The psychological thriller is streaming its first two episodes now on Apple TV+.
And I don’t believe that," he tells EW.
It is developed, written, and executive-produced by best-selling author Dennis Lehane.
Taron Egerton in ‘Black Bird’.Courtesy of Apple
“The thought processes are all there.
All the subtext is there.
The characters are all beautifully drawn with their shared histories.
That for me is much, much more valuable.”
And he said that you guys would send each other videos of yourselves singing the songs in the film.
Those were his words.
So, what say you?
Oh, is that what he said?
He’s a sweetheart.
I’ve got them.
So, yeah, they’re funny.
Although I think we did do a little bit of hanging out in our pants.
And we’d send each other a verse or a chorus.
We both know all the words to the opening number fromMuppets Christmas Carol.
So yes, perhaps they will be.
Maybe I’ll start sharing those throughout the show airing or something.
Pay close attention, I’m sure you’ll see them.
So I’m curious, were you able to talk to him at all in preparation for this?
And if so, what was the most valuable thing that you got from him?
But that, it’s important to have a character arc.
And he actually cameos in the show.
He’s in the sixth episode as a prison guard.
And that was really, really fun.
No, I have to be honest, I’m not really that kind of actor.
And I don’t believe that.
The thought processes are all there.
All the subtext is there.
The characters are all beautifully drawn with their shared histories.
That for me is much, much more valuable.
The real James Keene was an athlete and was in great shape.
And then, the preparation was largely about kind of…
I think he’s quite an angry character.
There’s an aggression to my version of Jimmy that took some thought.
And it was strange because of that.
I couldn’t quite work out why we just clicked in a way that was lovely.
I felt very relaxed in his company.
He and I would sit in silence and it’s not often that you get that with somebody.
Do you know what I mean?
Especially if you’ve only just met them.
It’s a very dysfunctional relationship, but it is one that’s full of love.
And Ray really brought that.
And I absolutely adored working with him.
It was one of the more special experiences of my career.
What do you hope audiences get from this story?
I think it’s a compelling story.
I just had to know what happened.
And I think it’s challenging as well because the characters, they’re not easy.
It’s not a rom-com.
I’m very, very proud of it.
I’m very proud of everyone involved with it.
I think that every performance is really great, I believe, if I do say so myself.
And what did you personally take away from the experience?
I just have never this script, just for me, felt like driving a Mustang.
It was a real labor of love.
And I’m very, very, very excited for people to see it.
This interview has been edited and condensed for length and clarity.
