TROUBLE IN TINSEL TOWN
KELSEY GRAMMER and MATT BOMER are movie moguls vying for power in glamorous 1930s Hollywood
AMERICAN WRITER F SCOTT Fitzgerald is best known for classic novel
The Great Gatsby, but it’s one of his other – equally glamorous – stories that comes to the screen this week when Amazon
Prime Video screens
The Last Tycoon.
Set in 1930s Hollywood, the 10-parter follows dashing hotshot producer Monroe Stahr (American
Horror Story’s Matt Bomer), who engages in a power struggle with his mentor Pat Brady (Kelsey Grammer) for creative control of their movie studio.
Meanwhile, the widowed Monroe is being romantically pursued by Brady’s daughter
Celia (Lily Collins), who wants to produce a movie with him – though he is much more interested in Irish waitress Kathleen (Dominique Mcelligott), who reminds him of his late wife.
The action is based on real-life film moguls (with MGM’S Irving Thalberg the inspiration for Monroe), while the stylish era’s doublebreasted suits and glitzy gowns have been superbly re-created by Mad Men costume designer Janie Bryant.
We sat down with Kelsey Grammer, 62, to hear more about the series…
HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR CHARACTER, PAT BRADY? He’s a guy who doesn’t quit. He’s a fighter who has chosen a life that is always on the verge of collapse. For him, it’s the fight that keeps life interesting. His successes, once he achieves them, are behind him almost instantly. Physically, he’s a bulldog and it’s fun to play someone with a spring that’s wound up so tight.
WHAT RESEARCH DID YOU DO IN PREPARATION FOR PLAYING BRADY? I read a few things about Hollywood mogul Harry Cohn. He was in love with gangster movies so he hung around with gangsters a little bit and they say he kind of talked like them, so I tried to insert that into the role.
WHAT MAKES THE STORY SO ENDURING? Fitzgerald examined glamour, wealth and Hollywood in a really interesting way. He was fascinated with the glitz and trappings of success. I think it survives as a story because Hollywood survives.
DO YOU SPEND MUCH TIME SOCIALISING WITH OTHER HOLLYWOOD STARS? I don’t spend a lot of time in my industry. I’m a simple guy. I like to go to work, toil from nine to five, then get home and enjoy being with my
family. I’m a workman who happens to be an artist.
YOU HAVE SEVEN CHILDREN. DO YOU ENJOY BEING A FATHER? I have children aged 33, 25, 15, 12, five, three, and an eight-month-old. I love being a dad. It means everything to me. I want to give them safety, a sense of responsibility and a work ethic. I’m a bit corny in that way, but I want my kids to work hard.
WHAT WAS YOUR OWN CHILDHOOD LIKE? I didn’t know my dad.
After my parents divorced, my grandfather raised me and died when I was 12. My dad died when I was 14 [he was shot dead by an insane gunman], with me having spoken to him for maybe a week. I had no playbook at parenting, so I’ve been improvising.
IT’S 14 YEARS SINCE Frasier ENDED. DO YOU LOOK BACK FONDLY ON THE SHOW? Absolutely. Frasier was a great show. It was a bit of a gamble because we decided to assume the audience was smarter than anybody had ever assumed before. It paid off.
ARE THERE ANY ROLES YOU’VE MISSED
OUT ON? I’d have loved to have done Westerns. I can do gun tricks. I learned for a play I did years ago where I had to spin some sixshooters. Some people think John Wayne was a bad actor but there were some movies he was so good in.
ARE YOU AMBITIOUS? I think there are other great roles out there; I think there’s more coming. I have a great family and a wonderful, rich, full life, even without my career. But my work is something that defines me still. It’s something I care about, so I’m going to continue to look for roles that challenge me.