Both John Hawkes and Garrett Dillahunt appear in a new feature, Winter’s Bone, which I highly recommend. Excellent acting throughout, which fans of Deadwood should appreciate. And Twin Peaks fans can check out how Laura Palmer is looking these days.
I thought the development of Swearengen’s character was probably the best thing about the show. We heard snippets about his childhood and backstory that helped to explain (but never excuse) why he was the way he was. McShane managed to inject humor and a smidge of sympathy into the character, while the writing made him more and more complex and gave him moments of real honor and even heroism.
I saw Swearengen as a personification of the town itself, and more than that, as a personification of the old west. There was a secene early in the season when he talks about building the camp that became Deadwood with his bare hands out of the wilderness. He represented the combination of the uncouth, outlaw, violent, amoral spirit of those who settled the west with the toughness, determination, fierce individuality, backbreaking work ethic and courage of the same.
Swearengen’s time, like the era of the old west itself. was also in its twilight. The law was coming, politicians were coming, civilized women were coming, civilization was coming and (most threatening of all) big business (i.e. Hearst) was coming. Al was becoming an anachronism, and the freedom of the west (with all it’s pluses and minuses) was slipping away.
Good looking clip. I need to reread the thread to see if it’s already been said (I may have said it) but I believe about the best new face (for me) to come from Deadwood has been Dillahunt’s. He’s had some good roles and this one looks to be in the same vein. His turn as the comic relief deputy in No Country… was special.
It’s good to see this thread revived with some good new data. Thanks, DonLogan and 25.1327 Octopi.
Also if Al had been a total villain his fight with Hearst would have been anticlimactic. You wouldn’t have cared who won twixt him and Hearst (hard to say if Hearst won but Al certainly didn’t) and Hearst was in a league of Thoroughly Evil that Swearengen didn’t even aspire to- more money than he could or would ever spend and yet willing to kill men, women and children to get more. (It never explicitly said that he had Aunt Lou’s son killed but that was of course the implication; I kept hoping they’d part with history and have her cut his throat and feed him to Wu’s pigs, which I think would have been more realistic as well as more satisfying.)
Hearst was one of two villains who were portrayed fantastically on the series by an actor previously known for playing the wise put-upon benevolent dad on a dippy family sitcom: McRaney (Major Dad) played Hearst and William Russ (Boy Meets World) played Alma’s total bastard of a father.
William Sanderson (who I don’t recall being on the Paley show but may have been- haven’t watched it in a while) was best known for playing Larry on Newhart (sci-fi buffs may argue bk4 Blaederunner) and plays essentially the same character on everything, but nobody could argue he stole every scene he was in with E.B. Farnum unless said scene had Richardson in it.
Don’t forget Sanderson’s toymaking hermit in Blade Runner.
Farnum was a great character. They gave him a great self-referential in-joke line in one of the eps, I forget exactly what the context before it was, but he’s walking across the thoroughfare and mutters to himself “Did they really talk like that then?”, which referenced the “controversy” over the stylized dialogue in the show and especially the authenticity of the swearing.
My understanding re: the authenticity of the swearing in a nutshell is that it was historically inaccurate in that fuck and cocksucker just weren’t as used then as now but that the words which were considered rude, crude and socially unacceptable- which included damn, goddamned, calling a man a rascal or a libertine or a woman a harlot or a slut, etc., are today tame enough to make it onto primetime cable and to use them would not carry any of the wallop that they had at the time (something like bloody which in the time of Shaw could not be said on stage but today is used by English characters in children’s cartoons).
That was exactly the consensus and it makes sense. Especially considering the rest of the dialogue, which can easily be examined against documents of that time.
Interestingly, one way to find a Deadwood fan anywhere is to say cocksucker. It’s rarely used today, never mind then.
Sanderson as Farnum feigning cunnilingus on the carpetbag of money he receives from Hearst is one of those images that will never leave your mind no matter how much you plead with it. His character on True Blood, Sheriff Bud Dearborne, is generally one of the more “straight” roles of his career, but on the last episode he had a great moment when his character got frustrated and quit his job at the beginning of a murder investigation. (It’s uncertain so far whether the character’s impromptu resignation is permanent or if Sanders will remain on the show.)
In an interview he was asked why he took the role considering it’s a fairly minor and colorless role compared to most of his past performances. He said basically “I didn’t have any more interesting or better paying offers, and one day I might wanna retire or put my grandson through college so it was a lot more money to put towards that than sitting on my ass would be”. I love it when actors talk about their craft.
Many belated thanks to you and to Turtlegirl. The website was a good one, and the transcripts were invaluable for deciphering some of the dialogue. And it was nice to have a place to go, if one wanted to find and quote E.B.'s soliloquy as he was cleaning blood off the floor. Kudos!!
My pleasure, it was a very interesting experience doing those two sites. I can’t imagine doing those transcriptions, even if the dialogue was sparse.
Jon Favreau used to have a show, Dinner at Five, on IFC; he had Olyphant and Milch on one time and it was a 25 minute show and I think it took me 6 hours to do a transcription of it. TGirl used to have a whole episode of Deadwood usually done within 2 days.
And just to throw in 2 cents about Olyphant and Bullock.
I can easily see how that character could have been portrayed differently, but my impression is that it was done exactly how Milch wanted it done.
One of things you’ll notice is that Bullock doesn’t even swing his arms when he walks, they stay straight by his side. I think this is part of the portrayal of Bullock as a repressed but explosive character who was thrust into a situation he never wanted to be in.
So on that point I tend to disagree with those who think his portrayal was off the mark. I think it was designed that way. Now, he’s gotten some plum roles after Deadwood, like a Die Hard movie, some movie (Hitman) based off a comic book or video game or something, and now the Justified series - none of which I’ve seen, but it seems like he made an impression on somebody.
Also when I see a character I really hate (and I know nobody was saying they hated Bullock), I usually end up thinking that’s probably some really good acting.
It’s probably not that easy for a competitive actor to underplay a role.
Farnum and Richardson just might be my favorite characters in the whole show. Richardson with his pagan antler-worshipping notions just about made me clap my hands with glee – what a delightful detail that was. Also, this. So cute.
And while watching the show did nothing to increase my use of profanity (only because I didn’t use it much to begin with), it did inspire me to use a more baroque pattern of speech. Farnum’s dialogue was especially full of amazing verbal gems that made me laugh out loud. (Why, just this Thursday, I was at the dentist’s getting a cavity filled and was sorely tempted to tell the hygienist, “I’ve been prostrated by the agonies of the damned,” but I didn’t think she’d get the reference. And it didn’t hurt that much. :))
Re: Olyphant – I don’t think he did a bad job, and there were a good number of scenes where he was really on his game, but I do think a more introspective actor could have done a better job. I can’t think of any specific examples now, but there were moments when I would listen to him speak and was struck by how flat his delivery was, and I’d think about how there’s a difference between restrained/reserved/emotionally repressed and, well, flat. Learning that he didn’t give a lot of thought to his performance (at least he said he didn’t…who knows, maybe he did care a lot but just wasn’t comfortable talking about it) doesn’t make his acting seem better in retrospect, I’ll put it that way.
I look at someone like Garret Dillahunt playing Wolcott, who was also mostly emotionally reserved with periods of outburst, and see a good example of what a sensitive actor can do with a character like that.
However, I really liked Olyphant in the domestic scenes with Martha and William. I thought he did a great job at getting at the awkwardness and hidden warmth in Bullock that slowly rose to the surface as he settled into life with them. One of my favorite little scenes with him and Martha is the one where he finally tells her he doesn’t like the way she makes his tea, and then he touches her neck. I thought Olyphant’s delivery throughout that conversation was great – the way he laughs when he says, “I ought not to tease,” there’s a little hysterical note because Bullock’s still caught between holding back and reaching out and is struggling to contain that energy… two (Richardson) thumbs up, Tim. 
re: Dillahunt and Winter’s Bone - He’s quit solid, but the real revelation is John Hawkes ( who has a larger role ). He’s almost unrecognizable and as far from Sol Starr as a character can get. Powerful and Best Supporting Actor-worthy role IMHO.
ETA: His character in that film would have made Swearengen instantly wary.
I’ll recommend Olyphant’s performance in A perfect Getaway. Not many people saw it, but he pretty much stole that movie and created a great character.
Bumping this to say: I’ve been watching my favorite episodes again and have come to the conclusion that I need to see Gerald McRaney in more things. What of his filmography (besides Jericho, which is already on my Netflix queue) would anyone recommend?
Not much. Deadwood was his crowning achievement.
I am re-watching the series, and just saw the Thumbs Up Richardson scene this very afternoon. It made me want to Thumbs Up right back at him!
Loved all of your post, gallows fodder–Garret Dillahunt was amazing in both his roles–but I especially appreciate this last bit about Timothy Olyphant and the the domestic Bullock family scenes.
I had always loved this line (and its crisp delivery):
*“I am a sinner who does not expect forgiveness, but I am not a government official.” * (F. Wolcott.)
I can’t remember if it was Dillahunt himself who said this in an interview, but in one of the special DVD features it was said that this was an improv line.
Ahh, goddammit. Oh well, I’ve heard his performance in Jericho is very good, so I have that to look forward to.
He just does such a bang-up job at portraying a man clothed with only the thinnest layer of civility, barely hiding a ruthless machine (“that murderous engine,” as Jack Langrishe called him) and frustrated little boy all at the same time. Every scene he’s in, he hits the best notes. I’m glad Deadwood gave him the opportunity to demonstrate his talent.
Caprese, I do declare that those three seconds’ worth of Richardson is among my very favorite moments in the whole show. It makes me laugh just thinking about it. That man was born to play that part.
Richardson’s other greatest moment is when he juggles at the talent show before Farnum drags him away ala Frollo and Quasimodo.