Collider: How did Mob City come about for you? Gregory Itzin: This came about while I was shooting Covert Affairs, and I knew I was locked in until the end of the season because they had said as much. My agents got a call and offered me the role. That was pretty exciting! I was [recently] asked about how 24 changed my life, and I get offers now. Not always, but occasionally I do, and this came along that way. They said, “Would you like to play Fletcher Bowron?” I said, “Who?” And then, I was told about who it was and that it was on Frank Darabont’s new series. So, they had to work out the schedule for both things, and I was able to come on board.
Collider: Because it is so stylistic and specific, did this kind of dialogue come easily for you?
Gregory Itzin: No, to be perfectly honest with you. It’s just chatter, but there’s a certain way of saying it. You’ve also gotta get to it. You have to bring it together and dive in. I didn’t come in until they were shooting the body of the show. I had to come in and fill in my stuff in the pilot. I talked to Neal [McDonough] and said, “Is this dialogue hard?,” and he said, “Yeah, but don’t worry about it.” It doesn’t fit well in the mouth until you’ve done it awhile.
Collider: What’s it been like to collaborate with Frank Darabont on this?
Gregory Itzin: I can’t tell you, really. I didn’t, that much. The one scene that I had, that he directed, I could ask him about. But, I don’t know what’s going on in his head, except that he’s a very excitable man. He loves what he does, very much, and that’s always a joy. You can see despots in directors, so to see a man who genuinely enjoys the people he works with and the project, joy rather than fear is a good place to work from.
all interview = www.collider.com
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