Interview with Escape At Dannemora’s Michael Beasley
I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to interview Michael Beasley this past week. It was ironic that at the same time I received an email asking if I was available to interview him, I was writing an article on my thoughts about one of his latest endeavors, Escape At Dannemora. If you haven’t heard of the Escape series, you may have seen him on Netflix’s Bloodline, HBO’s Eastbound & Down, or possibly in Last Vegas. If not, he has been acting full time since 2005 and has become a very recognizable face. So before we get into the interview, here’s a little background info.
Background
Born and raised in Omaha, Nebraska, Michael caught the acting bug several years ago, when his father, John Beasley came to Atlanta to perform in Kenny Leon’s production of “Jitney,” at The Alliance Theater. Michael played professional basketball, mainly overseas (Puerto Rico, Argentina, Dominic Republic, Chile, and Mexico). He knew he couldn’t play basketball forever and decided to reinvent himself as an actor. He decided to pursue his acting career full time in 2005. Denzel Washington once called Michael, the “King of (Hollywood) South.”
Michael has now done over 50 film and television projects in just 7 short years of being in the business. He has already worked with many legendary actors, such as, Denzel Washington in several movies, Don Cheadle, John Goodman, Morgan Freeman, Samuel Jackson, Michael Douglas, Kevin Kline and Robert De Niro to name a few. He is currently filming the YA movie The 5th Wave (2016) and recurring in both television series Powers (2014)and Bloodline (2015). (Source)
Escape At Dannemora
Escape At Dannemora is a limited series on Showtime. The series is based on the 2015 Clinton Correctional Facility escape by Richard Matt and David Sweat in Upstate NY. The escape prompted a 3 week-long man hunt for the convicted murderers. What really brought the story to the forefront of news was that a married woman (Joyce Mitchell), who worked at the prison, helped aid in their escape plans.
Interview
You have been in many different genre television shows and movies throughout your career. Is it different filming a mini series that was based on a true story?
MB: The only difference is you get to pull from real occurrences and make better choices with your character. However my character was fictitious so it was just a great experience to work with such great actors like Benicio, Ben Stiller, Patricia Arquette, and Paul Dano.
What made you decide to audition for this role?
MB: The opportunity to work with Ben Stiller, Patricia, Paul and Benicio is one of my favorite actors.
What are some of the characteristics of your character? Was “Murder” based on an actual inmate who had dealings with Matt/Sweat/Mitchell or was he added in to create drama?
MB: Murder was added to be an antagonist for Matt. Murder is a leader of one of the gangs in Clinton Correctional. He has 3 tear drops on his face which means he has 3 bodies. He has been on his best behaviour though because you have to be on the honor system in order to work in the Tailor shop. All these guys did terrible things to get in prison but they have to be model prisoners to work in the Tailor shop because they are around shears and sharp objects all the time.
With the content of this series, what was your routine for getting ready to portray your character?
MB: I was able to talk to some of the ex-prisoners because we had over 200 extras who happen to serve time in Clinton or other prisons. I also had to focus on what story I was trying to tell and that was that was that Murder was going make Matt and Sweat’s escape hard.
Did you have any interactions with anyone either directly involved in the escape or in the jail at the time? If so were you able to get insight as to their thoughts during those 3 weeks?
MB: Our set consultant, Eric Jenson, worked in the Tailor shop with Matt and Sweat and he was very instrumental in some of the choices I made in dealing with them and the things we did in the Tailor Shop. I also got a chance to talk to some of the C.O’s and asked them how the prisoners worked in the Tailor Shop and how they acted in the yard. The prison is on a precise time system and if they are off even 5 minutes then the rest of the prison population knows something is happening such as a fight or something. That is why it was so important for Matt to get rid of Murder because he was slowing up production and to escape Matt and Sweat needed everything to be on precise time.
Were you able to go into any of the areas at the prison that were used in the actual escape ie. manhole, car walk, cell, to be able to get more background information to get yourself ready?
MB: Yes we were able to see the actual cat walk and the Tailor Shop in Clinton which was pretty cool and scary at the same time because the prison was live. Any thing could have happened and we would have been on locked down with the prisoners. So I was glad when we left the prison.
And last question, how was your overall experience while filming? Areas you went to, people you’ve met.
MB: The overall experience was amazing because I was able to learn from some award winning actors and take what I learned to the next set. And made some great friends in the process.
The seven-episode series was created and written by Brett Johnson and Michael Tolkin, and was directed by Ben Stiller. It stars Benicio del Toro, Patricia Arquette, Paul Dano, Bonnie Hunt, Eric Lange, Michael Beasley and David Morse. For more information, you can head to Showtime’s Escape At Dannemora site.
Official Site
If you enjoyed his answers, make sure to head on over to his Official site to learn more about Michael, his past projects and his upcoming roles!
I’d like to send out a personal thank you to Michael for taking the time to answer our questions. For a local girl living 2 miles away from the prison, it’s nice to see how production works on the inside.
