Netflix "A MAN IN FULL" panel - Jeff Daniels, Diane Lane, Lucy Liu, Regina King, David E. Kelley

it's always a Fame to have to like do this like I don't know uh catwalk strut as you're trying to introduce a panel so thank you for the Applause um my name is Angelique Jackson I am one of the senior entertainment writers at variety and it is my pleasure to be here as you all are some of the first to see this incredible adaptation of a man in full um so really without further Ado let's start bringing some folks up here to join me um first we have Sarah Jones who plays Serena Koger next we have Shante Adams who you saw as Jill Hensley next we have John Michael Hill who is Conrad Hensley next we have AML Amin who is Roger now we have Lucy L who plays Joyce Newman followed by Diane Lane who is Martha Koger next we have Jeff Daniels who plays [Applause] coming up now we have executive producer and director Thomas scham and now we have executive producer and director Regina King and last but certainly not least is showrunner writer and executive producer David E [Applause] Kelly well thank you all for joining us because I know when I finished this first episode I had a lot of thoughts feelings excitement about where this was to come um but David I want to start with you because it's my understanding that you may have read this book a a time or two and this project might have originated with you tell me more true I I read it in the late 90s loved it um it stuck with me I read it again three or four years later stuck with me read it three or four years later after that thought this really needs to get made so um started with Tom Wolf it's a brilliant book um he was precious Washington that the themes that he mined back in the 90s have only become more ripe today and um I'm always a sucker for Rich and delicious characters and this book certainly had it starting with Charlie Koker and and the others when you thought about initially adapting this what kind of challenges did you pce foresee and how did this you know this incredible Ensemble really adapt to those and and make what we saw on this screen well probably the first big challenge is is uh accomplishing the tonal blend of the piece the book was um both funny dramatic uh topical it had a lot of things going on um I've been a fan so first who's going to direct it who's going to capture and accomplish that tone and I've been a fan of this lady for a long time I tried to cast her forever she always said no so I thought I will try um but if you've seen um Regina's work and we all have as as an actress she has those muscles to play uh drama and comedy at the same time she can be funny without compromising the stakes of the story that is not easy to do and uh I loved one night in Miami the movie so I knew that she would bring it um tonally for us too and I called I think I might have begged he s email email from David Kelly and I'd never met David Kelly in my life well I tried every other form of communication it hadn't worked yet so the email worked that was smart oh no it worked I my sister I was like oh my God Raina I think I've got an email from David Kelly and it's not a deep fake I think it's real so you get this email and and where what was your what was your knowledge of the book before what what was you know what excited you about this proposition honestly David Kelly I'm I'm familiar with Tom Wolf but I was not familiar with the man in full and I received that email and I was just like wow David Kelly actually watches I do you know and so he said um that he this is a story that he had been thinking about telling and he had already written the script for it the pilot script and um if I was interested in coming on board and just playing in the sandbox with him I'll send it to you and I'm like Yes exclamation mark exclamation mark exclamation mark exclamation mark and um I read it and I was like oo okay well either we will sink together or we will just have a blast together and um we had a blast together and uh we at that time he was like so I would love for you to direct all of them and I was like oo yeah that's going to be a lot and we um talked about well who would be someone that I would want to um direct all of these episodes with we felt very strongly that we didn't want it to be um a a a lot of directors just wanted someone who's sensibility and who's someone who knows great story and for me had a similar sensibility as myself but actually was a I'll be quite honest a white man that understands the world and the space that we were in but also understands the stakes that um we were um going to have to um tackle in a satirical way but also in a heartfelt way who do I know that is like that and Jason wman was not available I called Tommy shami my schlaman and so he came on board and we we dove in all of us uh Matt Tinker um and then we said who is Charlie kroer who can people like not give up on in the first episode it has be someone that we all love and Inter stage [Applause] left well Tommy I'm I'm gonna come back to you but I'm going to jump to Jeff since you know you did tea me up for that but what was it about Charlie that made you feel like you wanted to thread that needle because it is that swing of you know there are are things that he does that you know especially as as the series goes on that you might go okay um but then you do also a lot of the time want him to succeed so what was it about playing that dichotomy that was interesting well I when I I I did a zoom meeting with David and Regina and they said that Tommy was involved I think at the time as well and I said well there's three people at at my back and I had read the first episode and I saw how big he was was how how Larger than Life he was and they don't teach you at Star School how to be larger than life it's I'm ready for my closeup Mr dill and then they just act in front of a mirror I had to go big and still be believable and those are the hardest parts to do I didn't have a clue as to how I was going to do this and I said yes I'm in and that was cu cu I think at this point too and I think all all of us on this thing did we're risking failure here this could have been a disaster it really could but it wasn't I mean they surrounded me with a great cast that people were willing to go all in you know I mean I I remember those that conference room with Tom and and Bill we were sitting in the little cast chairs and I'm going do not leave me out on a limb you need to go there with me come on and they both they said we're in okay we're in and so that was that was great I knew early on that we had something pretty special but knowing that these three were behind the monitor for me that that helped me helped me like take even more chances I want to mention uh one other person in that conference room too Sarah um because there's something about Serena in that scene you know I'm I'm Southern I'm actually from Georgia and so watching this was quite an experience um but the way in which she knows what her role is to and how she's going to kind of throw off and manipulate without really saying much of anything is is it's it's quite genius you know what was it like to be in a scene like that where you know the swings are going to be so big and you don't get to be big um hi um well it's uh it's very easy to just jump been when you know that you're working with Jeff Daniels um and and Tommy and Regina like when you have this caliber of artistry it's it makes your job really easy but I do remember one of the first the fir actually the first day I think Jeff and I worked together he leaned in he went just so you know I'm going to go big I'm like I got you throw whatever you want to my way I'll catch it I promise I and I did my best but it was a it was very easy to um just stay with them because it's it was such a it really was such a pleasure and a joy um to watch uh Jeff's process and his Artistry and he is so giving as well not just as a human but as an actor in scenes um he doesn't take up the space he's figuring out what's going to tell the best story and that was incredibly inspiring um to be able to do those scenes with him um so it it really made my job very easy I I it was really a joy and a pleasure well Tommy I I told you I would come back I know I can I can call Jason um but I am very curious about that idea of shaping this story together because that very much is what you have to do when you're you're threading needle as as Regina mentioned of all of these tones so what did that look like as you're kind of taking it from what we've all seen in episode one and knowing the ark is going to come back around what did that process look like um for the three of you all in the beginning well look I think I think part of the job that we all do is we're collaborators I mean that is the essence of trying to make something like this so once you're starting from that purpose and and that drive then it's just spending time with David and Regina and really talking and really figuring out the show and talking together and uh and so it's not much different than whether you do it alone or whether you do it with a group and in this case you know I had worked with David in the past um when I was a very young man and and uh we did series together and we did a couple of Pilots so it was really exciting uh to be able to work with with him again and to work with Regina was just a thrill for me uh but I I would just want to say that what everyone's saying is the typ Rope the incredible failure that we were capable of falling into was exactly the reason I wanted to do this uh it was that's what's fun that's it's walking that tight rope was really really fun and to do it with this group of people was uh really incredible experience well when I was kind of looking into the the early reaction cuz most folks obviously have only seen the trailer th far um but one of the the comments that stood out to me were uh somebody said something along the lines of Diane Lane and Lucy Lou playing besties you know CAU me in and part of that and what people haven't seen yet is is the actual expiration of these women that happens in this series you know for each of you what was so interesting about playing Martha and Joyce and the journeys that they go on over these six episodes okay um this was a joy of a project and it it's true it could have been a bumpy experience and it could have turned out as this experiment that was a nice try but it I'm so proud of it and I'm so delighted for all of us the two of you directing us we were in such strong safe hands and to get to work with Lucy I mean we got to share moments together that were it's coming you're going to see um support systems many different varieties of support systems that women provide to each other um and and that's an important thing in a man's world such as the kroer world is and um you know I I I'm I'm thrilled and uh we had fun and it was uh interesting to be a a a a fierce exwife kind of prototype but also a woman who you know Jeff and I we we we we we attempted to create a a rich history uh without it showing or being spoken about necessarily and I want to commend you on keeping all of our energies in the right place in between takes thank you for that because that's effortful and you made that effort and it really helped us all to stay on track and what did I do you don't have to know that we know anyway over to you um well I I agree I think um when you go in headlong uh in a project it is such a question mark and I also had a zoom with Regina who I work with on Southland um and David obviously I worked with on Ali mcel for you know that um so and and Jeff and I worked on a a Broadway play together God of carnage and John Michael uh worked with me for seven years on Elementary so it was really um really kind of wonderful and um they didn't really know where my character was going but the fact that David and Regina were calling me to ask me to be a part of this was so surprising because it was taking elements of different parts of my life and putting them together and you know at this point in my career it's really about who I'm working with and you know what I can do with the project if I can do something and in this I just sort of said yes um because that's what you want you want to be part of something that is you know special because of the people you know and the character sometimes come second and you know knowing that David is such a prolific writer and so um colorful in how he describes people or how they describe things with their words was enough for me and Regina I am have always been in awe of her as an actress and to see her shine like this um it's not it's not unusual I I mean I think it's like to me everything she does is always stellar and to be able to be a part of that with her sister it was it made such a difference and then of course that that you know that scene you see us doing that um what looks like a simple task was very difficult we be texting are you doing this like what's happening um it was like I mean I thought I was coordinated but apparently I wasn't um but anyway it's it's wonderful to to jump in head long so thank you aerobics is always harder than than it looks and also trying to do badly at aerobics is also difficult Diane I I I know you but Dana I'm actually interested in in the idea of the adaptation of this as well because there are storylines that are different from the book there are characters that are added expanded changed what did kind of the process of filling all of these roles out look like for you as you wanted to find also then again the right folks to fill them well one of the challenges that was not there was uh adjusting it for modern day because the themes as I allude to earlier um that Tom Wolf wrote about in the '90s only became more more ripe and um sadly um even more present as time goes on so the there was no real adjustment in terms of having to update it the the biggest challenges were logistical and um you know production values because in the book book was very expansive it went to the West Coast we had earthquakes we had prison riots um a lot that we couldn't accomplish in even in a um in a miniseries um but but I found that the best way to stay true to the story and mind the characters was to stay tethered as tightly uh as I could to Charlie Kroger because he was the the driving engine of the book um even in he's not in every scene physically but he is um tangental and he and he is in this piece too uh people are either battling Charlie kroer or reeling um from offenses that they've taken uh from him um or their um feeling the effects of his influence but but he is there in every scene so it started with him uh he was the nucleus and then mining out the other characters um kind of it just fell into place it was not um people have asked me well must have been a mountain of an adaptation and it it the architecture was was all there in the book um the world was there the characters were finely drawn um the observations that that Tom Wolf um Drew about human behavior and the ones that we tried to depict in a satirical way that was all there so uh my mission really was to take this very thick book write it in a way that it could be produced in 6 hours and not screw it up he was locked on that sit out boy nflix is like well maybe eight he was like no six was like how can we make this two three four I sure you want to do a limited series it's really meaty um AEL that actually does bring me over to you and to Roger um because there when when David was just talking about the the characters that Charlie affects in in kind of our our one of our early meeting scenes when when you come into the office and we're getting a chance to see how the two of them navigate their relationship and how complicated that can be sometimes when your boss says the things that you really can't necessarily react to in part because you are his attorney and you got to you got to get him through this trials and tribulations but also want to be like what was it about Roger and that that relationship and then the other relationships that he's kind of being pulled between throughout this project that was really interesting for you oh wow um well you know a boss spits on me we we were talking about Jeff that you spat on me the first time we we did the I didau him right on the I was like oh wow this is where we're doing um you know the opportunity to work with Regina King who contacted me mutual friends you contacted me about it and and and came to me about the project you know I'm a massive massive massive fan as an actor these are actors that kind of inspired me to have the career have and David Kelly is literally responsible for my life changing he gave me a show Harry's Law 2010 that's my entrance Point into my American Career so this project means a lot to me from that standpoint you know it's like full circle moment um um but Roger white you're talking about you know a very Dynamic good man but very Dynamic person and someone that's reaching a place in his life where he's successful he's taking care of his family but you know like I saw that you when your soul starts knocking and you're like how have I done have I lived a life of meaning and I think that's the journey he goes on um Charlie kroer represents someone that lives boldly and brashly and like himself and I think Roger finds that inspiring but at the same time you know offensive you know in the in the way he Maneuvers through the world um I also like the fact that um on on on one part he's this inspiration the person that helped him become who he is but then he's got to go completely different Journey you know and I remember this moment actually I was sitting down with a Jeff and he's like uh have you seen uh episode four five and six I was like no mate what what's going on there like um you should take a look at cuz four five and six I get these massive classic davidy Kelly speeches and so for the next month I've been walking around the apartment down Atlanta just like ogc 8 91442 subsection a sub it just keep going and Je was like yo you better look at that stuff so and then I just walk past him like Hey How's ITC so listen as an actor this is one of the most prominent opportunities I've ever had to to to play and with such a powerful cast and trust me when you watch the show when youve seen the episode It's amazing to watch a show where you're like you're loving everybody's work you know what I mean like you're enjoying other people's story lines more than your own like Bill K and Jeff Daniels and those scenes there like it just gets wild so and um and then working with John Michael and Shante Adams on those courtroom scenes were beautiful so yeah okay like like um like said y'all have something to look forward to especially as we get to episodes four five and six about what he's teasing with these courtroom scenes um and that does bring me to John Michael and Shante the the Hensley family this you know this family on the precipice of their next chapter when it gets so violently interrupted um what was it about Conrad and Jill and the story The Arc that we will see them go through that you'll take with each of you well um I've always loved playing characters whose world is flipped completely upside down and just having to go through that journey I feel like that's where all the fun is as an actor um and to be able to do it alongside John Michael and a melamine I mean me as a person every day I'm showing up to work I'm inspired like the way these artists work the way that Jeff Daniels comes to work and knows all of his lines there the way of Mill like he said he them speeches were like three pages long like that's not something that I would want to do and so just opportunity to be able to show up and work alongside these people and to be able to play Jill who's such a loving and caring character but has to go through something really traumatic as she's a newlywed and a mama to be and so there's just there so much fun and it's an amazing emotional landscape that Jill just kind of gets to play with I got to go after that working with Shante was a dream um yeah part of what is the Joy about this for me is holding the mirror up so and really trying to uh connect to people so hopefully they look at Conrad's storyline and see something that could happen to any of us but it's Amplified because of the perceptions of black men in America um that's sort of what he's up against in this and I just I hope that people are able to look at our legal system in a different way but also at the heart of this thing it's really just like anything can happen to a family and you're desperate to try to hold it together so no matter what David puts Conrad through during the show you could be sure that at the at the center of it there's this gravitational pull and I'm just hoping that comes across to people that that line that piece of dialogue this is not right um the resonance that that has throughout this story and through this piece and in certain ways even how it it maybe not parallels uh Charlie's journey I think is is is kind of what stays with you you after you're finished watching these six episodes I I kind of put that question to all/ each of you as we kind of start to bring this to a conclusion is what is the thing about this experience beyond the um you know the true art that it was that sticks with you about this story and you hope that sticks with the audience as well um Regina I'll start with you well I think that that's one of the beautiful things about David Kelly and Tom Wolf's style of writing they both um write um from a satirical space but there are themes in there that are real and are grounded and one of the things that's always been fascinating for me with telling this story because I am you know I am a woman and I am a feminist and I love women but I love of men and I CL and and the thing that was really special to me and then we talk about this a lot as we were developing and as we were going through um the the the telling and the composing of the story um was the fragility of of the um of the male and and um we had a we have an amazing composer Craig delion I don't [Applause] know truly understood that from a Sonic place and when you look at every single one of these characters Tom Pelfrey isn't here but he plays Raymond peep grass who you guys got to see each one of these men they actually make choices based on their fragile spaces that they're in and we were able to find some humor in some of it but as you continue to watch the um series I hope you also understand the sensitivity and Desperation in some of their choices like I'll just take um the oh I don't want to give it up no I can't say you have to watch but there are choices that every single one of the men the men in full or not so much in full um make um are from a place of just insecurity also from also feeling like this is what I need to do to protect this is what I need to do to protect me to protect my family all of these choices uh that that are made were were are are fascinating and also um um I I understand them I've seen them and and that's one of the things that David said to me in our very first conversation that even if these characters are bigger than life I want us to see us in them in some spaces so while it is a man and fo and while some of our while our characters of women our female characters are not they don't share as much screen time as probably the men they are the women in full in in in so many ways and and I hope that you all receive that when you continue to watch but I hope I answered your question I think there was a way that we we sort of defined it in one simple thing which is the vulnerability in the circus of humanity uh and I think all the characters male or female sort of reflect that throughout the series that is absolutely what makes this series stand out is as we look at each and every one of these people and the decisions that they have to make while we may never be in any of those positions you find yourself most of them hopefully not you find yourself wondering what would I do if faced with any of these challenges Alles um Jeff I will I will ask you that question or kind of to speak to that about Charlie and you know what it was like to explore those vulnerabilities of him throughout this well he got real vulnerable after they called the note on 800 million so that'll make Charlie vulnerable like well you saw um no it was a joy to play him you're Larger than Life and you get you're like a big blimp of the male ego hovering over and then they stick a hole in it and for six episodes you watch it just it was fun it was a lot of fun and I'll tell you it it's I love how funny it is even him up the ass him on the head why David E Kelly wrote that anyway the humor in it loosens you up to hit you with Conrad story it sets you up and that's what I love about things that you know we simultaneously use comedy at the same time with drama and that's it's hard to do but when we do it right and I think Regina and Tommy and David did and this cast did it sets us up so be for being even more powerful than if we' done it without humor and so I I'm listen dignity ectomy and and miss ariol miss Ariola Grande are lines that I will never ever forget um but but truly thank you all so much for joining us for this um thank you so yeah come on