Laurie Davidson OF “WILL” ON TNT

How did you prepare to play Will Shakespeare?

There is so little known about him as a person, because all those records were burnt in the Great Fire of London. All we have left are his plays, so I looked there for clues. Just from the different characters he wrote and how easily he tapped into so many different kinds of people, that suggested to me that he was a man of hilarity and empathy. It’s also likely that he was torn, conflicted. He had three children and a wife, probably from a shotgun wedding. So he was a man with a lot of responsibilities who was trying to pursue his burning passion.

When did you know you wanted to be an actor?

I remember playing Fagin in a 10th grade production of “Oliver!” That was kind of the first real chance I had and I loved it. From there, I started to go to a couple of Saturday classes, but didn’t pursue it that much because I was playing a lot of sport. A few years later, I studied for three years at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts and just learned loads about the craft. While I was there, I got called to audition for “Will.” I was supposed to play Tevye in their production of “Fiddler on the Roof,” but I left school to shoot the pilot for “Will” and then went back and finished work on my degree.

Do you have a Shakespeare role you’d especially love to play?

I’d love to play Iago in “Othello,” even though I am absolutely nothing like him. I think that’s often the parts we love the most, because we get to go outside ourselves and under the skin of someone a little bit twisted, and Iago is so manipulative.