Was it the time period, the insane cast, or just everything, in general?
JIM PARSONS: It was mostly Ryan, and the cast that he was assembling.
He came and said, Im doing this new thing.
Theres a character that Id love for you to play.
Its unlike anything that youve played.
Ill send you the first couple of scripts, so you might read it and think about it.
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Family sounds a little too out there.
So, I felt pretty emotionally committed before I knew who Henry, the character, was.
I didnt have a big knowledge of the era either the 40s in Hollywood.
Image via Netflix
Ive certainly seen movies from then, and its such a beautiful era to look at.
Ive seen pictures, and other replications and productions.
PARSONS: Its interesting, its a collaborative environment because people do feel in safe hands with Ryan.
Image via Netflix
If your hearts in the right place, it wont get you fired.
Youre really allowed to go out there and play.
For me, this role was a really good example of how I feel about him.
Image via Netflix
There was just something about knowing that Ryan was heading it up.
PARSONS: It is.
Its a major gift-giving ability, on his part.
The relationship between your character and Rock Hudson is certainly an interesting one.
How was it to dig into that dynamic, which does border on being a bit toxic and abusive.
Did you have a lot of conversations with your scene partner, Jake Picking?
PARSONS: The only awkward, hard part was the first couple of times on set.
And then, the next thing we had was when I take him on as a client.
They cut the final edit of this, which went further in the scene.
The thing about Rock was that he actually was very successful, ultimately.
He was basically as driven as Henry was, they just were different.
It is the weird successful agent-actor relationship, times 10 taken and taken to its worst degree.
By nature, this symbiotic relationship is complicated.
They were both gay men that were not allowed to be publicly out.
PARSONS: Yes, unlike any production Ive ever worked on before, I have never felt as transported.
How is this possible?
There was a magical quality to it.
Thats what was transportive about it.
You hadnt doneAmerican Horror Story.
I had done theNormal Heartmovie with him, and then he producedThe Boys in the Bandfor Broadway.
And so, those are my two major things with him.
It was so out of left field, but it felt natural.
It felt like a gift, and thats exactly what the experience turned into.
What was that experience like, getting to explore the material in two different mediums?
And it was so on the nose because there was a second-hand language and knowledge.
Wed lived so much with the material that there were so many questions that you didnt need to ask.
I would imagine thats the only time that Ill ever get to do that, which is a shame.
Its a hell of a way to work, Ill say that.
Are there things that you feel like havent come your way, that youd like to somehow make happen?
PARSONS: Yes and no.
It makes sense to do this now.
Shedding some of that old way of thinking, I feel Im still very early in the process of.
But I would say that time and experience is answering that for me.
This trip with Ryan was a real stepping stone, in that direction.
It wasnt business wise, or wanting to do Ryan a favor.
It was nothing like that.
It felt like an inspirational thing to do.
But theyre not, and you just have to attempt to feel your way.
I feel like an astrology reading hippie, saying it like that, but its the truth.
Hollywood is available to stream at Netflix.
