke Peters and so many other fine actors, including Jay Huguley.


Simon and his team have done a masterful job of incorporating the mood and the music, as well as the social ills, the corruption, the intrigue of New Orleans into every episode. Why then, one must wonder, has the show never found the audience it deserves? With so many options on our televisions and media centers, is it just too difficult to find even the best of the best and give these few shows the number or viewers it takes to keep them in production?


FROM TENAFLY TO TREME

It was into this TREME ‘family’ that actor Jay Huguley walked in season three, playing real estate developer Will Branson.


It’s been hard to peg Huguley’s Branson character, to know if he’s going to turn out to be one of the good guys or something less. He is after all a real estate developer working the angles in post-Katrina New Orleans. He seems like a good guy, alright, but I keep wondering if we’ll find out differently as the final episodes of this fine show play out.


Jay Huguley and I talked about how it is to come into a production with such an impeccable cast, a cast that has been working together for two seasons.


How does the ‘new kid on the block’ fit in?


How is this dynamic different from being on the other side, as Huguley was, for instance, as one of the regulars on ABC’s BROTHERS AND SISTERS which also counted Sally Field, Patricia Wettig, Calista Flockhart and Rob Lowe among its fine cast.


TWELVE YEARS A SLAVE

12 years a slave filmIn the fascinating project, TWELVE YEARS A SLAVE Jay Huguley will be appearing with Brad Pitt, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Michael Fassbender, Benedict Cumberbatch, Paul Giamatti and Alfre Woodard.


This film, co-written and directed by British filmmaker Steve McQueen is based on a book written by Solomon Northup around 1853 that details his ordeal of being drugged, kidnapped and sold into slavery. The film is produced by Brad Pitt and Anthony Katagas.


Look for TWELVE YEARS A SLAVE to hit theaters later this year.


WRAPPING UP

Jay Huguley is having a fine career, indeed. In addition to his work on TWELVE YEARS A SLAVE and TREME, Jay has recently appeared on NASHVILLE, ARMY WIVES and DROP DEAD DIVA. He’s obviously a hard worker behind the scenes where the work gets done. He prepared for this acting career by studying with Anna Strasberg and mentor, Milton Katselas. And Huguley still studies in a regular Saturday acting class.


I hope you enjoy listening to my interview with Jay Huguley as much as I enjoyed talking with this terrific actor. Join me in following Jay Huguley’s journey. Follow him on FACEBOOK and on Twitter.