Interview: How Original ANGELS IN AMERICA Prepared Kevin Carroll for HBO's THE LEFTOVERS

The first season of HBO's drama THE LEFTOVERS was one of the most divisive 10 episodes in recent television history. Supporters hailed it as a dark and intelligent allegory for surviving trauma, while detractors slammed it as "grief porn." However, Season 2 has been able to maintain the show's intense mystery, while creating a more thrilling, less depressing, motif. One of the major changes was the introduction of Erika and John Murphy and their twin teenagers. Erika, played by recent Emmy-winner Regina King, is a hearing-impaired doctor, while her husband, played by Kevin Carroll (Broadway's ANGELS IN AMERICA, TAKE ME OUT, and more) is a convicted felon turned vigilante fire captain.

The first season, based on Tom Perrotta's novel of the same name, chronicles how the world, and specifically the town of Mapletown, NY, reacts when 2% of the Earth's population inexplicably vanishes. It was dense and oppressive; but in Season 2, having exhausted the book's storyline, Perrotta and co-creator Damon Lindelof made a few subtle, but powerful changes.

While some of the changes were in tone and story-telling structure, the most obvious came as the show's core family, the Garveys, relocated to Jarden, TX, moving in next door to the Murphys. Jarden has become a sort of mecca, as it is reportedly the only town in America to not have anyone taken during the Departure. This new setting has opened up Season 2 to even more questions, mysteries, and religious symbolism, all of which fits perfectly in Lindelof's wheelhouse, having co-created LOST a decade ago.

(Check out my review of Season 2's shift that has made it TV's most compelling drama.)

Unlike most television thrillers that strive to find satisfying answers, or to paint characters as either good or bad, Lindelof lives in the ambiguities, something that Carroll grew to appreciate. "What I really love about it, (is) you just get to see a human being," Carroll said of his character. "(He's) not perfect, he's not always right, he's not always wrong, but he's chosen a path in life, and we kind of meet him where he is."

While Carroll has the benefit of appreciating his character after eight grueling months of shooting in the Texas heat, the legendarily tight-lipped Lindelof did not make it easy for the new actor to learn about his character at first. From the time Carroll was cast, it was only three days until he had to report for costume fittings, and only a short time before he had to be in Austin to begin production. Even when Carroll was on set, he found information hard to come by.

"Damon Lindelof is notoriously closed-mouthed about what he's doing at all times," Carroll explained. "(He's) one of the most excitable people you'll ever run into about the work, about the craft, about the characters. He can talk to you (about your character) all day, but prior to you shooting, you don't get all that. You get a few nuggets to plant and run with. I found myself feeling a little underserved with the information initially, but as we went along, I started to understand what the method behind the madness was, and I appreciated it after."

As an actor who has worked extensively in theatre for the past two decades, it was difficult for Carroll to approach a scene feeling as if he only partially understood where his character was coming from. "I would never go on stage knowing only the first scene, and then have them say, 'We'll tell you what comes next at intermission.'"

Carroll, who was already apprehensive about joining a celebrated ensemble, found that while he was uncomfortable feeling so unprepared, he was able to embrace the experience once he had fully placed his trust in Lindelof and Perrotta, and relied on his years of theatrical training.

"You're showing up and you're feeling like, 'What the hell is going on? Is this all the information that Damon gave me to show up for this scene?' Like I want to kill a guy," Carroll said. "If you talk to a lot of actors, they go to these acting coaches and they have to act like animals, they say, 'Find your inner animal.' So now you're hopping around like a gorilla in class, and you're thinking, 'What in the world am I... Who does this?'

"Well, there's a certain level of trust that you have to do that kind of work in a classroom, because you have no idea why, when, or where you're ever gonna need to act like a slow-moving gorilla, but you're doing it. You're trusting some teacher's process. This is going to make you a better actor if you can act like a squirrel who's having an emotional breakdown. 'So, let's see your squirrel, ok find a nut, find a nut, find a nut. Ok, now there's nothing in the shell.'

"Cut to, now you're working with Damon Lindelof and Tom Perrotta, and they're saying, 'Ok, here's this amazing idea for a character, but we're not really going to tell you much. All you need to know is that he thinks he's a squirrel. Go.'

"It just comes down to how much you trust," Carroll said, "and that becomes the forefront of the process for you; investigating your nature of trust. You've been in the moment, and you've worked as truthfully as you can with the information given. Then the process takes care of itself down the road. It's really been a huge learning curve for me. It's been such an energizing process for me. It's been scary, it's been all of that. It's been a relationship."

Carroll said that his adjustment to THE LEFTOVERS process was made much smoother by the incredibly talented and professional cast and crew. Many of his fellow actors have their roots on stage, which Carroll believes allowed them to have a working short-hand as they developed their chemistry and comradery.

"It was a first-class outfit from the top to the bottom; it is a company of people that are about the work," he said. "If you come from the theatre, you're used to working in companies. You allow people space to find it, time to work, and there's a generosity of spirit that comes along with the process, and when you find it, it's great. That's what it was here."

While Carroll raves about working with every member of the cast and crew, he did admit to having some nerves, especially since the show is his first major role on television. "There's a part of you that, as the new person coming in, it can take a while to feel comfortable," he said, "and that's nobody's doing but my own. It was just part of the learning curve for me."

Joining a company already well into a run is nothing new for Carroll. In 1994, he joined the original Broadway productions of ANGELS IN AMERICA MILLENNIUM APPROACHES and PERESTROIKA, replacing Tony-winner for the latter show, Jeffrey Wright. While the projects were separated by two decades of work on stage and screen, Carroll says that he drew on his experience with ANGELS IN AMERICA when joining THE LEFTOVERS.

"Having had that experience set the tone for an understanding and an appreciation for an experience like THE LEFTOVERS," Carroll said. "When I went in (to ANGELS IN AMERICA), first of all, (I was) taking over for Jeffrey Wright, so that in itself is a tall order, (but) when I went in, I was able to find some nuances that I thought were pertinent to what I would bring to the role, and nobody scoffed at it. They were allowing, open, and accepting of that. I was just so lucky that that company of people were as great as they were."

Carroll joined the shows' company around the same time as Dan Futterman and Cherry Jones, and the experience began a relationship with The Public Theatre that endures through today.

In 1998, he starred alongside Jessica Hecht, Rick Holmes, and Sandra Oh in Diana Son's record-breaking STOP KISS. Then in 2002, he played Davey Battle in The Public's original Off-Broadway production of Richard Greenberg's TAKE ME OUT, and continued with the show to Broadway and London's West End. Subsequently with the Public, he appeared again alongside Oh in 2006's SATELLITES, also by Son, and he played Horatio to Michael Stuhlbarg's Hamlet in 2008's Shakespeare in the Park production. In 2009, Carroll was awarded an Obie for "sustained excellence of performance."

"Now that we're talking about it, I guess I have to say that I kind of grew up at the Public," Carroll realized. "There was just something about the work being done at The Public that always spoke to me in an artistic way, and I guess I never really thought about it, because it's just what I did. I guess as we're talking about it, that's just my home theatre."

Over the last few years, Carroll has been appearing on stage and screen in Los Angeles, including appearing as Walter Lee Younger in A RAISIN IN THE SUN, Guy in BLUES FOR AN ALABAMA SKY, and Leroy/Herb in BY THE WAY MEET VERA STARK. However, while it has been a few years since he has been on stage in New York, Carroll said, "I still look forward to working at the Public."

While it might be a while before Carroll can make his way back to his home theatre, he is currently doing remarkable work on THE LEFTOVERS, and he believes that the remaining episodes of Season 2 will be exceptionally impactful for the audience.

"I feel like we're on track to tell a great story, and it will challenge the viewers. It's gonna challenge you in your views about right and wrong, and living life, and what you're committed to in your life. I think it is worthwhile television, and it will cause you to reevaluate your faith."

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What do you think of Kevin's character in THE LEFTOVERS? Let me know in the comments below, or on Twitter @BWWMatt. If you want to follow along with my "366 in 366" articles, you can check out #BWW366in366 on Twitter. Also, don't forget to follow @BWWTVWorld on Twitter and Like us on Facebook for all of the latest TV news, reviews, and recaps.

Photo Credit:
1) Kevin Carroll on THE LEFTOVERS: Van Redin | HBO
2) Regina King and Kevin Carroll on THE LEFTOVERS: Van Redin | HBO
3) Sidney Poitier and Kevin Carrol: Kevin Carroll's Official Facebook Page