Skip to playerSkip to main content
From imposter syndrome to British pubs, beard grooming and the one genre he'll never do, Tom Brittney and J.K. Simmons reveal all as they chat about their new crime drama Westies.

The pair discuss starring alongside each other, the brutal severed hand scene, growing a Santa-worthy beard, becoming a "bad boy", and why J.K. Simmons has no interest in making a horror film.

#Westies
#JKSimmons
#TomBrittney
#TVSeries
#Interview Report by Jonesl. Like us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/itn and follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/itn
Transcript
00:00Oh, that's how rude.
00:01Yeah, I know. Sorry. I'm sorry. I shouldn't curse around him.
00:05Guys, I went to bed at 4.30 for several nights in a row because of you.
00:10This was unreal. In fact, I want to say wah-wah-wee-wah.
00:14I like it. What a review.
00:16Yeah, what a review. Put on a poster.
00:18Just how incredible is it to be a part of because I think this is going to be pretty big.
00:22Well, thank you. It is incredible to be a part of and now to be, you know, it's all done.
00:28Our work for season one is done and here we are trying to get the word out.
00:33It's great to be starting to get some response now.
00:36We had a great time doing it. I think we all, you don't always get that with shows or films.
00:42Sometimes you're like, okay, you know, you've done the job and you move on.
00:45And I think I've been fortunate enough to do a lot of jobs that I like, but this one just
00:49was so much fun.
00:51And I'm really excited, yeah, for people to finally start to experience it and have reactions like you just did.
00:55Wow, wow, we are. And when you saw his name on whatever it was, whether it was the email or
01:00whatever, were you just like, oh my God.
01:02Oh my God.
01:03Yeah, that was what, when I got the audition through?
01:05When you knew that JK was going to be in it.
01:07Yeah, I literally got an email that just said, you know, this is the name of the show and I
01:12didn't know who the Westies were.
01:13And that was, I went, okay, who are these guys? And then just saw JK's name and went, no.
01:18And you get this little, you know, imposter syndrome going, no, there's no way I'm going to get this role,
01:22but I'll go for it.
01:23But there's no way. And lo and behold, I did.
01:26He's quite good, isn't he? He's quite good.
01:28Yeah, he's all right.
01:29I mean, you know, for a Brit.
01:31Talking of that, have you had like any Britisms that have been forced upon you or do you now do
01:36something a bit more British than you did before?
01:39Honestly, my wife and I have loved coming to London, you know, on vacation or for work for, since we
01:46were here shortly after we got married in 1996.
01:53So, I've been absorbing Britishisms for a long time and in fact, found us a nice British pub on Bloor
01:59Street in Toronto.
02:00Yeah, of all places.
02:01We gathered at a few times.
02:03What's your order, though, at that pub?
02:05They had a thing, which I, there was a couple of us Brits in this show.
02:10And so, and I, but I love this dish, it was an English dip.
02:14I went, I don't know, I'd never heard of this in England, but it was a beef sandwich that you
02:20dipped in gravy.
02:21Which I think is normally called a French dip, they called it an English dip and that was my goat.
02:24I had it every single day and I went, I wish they actually had this in England.
02:27Well, open up your own place.
02:28There you go, sorted.
02:30Just English dips.
02:31If your guy, your characters.
02:33Like you.
02:34Little English dip over here.
02:36If your characters had an unofficial motto, what do you think it would be?
02:41What would it be?
02:42What would an unofficial motto be?
02:45Get out of the way.
02:47I like that.
02:48I like that.
02:48I mean, there's one that's on the poster that's probably not suitable for, for, for broadcasters.
02:54Do it, I want it.
02:55Can we say it?
02:56We let's say, f*** those guys.
02:58Oh, that's, how rude.
02:59Yeah, I know, sorry, I'm sorry.
03:01I used, I shouldn't, I shouldn't curse around it.
03:03What about, um, without spoilers, um, what's the one word that you think audiences will be screaming at their TVs
03:10after episode 1?
03:11Um, butcher?
03:14Butcher?
03:16Would, would be one that, that some will.
03:20It might be that, that, um, that slightly blue word I just used there.
03:23They might say that.
03:24Might be that.
03:25Um, yeah.
03:27I think, I think, I think wah, wah, wee, wah, wah.
03:33How many syllables is that?
03:34A few, and a few W's.
03:36Um, let's just talk about, on the JK Danger scale, how much this is on, because you've done some beloved,
03:42beloved dads, you've done some, you know, villains.
03:45So what, what are we doing on the Danger scale?
03:48Well, I would, you know, it's not like I'm just some guy who's yelling at a drummer, right?
03:54I, I mean, people die, right?
03:57So, pretty high on the Danger scale.
04:00Yeah, I'm going to give it a nine.
04:02And, and, and we have room to grow in ensuing seasons.
04:06I feel so calm and cool with the Danger scale as well.
04:09I mean, you know, when you're, when you're the boss, that's what you have to exude.
04:14I also end up with the Beard scale, because that's just the biggest you've ever had it.
04:17I know.
04:18No, not quite.
04:19We're not quite the full Santa yet.
04:21I think it was bigger when I first met you.
04:23Oh, yeah, yeah, I had to hack it off for, for this one, right?
04:26Yeah.
04:27Oh.
04:27Um, yeah, but, yeah.
04:29Are you a beard oil kind of guy?
04:31Are you a bit of a conditioner?
04:32I got a little, I got a little something in there, you know, I'm trying.
04:34I asked this this morning, I said, do you want in that beard up?
04:37And he said, yes, thank you for noticing.
04:39Trying to tame it somewhat, because I'm not going to trim it for at least another four or five months.
04:44Wow, it's going to be down to your knees.
04:46Well, yeah, yeah, I'll be ZZ Topper.
04:49I'll be David Letterman, the people will mistake us for each other.
04:52Because we only finished filming, what, five, six months ago?
04:54Seven months ago?
04:55Wow.
04:56You are good at growing hair.
04:58Yeah.
04:58Love that.
04:58You know, it's a skill.
04:59Talking of hair, did you find yourself playing with it quite a lot when you were?
05:03Of course I did.
05:04Of course I did.
05:05I tweld my gun around my beautiful locks.
05:08I love that wig so much.
05:10And it was the only thing that was...
05:12That was a wig?
05:13Sorry, my real beautiful hair that I was very well conditioned.
05:17I loved it so much.
05:18And it makes you transform.
05:19It also gets in your eyes when you're trying to fight.
05:21And you're like, just trying to hold on, have a little L'Oreal moment in the middle of a brutal
05:26beat up.
05:26You know.
05:27We've got a beard advert here and a L'Oreal hair advert here.
05:31There is a company in this, guys.
05:33It was kind of a hair product company, isn't it?
05:35Yeah, we'll find it.
05:35Next season.
05:36We'll find the right thing.
05:36Men's grooming something.
05:38What would you be called there?
05:39They give up the gang life and they get into, yeah.
05:42Grooming accessories.
05:43Open a salon together.
05:45Brilliant.
05:46Did you love being the bad boy?
05:48Of course I did.
05:49Of course I did.
05:50It's like a weird childhood dream.
05:51Because we all run around, you know, we all run around just, I don't know, playing soldiers or, you know,
05:55whatever it is.
05:56And we get up and play make-believe every time we go on the set.
05:59And this was, yeah, it was fun.
06:01It was fun.
06:02Yeah, and I just loved the hand scenes.
06:04I thought it was absolutely genius.
06:06The hand scenes, yes.
06:07But I didn't find it as, like, creepy.
06:08I thought, I quite liked it.
06:10That was really weird.
06:10Good.
06:11I really, truly believe that this show will make audience members start to go, oh, that's fine.
06:16Actually, I quite like that he did that when they're doing something really terrible.
06:19So I'm glad it's working.
06:20Let's hope it doesn't encourage soaring off limbs.
06:24Yeah.
06:24Yeah, let's hope.
06:25Yeah, limb soaring goes up 20%.
06:28Going after my butcher, how easy it is to actually cut through a bone like that, because you did it
06:32really well.
06:33Yeah, it's not easy, actually.
06:36And the prosthetics that we use in this, because no real people were harmed in the making of this show.
06:43Not that killed.
06:44Not killed.
06:45Not maimed, maybe.
06:47But they made it quite very, very realistic.
06:50So one of the characters who has to do one of these despicable things, it might as well have been
06:55a real body.
06:56It was so good.
06:57Yeah.
06:58And you've done every genre under the sun, JK.
07:00Is this still, like, any more that you want to be ticking off?
07:04I honestly, I don't think of genre when I read things.
07:11I just think of character and story and themes.
07:16So, yeah, it's just kind of a weirdly a non-issue with me, except I'm not a horror guy.
07:23I don't like to watch horror, and I don't, you know, I have no plans to make a, like, full
07:30-on horror movie.
07:31There's plenty of horror in this, in its own way, but I'm mostly delegating it.
07:37Yeah.
07:37I want to see you two jazz hands in a rom-com next, maybe some singing.
07:41Good idea.
07:42Great idea.
07:43We'll do it.
07:43Get on it.
07:44In the West End next season.
07:46Thank you so much.
07:47I really did love it, and I'm going to go and watch it probably again.
07:50Oh, great.
07:51I'm just very glad you liked it.
07:52Lovely to meet you.
Comments

Recommended