JamesG
06-15-2013, 01:41 AM
Memories From the Set: "Nashville's" Charles Esten Recalls His Stint on "Enlightened"
by Kimberly Roots
June 14, 2013
Who knew all it would take was a five o’clock shadow and a low-slung guitar to take Charles Esten from “Hey, it’s that guy!” to “Ooh, it’s that guy!”?
In his one season as "Nashville‘s" soulful, sometimes sober Deacon Claybourne, Esten has earned heaps of acclaim and bunches of fans. But the breakout role is hardly his first. Or second. Or 20th.
In fact, Esten has worked steadily since 1993, often on TV’s biggest hits but almost never for more than a handful of episodes.
“I got these small roles on great, iconic shows that let me get my feet wet, let me learn so much,” he recalls, laughing. “I was in over my head in every single one of them, but somehow I got the role and didn’t ruin it too badly.”
At TVLine’s request, Esten offered up behind-the-scenes insights on several of his pre-"Nashville" performances.
"Enlightened":
Esten sympathizes so strongly with his character — the boss and married former lover of Laura Dern's unhinged Amy Jellicoe –that he's still defending him.
“Yes, I had my part in her breakdown and everything that went wrong,” he says. “But from my perspective, that was sort of like Fatal Attraction, like she's Glenn Close. But instead of just boiling our family rabbit and dying in the bathtub, she goes and heals and comes back to inhabit my life again. Like, 'Heeeey! Can we talk?' I get what an ass Damon is, but in a real way, a lot of people were like, 'Yeah, that's exactly what you would say to her at that moment.'”
http://tvline.com/2013/06/14/charles-esten-nashville-deacon-claybourne-set/#!1/whatlearn_esten_cheers/
by Kimberly Roots
June 14, 2013
Who knew all it would take was a five o’clock shadow and a low-slung guitar to take Charles Esten from “Hey, it’s that guy!” to “Ooh, it’s that guy!”?
In his one season as "Nashville‘s" soulful, sometimes sober Deacon Claybourne, Esten has earned heaps of acclaim and bunches of fans. But the breakout role is hardly his first. Or second. Or 20th.
In fact, Esten has worked steadily since 1993, often on TV’s biggest hits but almost never for more than a handful of episodes.
“I got these small roles on great, iconic shows that let me get my feet wet, let me learn so much,” he recalls, laughing. “I was in over my head in every single one of them, but somehow I got the role and didn’t ruin it too badly.”
At TVLine’s request, Esten offered up behind-the-scenes insights on several of his pre-"Nashville" performances.
"Enlightened":
Esten sympathizes so strongly with his character — the boss and married former lover of Laura Dern's unhinged Amy Jellicoe –that he's still defending him.
“Yes, I had my part in her breakdown and everything that went wrong,” he says. “But from my perspective, that was sort of like Fatal Attraction, like she's Glenn Close. But instead of just boiling our family rabbit and dying in the bathtub, she goes and heals and comes back to inhabit my life again. Like, 'Heeeey! Can we talk?' I get what an ass Damon is, but in a real way, a lot of people were like, 'Yeah, that's exactly what you would say to her at that moment.'”
http://tvline.com/2013/06/14/charles-esten-nashville-deacon-claybourne-set/#!1/whatlearn_esten_cheers/