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TURN: WASHINGTON’S SPIES
2
1
How much did you already know about the
American Revolution before taking on the
role of AbrahamWoodhull?
JAMIE BELL:
I hope my teachers don’t slay
me for saying this — and I might be wrong —
but I learned literally nothing about that time in
history. Even when I was reading the pilot script,
I was like, “What are we talking about here?”
We learned about all the other wars, but for
some reason, the Revolutionary War just wasn’t
something that was in textbooks. I was just
amazed from reading the scripts by how little I
knew about it.
Have you read the book on which the series
is based, Alexander Rose’sWashington’s
Spies?
Yes. I was amazed by how little America as
a whole knew about these people who did this
incredible thing. People would ask me what
I’ve been up to and I’d say, “A show about the
Culper Ring,” assuming that it was definitely a
part of American curriculum. Everyone would
be like, “Culper what?” I was blown away —
it’s so unknown. I think what Alexander’s book
has done, and hopefully what we’ll do with the
show, is shed some light and show people that
beyond just Washington as this great leader and
commander were incredibly hard-working people
underneath him who took all these risks to pave
the way for the future of the country.
What kind of research did you do on the life
of the real AbrahamWoodhull?
I emailed back and forth a lot with Alexander
Rose and he emailed me a link to some of the
letters that Abe Woodhull sent to Washington
and Ben Tallmadge. His handwriting was
incredibly difficult to read, and I think I know
why. In filming the show, I often have to jot
down a lot of information and I realized why
you can’t read any of Abe’s writing –- it’s
because he had to write incredibly quickly
because he was always worried someone was
going to catch him. One thing that stood out
was just how paranoid he was about his own
life. If you were caught, you’d be hung the
next day. There’s not a lot known about Abe
Woodhull. There’s much more written about
the other characters, like Ben Tallmadge, who’s
incredibly well-documented. If you know about
a spy, that’s often because they weren’t very
good. The fact that we know next to nothing
about Abe says it all.
Could you imagine yourself as a spy during
those times?
No, and that’s why Abe Woodhull as a
character is so vulnerable. He’s not ready for
this. He’s not James Bond. He’s really afraid. To
really walk that line and endanger my family -– I
don’t think I could handle those pressures.
Did you watch any other series
or movies set during the Revolution
to prepare for your role?
I watched John Adams almost every day. That
show really focuses on the politics of the time.
There are some great speeches in there and
some great moments to remember what it is
these people are fighting for.
Do you think there are any similarities
between you and Abe?
Well, he’s also a father and he thinks a lot
about his son’s future. He has very broad ideas
about politics and life and right and wrong. I
think, in some ways, he’s a dreamer.
You’ve said in the past you prefer not to
watch your own work. Did you find you
needed to make an exception withTurn to
get reacquainted with Abe before filming the
new season?
I definitely refreshed myself. I went back and
watched the pilot a lot because it sets the tone
of the show. I often go back to it as the blueprint
for the character. There’s also a lot of focus
on other characters this year. Benedict Arnold
is introduced, and there’s a lot more focus on
people like General Washington and Captain
Simcoe. It’s a lot more of an ensemble piece.
What I’m looking forward to is watching other
people’s work that I don’t get to see on set.
I was amazed by how little America as a whole knew
about these people who did this incredible thing.
•
Turn:
Washington’s
Spies: The
Complete First
Season
is out May 24