Jeff Daniels: “Without apolitical people like James Comey democracy can’t survive”

Based on the Book A Higher Loyalty by former FBI director James Comey, the miniseries, which was supposed to be released post-election, will first air on Showtime September 27, 2020. The two-part miniseries stars Jeff Daniels as Comey and Brendan Gleeson as Donald Trump. Interview with Jeff Daniels who points at the events that took place in 2016 election with Russian interference and seems to repeat itself no more no less in 2020.

What were your views on Jim and the FBI before you started filming and now currently your views on Jim and the FBI?

Jeff Daniels: I didn’t really know. Like everybody else, I was kind of reeling from them by the pussy quote, And then he reopened the investigation into Hillary’s emails with a month to go before the election. I don t remember exactly, except I probably was, what is he thinking? What is he doing? Because it looks like hers, on the surface, and if you get your news basically from other people on Twitter, it looks like he’s taking a run at Hillary. And you just do not understand it and having done it, having shot it, and now being four years later, I learned what he was thinking, why he did what he did. And that maybe the rush to judgment on him as being self-righteous and out there for personal gain was either premature or wrong.I found that he did things from an apolitical position, which in a politically divided America is like a foreign being. He was one of the first apolitical people to come forward and do things for those reasons. And he never viewed things politically. He viewed the rule of law, what was right, justice and the integrity of the FBI. That was his North star. And since then, we have been introduced to people like Fiona Hill, and Maria Bonovitch, and William Taylor, Colonel Vindman among others. Jim was one of the first. And apolitical, we now understand what that is and that if we don’t have apolitical people in this country serving on our government, then we won’t have a democracy very much longer.

 This is a very controversial case on a very controversial presidency, and the president is still in power. Was there some limits about what you were going to talk about on the movie?

Jeff Daniels: No limits. Like any movie that comes out, from the publicity department, from either the network or the studio, you get suggestions, talking points. I looked over those, but no, no limits. Nope.

What drew you to this role and the challenges involved in portraying real people in such recent events?

Jeff Daniels: I did not know how to do him. And since Newsroom, that has been kind of the key for me because I know if I do not know how to do him, two things will happen. I willrisk failure, therefore, I’ll be motivated to succeed. And I will stay interested. I’ve been doing this a long time and if I were an actor who was playing the same character time and time and time, I’d be out by this point. I was always raised as an actor to do as wide a variety of characters as possible. That’s one of the reasons I did Dumb and Dumber, was so that I could also do Will McAvoy, also do Jim Comey. I like that kind of range. Comey fit all that. He’s a simple, true apolitical heading right towards the North star that’s called justice, kind of guy in a very corrupt and deceitful administration that it’s the opposite. For drama, it was great storytelling. That’s what you want, you want obstacles like what Trump is versus what Comey is. That’s just good drama. I found that interesting and smart at a whole other level because you get all these political and it just, everybody. They’re saying one thing, but meeting another. And all that’s simply great stuff to act, great stuff to act. I don’t know why they keep asking me to do this kind of stuff, but I’m glad they do.

How did you get prepared to it? Did you read the book, or did you focus on the script and meet former agents?

Jeff Daniels: Right away I read Jim Comey’s book. Soon after that, I listened to Jim read his book, he did the audio book. YouTube, the internet has thousands and thousands of Jim Comey appearances, whether it’s in Washington or in front of the Senate in the hearings or the Stephen Colbert show here in America, where you get to see Comey’s sense of humor. I just looked at all of that and listened to all of that and kept going back to the book and back to … The audio book helped a lot because you can hear how Jim, even though he’s reading it, you can hear in a way how he thought about it in the way that he expressed himself, in the way that he told this part of a story in the book. And it just, it’s kind of let me in without having to impose myself upon him and go down to his house and live in his house for six weeks.

What was he like to work with Brendan Gleeson who portrays Donald Trump?

Jeff Daniels: It really was. And Brendan Gleeson is the kind of actor that I love. There’s no drama. He comes in absolutely prepared. Doesn’t want to rehearse. Doesn’t want to run lines, because I don’t either. I just never asked him. But we did our first scene together, the loyalty dinner. I met him, I think I met him in the makeup trailer. Completely nice, great guy, a terrific guy. And then no rehearsal, didn’t run lines. Next thing you know, we’re sitting in that loyalty dinner scene doing eight pages of Trump and Comey, mostly Trump, and Brendan came in with no rehearsal, nothing and just nailed it. And you’re going, this is the kind of actor I was hoping we would get for all of the roles. And, and we did, but in particular, Brendan just … You want to work with people like that,who do all the work it takes to make it look that easy. And Brendan’s one of those people.

 The voice  was amazing, he had it nailed down !

Jeff Daniels: We did a lot of … And with Comey, too, we didn’t do a lot of what I call, put ornaments on the tree. We had a hairpiece, I put some lips in, but other than that, a little bit of a vocal thing. But other than that, I wanted you to read my mind. I wanted you to see Jeff, but see Jim and hear Jim thinking. And that’s a film acting magic trick. Brendan did a similar thing. The hair the suit, and all of

that, was kind of secondary to the spinning of Trump’s brain. What is Trump thinking? What is behind Brendan Gleason’s eyes that says there’s Trump, I see him. And it’s in seeing Trump in a way that you don’t see when he’s in front of the press or on TV being a celebrity president. That darkness, that private menace that is in there, you could see that three feet away, and you could see it in Brendan’s performance.

This is one of the first times we see Donald Trump as a dramatic character. Was it important coming to you to show him just like he is and not just like a clown, like we did four years ago?

Jeff Daniels: That’s Billy Ray’s call, as the writer director. But we were all kind of under instructions and all of our approaches were the same. With anything, that happens when you hire a really great actor. They work from the inside out internally. Certainly, with Brenden Gleason, the hair was there, the suits. But they’re almost secondary to what Trump is thinking. We want to get in there. And I think that’s what everybody did on this show, particularly Brenden and myself. We want you to get inside these two men and try to get an idea of what they’re thinking. Certainly, through Comey’s point of view, which is what this particular show is. It’s Comey hearing Trump. And it’s what Comey’s thinking. And what Comey’s going :“Oh my God, he wants loyalty to him?” And to catch that moment on Comey’s face because you’re thinking it, that was what we all chose to do. You see Trump, but what you see is Brendan Gleason and then you see inside Brendan to see Trump. It’s a film acting trick, but we all took the gamble and fortunately, it worked out.

In the end, it says, “US intelligence agencies now concluded that Russia is actively interfering with the 2020elections, just like they did in 2016. And that the president has yet to acknowledge this finding”; What is your take on that? And why do you think hegets away with everything?

Jeff Daniels: Well, we’re going to find out whether he gets away with everything on November 3rd when we have the election, for starters. I’ve always felt that Trump was hiding something. And I think he still is. And Jim Comey was one of the people that was tasked with finding out what that was, or is, still is. And Jim Comey, that was one of the reasons Jim Comey was fired, was because he wouldn’t pledge loyalty to Trump, which meant that whatever Trump is hiding would be dismissed or the investigations would be stopped. Under Jim Comey they would not have been because he did not accept that. He did not say :”Yes, sir, you have my loyalty”, and then behave accordingly. He did the opposite and got fired.

People tend to have no memory and forget too easy the case of corruption, lies, or misconduct. Do you think this show could be a good reminder before the next election?

Jeff Daniels: I think it will help Americans know more and get them more informed about something that they think they know, but they really don’t. I didn’t. You”re going to know why Jim Comey did what he did. And I think if their reaction is the same as mine to seeing it, it will be :”Oh my God. What happened to Jim Comey was just the beginning of three more years of even more of it on a daily basis.” And that’s what I thought. When I finished watching the Comey role, I go “”;Oh my God. It was just the beginning !”; And I didn’t know that at the time.

With themovies: “ Newsroom”, “Looming Tower”, and now this show. Political subjects, or contemporary political subjects seem to find you. What could be the reason?

Jeff Daniels: I think sometimes it is just coincidence, happenstance, it turns out. Then we’re going to come to you with Comey and we want you to do Comey. Part of it is I think it all stems from Newsroom and to be able to handle Aaron Sorkin’s dialogue, that’s a lot of work and it’s not easy, but apparently, I make it looks easy. So, I get more of that. That’s kind of how Hollywood works, they want you to do what you did, just do it for them. And so, I think that’s part, certainly has led to Looming Tower. As did, McAvoy was a complicated, complex character. And that’s what I’ve gotten since then. The offers that I’ve gotten have been more along those lines. Oh, here’s an actor who can handle that character’s intelligence, or lots of dialogue, or whatever. Looming Tower, Godless, Atticus Finch on Broadway and Jim Comey. Those are all complicated complex characters. And frankly, I’m glad. If that’s the brand, I’ll take it.

Franck Ragaine

Quel était votre point de vue sur l’affaire Jim Comey , le FBI et celui-ci a-t-il changé après avoir tourné cette mini-série ?

Jeff Daniels:Tout n’était pas forcément ordonné dans ma mémoire mais je me souviens avoir été très surpris qu’il réouvre le dossier de Hillary Clinton avec les fameux emails envoyés de son adresse personnelle à des fins professionnelles juste un mois avant l’élection. Je me suis dit comme beaucoup : mais pourquoi fait-il cela ? Au premier abord et vu les réactions, on se disait qu’il essayait de faire payer Hillary. Mais en fait après avoir tourné cette mini-série et aussi le fait que quatre années sont passées, on comprend pourquoi il a pris cette décision et quelles ont été ses motivations. Il voulait avant tout agir de façon apolitique. Il fut l’un des premiers. Il souhaitait jute respecter la loi et l’intégrité du FBI. Depuis des personnalités comme Fiona Hill, Maria Bonovitch, le Colonel Vindman ont suivi son exemple. Si nous ne considérons pas des individus comme lui, autant dire que le concept de la démocratie a très peu de chance de survivre !

C’est un épisode de l’histoire américaine très controversé. D’autant que le président est toujours au pouvoir. Cette situation vous-a-t-elle impose des restrictions  ?

J.D. :Non aucune limite. Bien sur comme n’importe que film, nous avons dû suivre certaines suggestions de la part du studio qui produit et des attachés de presse et de marketing mais mis à part cela, aucune restriction ni limite.

Certaines témoignages, interviews…vous ont-ils aidé pour vous préparer ?

J.D. :J’ai immédiatement lu ses mémoires : « Mensonges et vérités » (il décrit Donald Trump comme un menteur invétéré) . J’ai aussi écouté avec attention la version audio qui permet de déceler davantage de nuances et donc percevoir Comey sous un autre angle notamment son sens de l’humour. Et puis j’ai aussi visionné la multitude de vidéos sur Youtube dans lesquelles il apparait à Washington notamment devant le Sénat. Tout cela m’a permis de comprendre sa personnalité sans le solliciter ou devoir passer six semaines avec lui.

L’acteur irlandais Brendan Gleason personnifie Donald Trump de manière étonnante. Vous a-t-il bluffé ?

J.D. :Carrément ! C’est le type d’acteurs que j’adore. Aucun souci. Il arrive sur le tournage à cent pour cent prêt. Je l’ai rencontré dans la loge de maquillage. La première scène que nous avons partagé est celle du diner en tête à tête où il est question de loyauté, Trump le somme d’en abuser. Nous n’avons pas répété la scène, il l’a jouée et avec une authenticité déconcertante. J’étais ravi, c’est vraiment le genre d’acteurs que vous souhaitez avoir en face de vous pour que tout se passe bien. Malgré le maquillage, la perruque pour lui comme pour moi, les garnitures n’ont pas eu pas beaucoup d’importance. Il fallait retranscrire l’essence de ces eux hommes, le temps d’un regard, d’un échange pour que cela soit captivant et sincère. A travers ses yeux, on ressent pertinemment la pensée profonde de Trump et cela n’était pas évident à cerner. Cette noirceur, cette menace qu’il fait peser par sa présence, Brendan a réussi à la personnifier avec beaucoup de justesse.

L’un des points cruciaux est la mise en évidence de l’interférence de la Russie en 2016 pour l’élection présidentielle et la preuve que cela est en train de se répéter pour celle de novembre 2020. Qu’en pensez-vous ?

J.D. :On verra bien ce qui va se passer le soir de l’élection le 3 novembre. Pour ma part j’ai toujours pensé que Trump cachait quelque chose et que c’est encore le cas aujourd’hui ! Et Jim Comey fut celui qui fut chargé de le déceler et c’est pour cela qu’il a été limogé. Il n’a pas souhaité être loyal à Trump et dissimuler la vérité, il en a payé les conséquences. Ce n’étais pas le style à dire : « oui Monsieur le président ». Il a fait tout l’opposé et s’est fait viré.

Mensonges, corruption…tout est révélé un peu de manière à influencer les prochaines élections ?

J.D. Je pense que cette mini-série va aider les américains à prendre connaissance de détails sur une affaire qu’ils croyaient connaitre mais qu’ils ne connaissent pas vraiment ! Les téléspectateurs vont réaliser et discerner le fond de cette histoire, les décisions de Jim Comey . Mais en fait ce n’était que le début d’un chapitre de l’histoire de cette présidence très compliquée.  Et qui se poursuit donc encore aujourd’hui…

Il semble que beaucoup de films et rôles dans votre carrière sont concentrés sur le monde politique. Comment expliquez-vous cette constance ?

J.D. :Je pense que le facteur coïncidence joue sa part. Malgré tout beaucoup m’ont vu dans le film : « The Newsroom » (sorti en 2012). Et être capable de tirer son épingle du jeu avec des dialogues écrits par Aaron Sorkin, ce qui est loin d’être évident et représente pas mal de travail, semble avoir convaincu. Hollywood fonctionne ainsi, on souhaite vous voir refaire ce que vous avez déjà fait. Et j’ai récidivé dans : « The Looming Tower ». Des personnages à la fois complexes, cérébraux…et si c’est dans ce registre que l’on souhaite me cantonner, j’en suis ravi.

Mais qu’est-ce qui vous motivé à la base pour accepter de jouer un personnage plus qu’un autre ?

J.D. :La crainte de ne pas y parvenir ! C’est ce qui motive et me guide vers la route du succès et surtout présente de l’intérêt. Je fais ce métier depuis suffisamment longtemps pour savoir qu’il est important malgré les propositions de conserver tant que possible une certaine diversité. C’est pour cela que j’ai fait des films comme ; « Dumb and Dumber » ( avec Jim Carrey en 1994) pour pouvoir justement interpréter des rôles comme Jim Comey. Jim Comey est un personnage captivant, apolitique qui privilégie l’intégrité et la justice, un véritable obstacle pour Trump qui est tout son contraire. Je ne sais pas pourquoi on me propose des rôles aussi intéressants mais je suis ravi que l’on continue de me les proposer.

Franck Ragaine