Acclaimed actor Tuc Watkins (“Uncoupled”) sat down and chatted with #Powerjournalist Markos Papadatos about starring in “Death on the Brandywine” mystery film.
Watkins plans the role of Sean Riley in “Death on the Brandywine,” which was written and directed by Nick Wilkinson.
The synopsis is: After a prominent politician is declared dead by suicide, his daughter enlists her partner to investigate. Their search unravels a lethal tangle of family secrets and political betrayal that someone is desperate to hide.
On being part of this movie, Watkins remarked, “My favorite thing to do as an actor is independent filmmaking. I love the collaboration process of it all.”
“One of the things I love most about it is when you’re making an independent film and not everything goes right, but you must figure out on the spot how to make something go right after it went wrong,” he explained.
On working with Nick Wilkinson, he exclaimed, “Nick is a terrific new filmmaker. He is a great writer, but he is also open to collaboration. It was a lot of fun to be involved in a taught political thriller.”
“I play Sean, the heir apparent scion of the family,” Watkins admitted. “ Jay Huguley, who is a terrific actor, plays my brother, and he was the serial failure of the family. So, he and I had a lot of fun throwing each other under the bus.”
“I liked the duplicity of my character Sean… he appears to be squeaky clean and an easy guy to elect. I think we see a lot of that in the real world but underneath, it’s not so pretty,” he elaborated.
“When I read the script, it kept me guessing all the way up to the end… So, I applaud Nick for writing a whodunit, where I couldn’t even figure out who had done it,” he explained.
On the lessons learned from the screenplay, Watkins reflected, “I think the screenplay reinforced that. You can get away with a lot, especially with a smile and appearing to be sincere.”
The digital age
On being an actor in the digital age, Watkins stated, “What I do like about being an actor in the digital age is that more people have access to making their own content. There used to be so many gatekeepers that would prevent people from making their own TV series or pilots or independent films, due to costs, and but digital filmmaking is so much less expensive.””
“Also, it levels the playing field to so many more people have accessibility to content,” he noted.
‘The Inheritance’ play
Watkins recalled being a part of the Tony award-winning play “The Inheritance.” “I loved it so much,” he said. “I had never been part of one of those juggernaut plays, which runs for six to seven hours. It’s one of only plays I’ve ever done that I didn’t want to end.”
“I would have done ‘The Inheritance’ for the rest of my life… That’s how much I loved it,” he underscored.
Stage of his life
On the title of the current chapter of his life, he revealed, “Contentment Feels Right.”
“I recently caught myself feeling content, and actors aren’t built to be content. I found myself being content a couple months ago, and it felt uncomfortable,” he explained.
Success
On his definition of success, he shared, “Success means being happy with what you’ve got because we’ve all got more than we realize. It’s hard to stand still and be happy with the things that we have. Every now and then, I think it’s important to try to stop this game. “
Closing thoughts on the film
For fans and viewers, he expressed, “I want people to enjoy this taught political thriller, and try to figure out who did it. This was a murder where everyone had a motive. I am always trying to figure out who did it.”
For more information on the film “Death on the Brandywine,” visit its official website and Linktree page.
To learn more about actor Tuc Watkins, follow him on Instagram.
