Red Stewart chats with Bill Irwin…
Bill Irwin is an American actor who has been working in the film and television industry since the 1980s. He is best known for his work on Broadway, as well as his performances as Mr. Noodle on Elmo’s World, Dr. Peter Lindstrom on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, and Cary Loudermilk on Legion.
Flickering Myth had the honor to speak with him as part of a multi-conference interview, and I in turn had the honor to ask him questions. Note, that representatives from the publications We Have a Hulk and Express were also present at the interview and had their own questions to ask Mr. Irwin. Their inquiries will not be shown below.
Thank you for taking the time out of your day to speak with us. Now, Noah Hawley is the showrunner of Legion, but one thing I found interesting was last season he didn’t write the majority of the episodes, only doing the pilot and season finale, while this time around I believe he is co-writing most of the season. For you as an actor, has that made things any different when you’re on set and filming?
Yeah, and I’m sure it’s taken years off of Noah’s life! But for us as actors, there are two writer’s voices: there’s Noah Hawley, and there is his primary collaborator Nathaniel Halpern, who was there every day on set. I don’t know how he did it: he was creating episodes, rewriting previous episodes, and he was at every shot helping supervise. So, to have the writing team get smaller and more compact, it must have taken a huge toll on those writers, but it really focused the work for us actors.
So even though Legion is based off the Marvel Comics of the same name, it features a lot of original characters from the mind of Noah Hawley, including your own Cary Loudermilk. I’m wondering, for you personally, does this relieve pressure when you go to conventions and meet fans since you don’t have a comic book counterpart with a lot of history, and therefore a lot of people with differing expectations based on their own reading experiences?
I love to be in that world of Comic Con and literary comic people because I get to ask some questions. And I get a deeper grounding in Legion’s story because you can do a lot of reading of Marvel Comics and not necessarily get into the Legion story, which is very complex and subtle within the Marvel Universe.
One of the things that Dan Stevens did, and he’s such a wonderful man: he’s kind of a subtle leader within the Legion cast. He gave us all a Legion collection, because it was a little hard to know where to start. But I have beside my bed, to this day, the book that Dan gave me, and I’ll ghost read it to not only to trace some of the Legion narrative, but to get some of the feel of that frame-by-frame storytelling.
Now, Noah’s tweak on Legion is very much his own. He’s invented people like my own character, thank goodness. But it is rooted in that original set of Legion comics, and I try to find my own narrative in that.
Another intriguing thing I’ve noticed with Legion is that it has a short episode count per a season, compared to other networks where it’s usually 13-23 episodes. And I know you’ve done a lot of work in those fields of TV, so how does this smaller season affect you as an actor other than obviously having a shorter work schedule? Are you able to devote more time to your character or building a relationship with the other cast members?
Oh, what a good question. Television is so time-pressured: no matter how you approach it, you’re always scrambled for time. But the rhythm of this show does allow a little more connection with your fellow actors, and therefore your fellow characters. And we spend time together. During the shooting of season 1, which took place up in Canada, we were all in Jean Smart’s apartment watching election returns in November 2016. So bonding as characters and actors, is, in my experience, fairly unusual. And you actually do have more time. It’s also a challenge of doing other work within the time-off that you might have from Legion.
And of course my contract, I’m not sure if I’m supposed to talk about this but here it comes, my contract is only for 8 of the 10 episodes. And I never miss a chance to tell Noah “but if you want me for the other two, if you want to write me in, don’t hesitate!” It became a running joke because I just wanted to have more storytelling crazy in the Legion season, and that stands for season 3 too. I want to have as much presence in the story as possible. I hope that answers your question.
Yes sir, it does. Lastly, I apologize in advance as this question does not have anything to do with Legion, but I just have to ask you about Mr. Noodle from Elmo’s World. I watched that show and Sesame Street so much as a kid, and I actually remember you and a lot of gags you would do with the kids screaming. I’m wondering, do you get a lot of recognition for that character from people, especially since they brought back the show last year but with a lot of changes?
Yes! Here in New York, where I live, it’s always a question whenever someone smiles and waves, either because they’ve been watching Elmo’s World or just because they’re a Legion fan. And I’m doing this play now on Broadway where I’ve had to grow a mustache, so I resemble Mr. Noodle a lot more than without a mustache. And so I’m always wondering, is it Mr. Noodle from Sesame Street or is it Noah Hawley’s Legion that someone had in mind when they waved at me while they were selling their sandwich or walking down the street?
But there is an instant Mr. Noodle recognition, and I am so deeply gratified and proud of it.
Flickering Myth would like to thank Mr. Irwin for taking the time out of his day to speak with us. Legion continues Tuesdays at 9pm on FOX in the UK.
Red Stewart
Photo Credit: FX
