After playing Phillip Jennings — one-half of a pair of married KGB spies posing as homegrown Americans living in suburban Washington, D.C. at the beginning of the Reagan-era in the early-80s — and several of his clandestine alter-egos for the past three seasons on the masterfully-acted and skillfully-executed Cold War cable drama The Americans, Matthew Rhys good-humoredly admits he’s still questioning when portraying the Soviet undercover agent will become less complicated for him.
“I’m still figuring out if there is indeed an easy part to playing Phillip,” the 40-year-old Welsh actor says with a laugh. “The hardest part for me is trying to land him in a place of reality. Somewhere that’s real for me and hopefully real for an audience in that someone who has to juggle, in its reference, and keep as many plates in the air as Philip does, and sort of the pressure that that would bring — it’s landing that in a real place. For me, it’s the sort of hardest balancing act. But, I suppose the most enjoyable part in playing him is that he continues to be as layered, rich and complex as he has been from the beginning.”
In The Americans, Phillip and Elizabeth (Keri Russell) are regularly been sent by the higher-ups in Moscow on dangerous, deadly covert missions to infiltrate the CIA and FBI, in order to secure the intelligence agencies’ most closely-guarded security secrets. However, their arranged marriage is constantly being tested by the escalation of the Cold War and the intimate, dangerous and darkly funny relationships they must maintain with a network of spies and informants under their control. As Season Three begins (January 28 on FX), the trickiest of Philip’s sources continues to be Martha (Alison Wright), the assistant to Special Agent Gaad (Richard Thomas). In order to ensure her continued loyalty, Philip, in the guise of FBI bureaucrat “Clark,” one of his numerous cover identities, married her last season.
Things were going smoothly until Martha began pressuring Clark to start a family. Their neighbor, FBI Agent Stan Beeman (Noah Emmerich), could also prove to be a renewed threat. When forced to choose between betraying his country or his KGB double-agent and paramour Nina (Annet Mahendru), Stan chose the USA. Nina has been sent back to Moscow to face charges of treason, much to the dismay of her boss Arkady (Lev Gorn), Director of the KGB Rezidentura. In addition to his rededication to his mission of uncovering the identities of the Russian spies living among them, Stan is also attempting to rebuild a relationship with his estranged wife, Sandra (Susan Misner).
Meanwhile, in the Jennings’ house, Philip and Elizabeth find themselves at odds over the future of their 14-year-old daughter Paige (Holly Taylor) now that the KGB has made it clear that they want her to join the family business. According To Rhys, their conflict is going to affect their marriage and affect the entire family — which also includes their 12-year-old son Henry (Keidrich Sellati) — throughout the third season.
“It’s sort of the predominant and overriding arc for Philip and Elizabeth during this season,” he begins, ‘”which is this enormous conflict between them that sets them poles apart, really, as they come from two opposing sides as to what should be done about Paige. Really, the entire season is that grapple and that wrestle between the two as they thrash it out.”
At the end of Season Two of The Americans, it’s clear Phillip was resolute in keeping his daughter Paige (who suspects her parents are not simply travel agents) out of the family spy business. Rhys, who also starred in the long-running series Brothers & Sisters, explains there is a valid, intensely personal reason why his character wants to keep his Paige as far away from the KGB as possible.
“For Phillip, there’s nothing on God’s green earth that could make him acquiesce to the fact that she should join the KGB or, indeed, the intelligence world,” Rhys offers. “Ultimately, as we’ve seen a flashback, Philip and Elizabeth were children when they were picked. They were in late teenage years and I think they were heavily indoctrinated at the time,” he offers. “He’s found himself in a vocation that he really didn’t choose in a way. I think it was kind of chosen for him in a way, thrust upon him, and he’s evolving at a time and bursting out at a time when he realized it probably isn’t the life that he would have chosen nor is it the life he wants, and the same applies heavily for his daughter. He doesn’t want her pushed into something at such a young, vulnerable, impressionable age whereby in a few years she’s in up over her head because it’s not something you just — it’s not a job you can quit overnight or walk away from and he doesn’t want her to have to do the many awful things that he has to do in order to stay alive and, therefore, keep the family alive.”
In addition to witnessing Phillip and Elizabeth pull off one nail-baiting covert mission after another (often barely escaping with their lives), Season Three of The Americans gives fans a deeper look inside the pair’s intense, complicated marriage.
“To me, what was always exciting was when I first read the first pilot, the most alluring aspect for me was this incredibly complex relationship at its heart, and how that would resolve and manifest itself, and that’s what’s always been of interest to me,” Rhys begins. “I think this year, the conflict between Philip and Elizabeth about Paige, it’s sort of the more extreme version of what so many marriages and relationships go through in the raising of children. It’s the absolute conflict that interests me, like how it will resolve itself and the very rocky journey of getting there.”
MATTHEW RHYS ON THE AMERICANS:
Can you understand and to relate Philip in any way, or are you just not like him at all? Do you embody some of his same feelings and ideals? “I’ve always appraised any character I approach with — basically, the characteristics should be built up of myself. I’m always interested in the truth of the character and the way I bring a truth to the character to make him, I hate to say, but it’s your own make up that you bring to the character. It’s rare that you see anyone play a great extremity in this day and age, because actors really haven’t given the opportunity to be — only the big stars get to have the chameleon stretches that they want, but more often than not you’re kind of cast in the way that you are. More often than not, I think with television writing, as the first season unfolds, writers will tend to start writing to your own characteristics. I think in that respect, when things evolve, naturally they see the family orientation and the rest of it, the more humanity of Philip. I like to think that those are characteristics that I share heavily with him, the same kind of hatred of the deaths that happen. There’s a lot of me in Philip, even though I’m watching it now.”
Philip certainly gets laid more than any television character I’ve ever seen. “That’s based on my life as well.” (laughs)
As an actor, does it get any easier doing the sex scenes? “No. It never gets comfortable. It never gets to a point where you go, ‘Oh, this is normal, this is natural.’ You’re simulating sex with 40 of your closest friends watching. It’s bizarre, the random bizarreness of it. Then it’s magnified when you have to do the gymnastics of the Kama Sutra as well. I’d answer with never. It’s not close to a place where I can go, ‘Oh, great, another sex scene. That will be normal.’ It’s the opposite for me.”
The Kama Sutra sex scene in the Season 3 opener turns out pretty good. Did you have to practice a lot for it? “Well, we didn’t. We didn’t. However, we did suffer for it. There was a lot of pulled tendons and cramping because you’re on one foot trying to balance basically.”
Speaking of sex, in the first set of episodes of the new season, Philip is forced to approach a girl practically the same age as Paige. Does that affect his ongoing argument with Elizabeth and the KGB about age? “Well, I think it serves a point. As conflicted as he is, because he’s deeply, deeply upset by the mandates of this particular operation, I think he finds it incredibly disturbing for the simple reason that he does have a child the same age, but it reiterates the fact that this girl is, just purely by association being the daughter of a CIA, she’s put in harm’s way by people like him and I think he hopes it reiterates to Elizabeth the sort of danger she would be placed under if she were to come into this mad world.”
We’ve seen Philip and Elizabeth do some pretty excruciating and horrible things for their Mother Russia. Do you think that there’s anywhere that they would draw the line? Is there something Phillip just wouldn’t do? “I mean, it was pretty tough for Philip to agree to sort of follow-on with the operation and the seduction of this 15-year-old. I think if for some reason there was an order to come through to sort of harm or terminate a minor, then I would imagine that would be something that he probably wouldn’t carry out.”
You and Elizabeth have played a lot of different characters, different disguises. Which was your favorite one to play? “My favorite one is a guy that I nicknamed Fernando. He has long shoulder-length hair and a moustache and sometimes a little goatee and usually works as a sort of janitor figure or whatever, whatever’s needed. He was my sort of, he’s been my favorite I think just because of the elaborate back-story I’ve given him as a flamenco dancing assassin.”
Do you think it’s possible that his clandestine character of Clark is actually closer to who Philip sees himself as outside of the spy world? “Yes, I think he’s arrived at a place in his life where it’s exactly what he does want. He does want a sort of domestic contentment. He wants a simpler life within a healthy working relationship where there’s sort of mutual respect. And yes, there’s a large element of Clark and Martha that serves that.”
Do you have a favorite episode you’ve done so far? “I can’t remember what it’s called, but it’s where Philip kind of erupts in a way at Paige and tears up a Bible. To me, it was one of the most human moments for someone who’s had to deal with all of this throughout his entire life and we watched for two seasons the buildup and the culmination of so, so much. What I loved was the fact that for once, we see it released, we see it come out and we see it have its effect. For that reason, it is rare because I think in the series we do tend to — emotions do have to be bottled for various reasons and it was just so good to finally air something so deeply entrenched in Philip’s psyche.”
Frank Langella joins the cast of The Americans as Gabriel. Can you talk a little bit about working with the legendary actor? “It’s sort of like having a silverback gorilla come onto the set in the best way possible. He’s this dominant, physical, mental, emotional, presence that kind of stiffens and straightens everyone’s back and lifts everyone’s game, certainly. He comes with this — the premise in which they set him, him being influential and instrumental in the training of Philip and Elizabeth is sort of great because it gives you instant history that he just does effortlessly. He has this commanding presence that builds a great conflict between them all. Working with him has been fantastic as he turned up with this natural presence and he is ready to listen, he’s ready to play, and he plays at a very high standard, which makes it exciting for us.”
How does Gabriel’s presence affect Phillip and Elizabeth? “In the same way, I think Philip feels a little isolated in the fact that Frank and Elizabeth, Gabriel and Elizabeth are obviously the more staunch diehards of the party and the mission and the party come before anything else, and he’s very onboard for bringing Paige into the fold whereas Philip isn’t and feels a great sense of betrayal. I think Philip — well, I don’t think — what happens is Philip is isolated from the two of them and feels betrayed, and that is sort of the bigger arc for him and Gabriel, that sort of sense of betrayal and conflict in the fact that he doesn’t want his daughter to follow his footsteps.”
Do you ever live Twitter during the show? “I don’t, never. I never have done it. I’m not a big Twitterer.”
You’re not a big social media guy? “I’m not. I’m a little bit of a Luddite. I still use pen and paper as often as possible.”
What do you think of the whole live tweeting phenomenon? A of other successful series do it with their fans. “They do, and I understand it and can see the beast it’s become. It’s now the beast no one can do without. I have to admit, I’m not a fan of it. I don’t, it doesn’t push my buttons, but it’s a necessary evil in this day and age.”
Personally, I find that tweeting during a show takes away from the total viewing experience. It’s bit disrespectful, in my opinion. “Yes, the live tweeting I totally disagree with it, because I think in that sense it’s the way they sometimes ask actors to do TV spots with them not being the character and being more themselves, I think it’s a sort of ludicrous notion to me. I think, especially with our show, you ask the audience to go on quite a fantastical journey. It’s a big ask of their imaginations to go with you. I think things like live Tweeting and things like that, what you’re doing is you’re sort of popping yourself out of that fantasy and back into reality and that you’re telling the audience that you’re an actor playing a part. The suspension of that belief, I think, becomes harder or the chasm becomes a greater jump. I don’t think it aids you in any way. Also, I’m just a bit more old school. I just want to watch it uninterrupted.”
What do you watch on television these days? What are your some of your must-see shows? “I have to be honest. When we shoot the season I rarely watch anything. In fact, I’ll kind of watch the Oscar movies and documentaries and that’s about it. Then when the season comes down I will then binge-watch whatever’s been the hype of the time we’ve been shooting. I did Breaking Bad, Homeland and The Wire, all the big ones. I do want to see The Affair when we finish. I’m interested in seeing that. I have to catch up on Boardwalk Empire. There’s a lot ahead of me, but sadly, nothing at the moment. At the moment I think it’s because I deal so much with TV and fiction, I have a real thing — I love to watch documentaries during the season while we shoot, so I’ve been pouring through those.”
The real stuff, huh? “I know, the real life. You kind of go, ‘Oh, yes…this.'”
That’s how it works. “Yes, I’ve heard of this.”
Did you work on anything else during your hiatus from The Americans? “I did. I did a movie in France with a great director called Christian Carion. It was a Second World War movie. He received several nominations for a First World War movie he did (Joyeux Noel), and it’s being scored as we speak. It’ll be out in the summer. Then, I played a small part in a Harvey Weinstein movie with Bradley Cooper where we play rival chefs. It has a working title at the moment of Adam Jones, which is the main character, but I’m not sure if it’s going to be the final title.”
So, we have more of you coming up this year? “I’m sorry to say you have.”
Do you have a dream role you still have yet to play? “No, I’d say this was my dream role. As a sort of box ticker for actors, I don’t think you could get better than this. It’s been a real dream. As I said, the layering, the complexity of it keeps getting deeper and more varied. There’s no danger at all of it ever becoming dull or repetitive. It’s incredibly challenging and dynamic. It’s everything you want or ever wanted to do in one part.”
Nobody really knows in what the direction the show’s ultimately going to go, but in your personal opinion by the show’s end — which is hopefully many years from now — do you think it’s more likely that Phillip and Elizabeth will get captured and possibly killed or do you think there’s a chance that they could actually defect? “My hope is that they do defect. Philip mentioned that in the first episode of the first season. I think that’s something that remained with him very closely until now and that’s really the absolute only way he could guarantee the safe future of his children. To me, I would love to see them defect.”
There are a lot of unfortunate folks out there in TV land who have not wised-up and watched this brilliant series. For the uninitiated, why should they watch The Americans? Besides being incredible and its unique story-line, what sets it apart from other dramatic series on television these days? “To me, I think it’s just an extreme version of life and I think whenever you watch something, that you’re reassured that other people are as fallible as you. I think we take comfort in it, and I think that’s why we kind of sustained ourselves for three seasons. That we’re universal. It’s an extreme version of human life, which makes it dramaturgically more interesting I think to watch. That’s why I’d watch it. I know I appreciate that’s not much of a sound bite. It can be very difficult to put as a sub-heading, but that’s my take.”
The third season of The Americans premieres this Wednesday, January 28th at 10:00p.m. EST / PST and 9:00p.m.CST only on FX.
