Inside NBC's New Monarchy with 'KINGS' Ian McShane and Michael Green by Troy Rogers
The story of David and Goliath has always been an inspiration for anyone who has been faced with beating overwhelming odds to succeed. In an age of big business and big government, any story of David and Goliath couldn't hurt to boost public morale while giving hope to those feeling the ever-tightening grip of real world giants. On Sunday March 15, the two-hour NBC debut of KINGS launches a new epic series about a young hero who rises to power in a modern-day kingdom caught in the throws of greed and power, war and romance, forbidden loves and secret alliances.
Created by Heroes executive producer Michael Green, and starring the powerful Ian McShane as King Silas Benjamin and Chris Egan as David Shepard, a young soldier who crosses enemy lines to save captured prisoners of war, KINGS unfolds as a David and Goliath story when soldier Shepard unknowingly saves the life of the king's son. From that day forward, David’s life is forever changed as King Silas now owes him his son's life.
Leading up to the March 15 premiere of KINGS, which looks to be a rich and complex modern day flip on the traditional monarchy epic, we grabbed our slingshot and aimed for the phone to knock down the conference call barrier between The Deadbolt and both Ian McShane and KINGS creator Michael Green to find out the scoop on what fans can expect and how heroes have evolved throughout the ages as entertainment.
THE DEADBOLT: When someone saves you in real life, do you think there are limits on what you owe that other person?
IAN MCSHANE: Absolutely. No specifics. But absolutely, yes.
THE DEADBOLT: Ian, what was your reference point for your character’s dialogue and persona? Did you model him after someone specific?
MCSHANE: No. I didn’t model him at all. Well, Michael’s done an interesting [thing], which I haven’t mentioned so far, actually. He’s created a language, too, in this, which is part ordinary speak and part Gilboa-speak in the terms that it’s got its own natural rhythm. Sometimes it goes into a sort of a formality, but it’s its own formality.
It’s a hugely original show, I think, and it’s been a pleasure to say it. He’s a very gifted writer. The situations have been extraordinary and it’s been a pleasure to say the words. I haven’t modeled him; I didn’t need any much more modeling than reading the book of Samuel for a bit and realizing that these people haven’t changed through the ages. That, fear still really rules a bit. Life is brutal and short and nasty. It can be.
That is often the case. It just happens that nobody’s come up against Silas for a few years. And in this case, this person is not brutish; this person is David played by the lovely Christopher Egan who, as I said before, is a natural. I also said - I think I made a mistake before and said this is an alternate reality. It’s not, it’s a parallel reality. That’s what I think Michael is going for and what we’re all going for in the show.
THE DEADBOLT: How do you think being a hero in today’s world is different than in decades past? Do you think there’s still the same sense of nobility? Or do you think that can be a vulnerability?
MICHAEL GREEN: I think every generation changes its sense of virtue and sort of its yardstick for what makes a hero. A lot of it depends on what are the challenges. I think today especially, honesty is a lot harder a virtue, or a lot more heroic a virtue, than it might have been before where honesty was not as difficult a thing. I think we tend to talk about people who are honest as virtuous when in another generation they might have thought honesty is a given, whereas physical bravery might have been valued in other times.
Right now it seems like ethics seem to be more heroic, which [if] there’s a PhD thesis to be written by someone on this call, that’s really not going to be me, about how the definitions of heroism change based on the politics of the time and how the definitions of a hero in a generation define what that generation is. We, in our discussions of what stories will be, always go back to what are the hardest things to try to put a person through, be they any of the characters in the show, Silas or David. And we find ethics is always the one that keeps coming back.
Other Conference Call Highlights:
Ian McShane on playing characters in power positions:
"It’s terrific. I mean, we said at the beginning of this session that it’s good to be king, or it’s good to be going to be king. Al had the problem of, you know, ruling a town and realizing that the old ways couldn’t go on. In many ways Silas has been in power for a long time and Silas has gone soft with it; it’s like he expects things. And no matter how power does corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely. And as has been shown too often in the last, however long our solar system has been going - human life has been around. But that’s what happens.
"And it’s Silas. It’s the question of being this young kid who seems to have powers. And he’s told by Samuels, the reverend, Walker, things will happen to you; go with them if you believe in God. And of course he tries to fight it and it’s like fighting whatever God you believe in If you fight nature, nature is God. If you fight nature, you will lose. And that’s what happens to him.
"And of course characters are much more interesting when they’re fatally flawed. Well, not even fatally, if they’re flawed. I mean, they’re much more than playing a goody-two-shoes, which is why I don’t think David is going to be too goody-two-shoes for too long either."
Michael Green on how his comic book background helped in creating the world of Kings:
"You approach material and sometimes it’s material that you have to be a very sort of diligent custodian of, and you have to be very cautious with it. Take, for example, if you’re writing Superman, there are certain things that you can toy with and there’s a lot you can’t, otherwise you’re changing the fundamentals. It’s sort of this American civil religion of don’t f**k with Superman.
"And then there’s other material that is a lot more open. We approach this as there were tropes and archetypes and a blueprint out there for what stories and character relationships and dynamics would be. But we weren't going to let that define us to the point where we couldn’t move outside that box. So it’s knowing when to stay faithful and knowing when to surprise, and knowing when to expand and not being afraid to just make a mistake. And mistakes were made."
Ian McShane on the possibility of a Deadwood movie and why Deadwood fans would follow him over to Kings:
"First of all, I think the Deadwood movies were a myth to begin with. And I don’t think that myth is about to be revisited. I think that was a panacea to real fans and it hasn’t worked out. Secondly, yeah, I would hope that they would follow absolutely to Kings, which is it could be. It could be the beginning of - Al became king in a different kind of a way.
"No. I mean, they both dealt with big things. I mean, David [Milch] with big themes on that on a small scale in a town. He dealt with the fact that powerful figures coming together who couldn’t escape, but they knew it was their last chance at some kind of humanity. This goes on from there in a big situation of real - of people dealing with bigger, if you like, but they’re not bigger because all our lives are important. Every human being is important. So it’s a bigger canvas but it’s the same. Those same big things which are terrific to play."
I have enjoyed watching Ian since the days of Lovejoy. I am looking forward to "Kings". I hope the rascal I saw in the character in Lovejoy finds its way to kings.
The story of David and Goliath has always been an inspiration for anyone who has been faced with beating overwhelming odds to succeed. In an age of big business and big government, any story of David and Goliath couldn't hurt to boost public morale while giving hope to those feeling the ever-tightening grip of real world giants. On Sunday March 15, the two-hour NBC debut of KINGS launches a new epic series about a young hero who rises to power in a modern-day kingdom caught in the throws of greed and power, war and romance, forbidden loves and secret alliances.
IAN MCSHANE: Absolutely. No specifics. But absolutely, yes.
MICHAEL GREEN: I think every generation changes its sense of virtue and sort of its yardstick for what makes a hero. A lot of it depends on what are the challenges. I think today especially, honesty is a lot harder a virtue, or a lot more heroic a virtue, than it might have been before where honesty was not as difficult a thing. I think we tend to talk about people who are honest as virtuous when in another generation they might have thought honesty is a given, whereas physical bravery might have been valued in other times.
"It’s terrific. I mean, we said at the beginning of this session that it’s good to be king, or it’s good to be going to be king. Al had the problem of, you know, ruling a town and realizing that the old ways couldn’t go on. In many ways Silas has been in power for a long time and Silas has gone soft with it; it’s like he expects things. And no matter how power does corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely. And as has been shown too often in the last, however long our solar system has been going - human life has been around. But that’s what happens.
"You approach material and sometimes it’s material that you have to be a very sort of diligent custodian of, and you have to be very cautious with it. Take, for example, if you’re writing Superman, there are certain things that you can toy with and there’s a lot you can’t, otherwise you’re changing the fundamentals. It’s sort of this American civil religion of don’t f**k with Superman.