Interview: Tony-Nominee John Ellison Conlee Chats All Things BOARDWALK EMPIRE, The Commodore, and Dabney Coleman

As all BOARDWALK EMPIRE fans know, tonight is the HBO series' penultimate episode. With the series finale just one week away, I recently spoke to John Ellison Conlee about his experience on the show. Conlee plays the younger version of The Commodore, Louis Kaestner. A character that played a major role in the first two seasons, when the older version was played by legendary actor Dabney Coleman.

For long-time fans of the show, or history buffs who know the true stories, The Commodore is not always the most sympathetic person, but Conlee, a Tony and Drama Desk nominee, has infused his performance with a reality that allows the audience to understand what led the younger man to become who we knew he would be. However, as the story nears its conclusion, we begin to see the true darkness of the character.

In our chat, Conlee talked about his appreciation for the show, and what it is like taking on a role made famous by one of his idols, Dabney Coleman.

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BWW: So, how did you get involved with BOARDWALK EMPIRE? Was it just a typical audition?

Conlee: Well, I had auditioned for the show I guess probably a couple of times during the previous four seasons, and I felt like they were good auditions, Meredith Tucker, who casts the show, kept bringing me back, but I didn't get the roles, then I went in for a different role this year, but I hadn't seen her in a while, because I had been doing theatre, and unavailable for a long time, and when I came in my hair was a little greyer, I had a little mustache, I looked a little different than I had before, and so she had me read that I came in for, then said, "Don't worry about that, that was great. But come back tomorrow, and read for this part. I think this could really work for you."

And it was The Commodore role, which was a better role than the role I had gone in for. What she didn't know, is that I had always been a huge Dabney Coleman fan, so the opportunity to play a role that he created, and not only deal with the fun of playing this interesting character, but playing it in a way that is believable as an earlier version of Dabney Coleman was really exciting. So, I auditioned a second time for her, and then went in for Tim Van Patten and some of the other people there at BOARDWALK, and got it.

Your character, The Commodore is an actual historical figure who was used some less than legal tactics to grow Atlantic City. What type of preparation did you go through to portray a real person that has a rather dubious legacy?

Well, primarily, the research I did was watching the show, because the show does base itself on these historical characters, but (it) takes some liberties, and the stories they choose to tell are very much shaped by the actors they have. They truncate some stories, and make some things disappear. So, mostly it was watching the first two seasons of BOARDWALK, I mean what a pleasure. That's a good job when that's your research.

There is obviously all of that real history, and what came previously on the show, but you also mentioned getting to take on an earlier incarnation of a character that Dabney Coleman had played, so how did you try to create the connection between the two versions, and what differences might there be because of the time that takes place between them?

Well, I don't want to give it away for people who haven't watched it, but I think you definitely see the same ambition in The Commodore that you've seen before. The Commodore is kind of near the end of his powers in the first two seasons, and is just sort of finding his own powers this season. And I think that you see the difference in the kind of man that is, I feel like, and I again I don't want to judge him too much, that he is a little bit less taken by simply the power of it all at the beginning, because he is trying to amass that power. And then I think you see it correct him as you see lots of elements of the other characters and people who inhabit this world who get great power. I think you usually destroy them a little bit. And I think you see the beginnings of that in this season, and you see the result of that in Seasons 1 and 2.

Being a fan of Dabney Coleman, were you nervous or intimidated about having to create a performance that was up to the level of what he did in the first two seasons?

Oh, yes, absolutely. I wanted to sound and look as much like him as I could, and move and use my face in a way like he did, but I'm not going to be able to give a Dabney Coleman performance, and ideally what it is is me playing The Commodore, influenced by how much I loved Dabney Coleman (laughs). And that's sort of the best I can do, because there's no one like Dabney Coleman. That guy is one of my all-time heroes.

That's such a cool opportunity to be able to play this part having been such a fan. That's gotta be special.

Absolutely, growing up TOOTSIE, 9 TO 5 WARGAMES, CLOAK & DAGGAR, those were all some of my favorite movies. I even loved his TV series, BUFFALO BILL; I just always loved that guy.

You are coming into the show, and playing a pretty major role, in the series' last season. Did you feel like you were shouldering some extra responsibility for helping close the series on a strong note, since HBO fans tend to expect a lot from finales?

Well, I think the lesson we are learning in the age of internet commentary is you don't eve please everyone (laughs) when you end something. I trust these guys to tell that story. I didn't really feel the responsibility of ending it so much, because they're, rightly, protective of their material, so I would only get the scenes that I appeared in. So, honestly, I'm not only watching to see myself, and to see what my friends are gonna see, but I want to find out how it ends too (laughs). I don't know what happens in the other stories. So, I'm excited it. But I didn't feel the responsibility to wrap it up, but I know Terry Winter, and Tim Van Patten, and those guys did.

I know you were a fan of Dabney Coleman, but did you follow the show from the beginning, or did you just kind of pop in when you had the opportunity to go in for a role?

No, I followed the show. That's the great thing about the age we live in; I would go away from it, and then binge-watch sections of it; intentionally letting myself get behind, so I would not get in that position of, "When is the next episode!?!?!" But, I've always been a fan of the show, and been fascinated by how they kill off major characters, and then reinvent themselves, it's been fascinating. And always such a stunning thing to look at, it's a beautiful show, shot so beautifully.

Maybe it's just me as an outsider, but it seems like over the last few years there has been an increase in actors with a lot of stage experience getting more opportunities, especially on television. I mean, there's always been theatre actors that crossed over into all mediums, especially with shows like LAW & ORDER, which I know both you and your wife (Three-time Tony nominee Celia Keenan-Bolger) have done, but is that something that have you noticed inside the community that people have been able to go back and forth more recently?

Well I think there have, because there is so much more happening in New York. One of the barriers to that for years was that so many of the known talent pool for film and television stuff was on the West Coast, and it was cheaper to hire those people. Now, I think one of the resources that New York has to offer to the production companies that are deciding where they want to shoot their show is a really large talent pool. And I think we are seeing that used more as more and more productions come here, which of course is great.

Obviously, you've had a long career on film and on stage, but do you approach a project differently whether it's on stage or on film?

Lots of little things; no major things. Mostly, it has to do with time, because you have a fair amount of time in the theater to rehearse, and to learn in slower steps, how you are going to be most effective. And on camera, you have to be able to come up with something fairly quickly, with not a lot of rehearsal. And it can't ever look like you're trying to work it. So, it's about cultivating a different kind of relaxation, and preparing, largely, without rehearsing. And that ends up being the main difference. I don't feel like it is an entirely different thing, in the way that other people will talk about it. But, they are both so fascinating, I enjoy the challenges of both.

So, before we finish up, I know HBO doesn't like spoilers, but what can fans expect from the Commodore as the final season of BOARDWALK EMPIRE winds down?

Well, I think you'll begin to see him heading in directions (laughs) that if you are an avid follower of the show, will not surprise you, and they may make you have less positive feelings for The Commodore. You know, I think one of the things that we were trying to do was show that The Commodore got where he was by having some charm in his earlier days, but I do think we begin to see the things that tear him up, and make him a formidable opponent and the guy that could run a crime business.

Now that BOARDWALK EMPIRE is ending, do you have any other projects on the horizon?

A film that I did early in the summer, a Robert Edwards' film, called WHEN I LIVE MY LIFE OVER AGAIN, I'm not sure when that will come out, but I think it is in its finishing, post-production stages.

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As the finale of BOARDWALK EMPIRE approaches, are you excited to see the conclusion, or depressed that it's ending. Let me know what you think in the comments below, or on Twitter @BWWMatt.

Photo Credit:
1) John Ellison Conlee and Nolan Lyons: Macall B. Polay | HBO
2) Dabney Coleman and John Ellison Conlee: HBO
3) Nolan Lyons and John Ellison Conlee: Macall B. Polay | HBO