STACK NZ June 2015 Issue 63

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THE DANCING DONOVANS?
Ray Donovan’s Liev Schreiber on series two, and the cast’s hidden talents. Danish director Kristian Levring,
on giving theAmerican western a
Nordic makeover inThe Salvation,
in which Mads Mikkelsen sets out
to avenge the death of his family.
“The Salvation is a tribute to the
classicWestern.The people who
lived and died in what was called
the ‘WildWest’ were European
immigrants.These people had fled
from wars or poverty in the hope
of making a new life.TheWild
West’s history is also our history;
it is a tale about people who no
longer had a viable life in Europe.
But whilst developing the script,
we not only found inspiration
in the classicWestern but also
in the Nordic sagas.The sagas
have a spare-ness in the way they
describe big themes like revenge,
lost love and greed.“
The Salvationis out on DVD
and Blu-ray on June 11
Soundbites
B y now, we know that the family at the
centre of Ray Donovan all possess some
unique talents. But dancing?
“We’re a dancing cast!” jokes the show’s titular
lead Liev Schreiber, when asked about co-star Jon
Voight’s predeliction for strutting his stuff on the
dancerfloor in the acclaimed TV series.
“There are a lot of very, very good dancers in the
cast. Not many people know this, but Dash Mihok
is an amazing dancer, Eddie Marsan was nearly
a professional dancer and everybody knows how
wonderful Jon is. Some day we might take that
show on the road - the Dancing Donovans!”
Not quite sure that the world is ready yet for
‘The Ray Donovan Variety Hour’. However, with a
third season set to go to air shortly in the US,
audiences clearly cannot get enough of the
adventures of the fixer to the stars and his
dysfunctional family.
Season two, which is released on
DVD and Blu-ray this month, picks up
pretty much where the first series
finished, with the Donovans
dealing with the fall-out of
the dramatic finale at the marina. But while Ray’s
day job of helping celebrities extricate themselves
from sticky situations continues, Schreiber says the
focus this time is much more on family issues.
“I think what separates this season from the
first is a deeper thread for all of the characters, now
that secrets they were keeping have been revealed.
These were very painful secrets and dealing with
the repercussions of those secrets coming out is
really bringing us back to what I think is the core
strength of this show, which is the notion of family
and how to protect that and survive it.”
And to Schreiber that has always the main attraction
of the role. “I think the question of what it takes to be
a father – particularly in the world of show business –
is a question that I’m constantly confronted
with and intrigued by,” he says. “The
notion of how to protect your family
from the outside worldare themes
that are universal for all people raising
families.”
Ray Donovan: Season 2
is out on June 24
Selflessness is important to you –
how you were you convinced to be
the subject of this documentary?
I had that surgery and I didn’t really
know if I was to live or die; I was still in
the hospital and very drugged up, feeling
sorry for myself. Mike [Myers] called up
and in that moment my ego really came
through and I said “Yes.” It was completely
from wanting some kind of external symbol
of self-worth. Three weeks later when I
was back home I called him up and I said,
“Listen, Mike, I know I said yes, but I didn’t
really mean it.” And he said, “way too
late, I staffed up already.”
You have many hilarious stories
about ‘creating popularity’
throughout Alice Cooper’s career.
Do you think this kind of artificial
construction happens today?
I understand the choice of words,
‘artificial construction,’ but I look
at it differently. It’s getting to the
cultural route of what your popularity
is about, and fuelling that. I think if
it’s intelligently done, it’s combining
cultural, visual, theatrical things
with the core of what the music is
driving towards.
Why do you think your theory
of ‘compassionate business’
is so important?
We’re living in a time when the
human condition is not fantastic. It’s
hard to find good humans. I think it’s a
general problem with the human species
rather than just the entertainment
business. There’s so much information
and so much bombardment, [that it’s] so
hard not to get greedy.
How much input into guiding or
assembling the film did you have?
I purely did nothing at all. When I say
I did nothing, I lived my life and I opened
everything I had up to [Mike]. I never saw
it until it was done.
Sylvester Stallone describes you
as a ‘protector’ – who do you think
your protector is?
My father, I always felt, lived a life of
sacrifice from me and my brother. He gave
up his life. His sole enjoyment came from
providing for us. You can’t do any more
than that. I realised I do the same sort of
thing but I never knew why. It wasn’t like
these people were my children. When I
look back at it, I see it as sort of a way for
me to live my fathers’ life of sacrifice.
Supermensch: The Legend Of
Shep Gordon is out on June 24
Mike Myers’ documentary
about the life and times of
music manager and all ‘round
incredible man Shep Gordon
will blow you away. Zoë Radas
spoke to the icon from his
home in Maui, Hawaii.
Shep Gordon
10 JUNE 2015 JB Hi-Fi
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