“It’s a new world for me,” Patrick Stewart states, after a small interruption to our round table interview. Jonathan Ames and Adrian Scarborough, his showrunner and co-star, respectively, of Blunt Talk just stopped by to bid their farewells and Stewart is happy to oblige them with hugs. It’s a small glimpse at the bond they have formed during the making of this zany show and it’s, well, adorable. “Are we canceled?” Stewart asks in jest.
It really is a new world. With a catalog that reaches from drama to sci-fi, comic books to Shakespearean stage plays, it seems quite unreal that Sir Patrick previously only voiced a few animation roles in comedy. Nevertheless, at the age of 75, he’s ready to take his new project as far as it can go. “I have wanted to dip my toe into this world, and having dipped it in quite a bit in the last ten years, I’m very happy to stay put.”
Stewart stars as Walter Blunt in the new original comedy from Starz, premiering Saturday, August 22, 2015. Blunt is a British journalist and Falklands War veteran who has lofty goals of taking over the American airwaves—for the betterment of our society. While his heart is in the right place, Blunt doesn’t realize that his dysfunctional habits place him under heavy public scrutiny. Luckily, he’s armed with a manservant (Scarborough as Harry) and a fierce executive producer (Jacki Weaver as Rosalie Winter) to help clear his way. With Seth McFarlane (Ted, Family Guy) as executive producer and Jonathan Ames (Bored to Death) as showrunner/creator, we can expect the series to deliver on its promise and give us an entertaining view into the mind of an unhinged public persona, while normalizing what Jacki Weaver describes as the “seamy side of life” within the characters.
Stewart goes on to break the ice by bringing forth his inner Blunt, and gently chiding us over the correct way to brew tea. When asked if he’s having as much fun as it looks like he is, Stewart replies, “More than!”
He goes on to explain the unique experience he’s had working on the series. “It’s nearly 55 years I’ve been in this business. I don’t think I’ve worked harder or had as much fun as I have done on this show. It’s partly because we have very clever scripts that are very entertaining. But I’m surrounded by awesomely funny actors—people who have made their careers out of being funny,” says Stewart. Jacki Weaver, in a separate roundtable interview, makes a similar point. “It’s great stuff and it’s such a luxury to have eight comedy writers in a show.”
In the past, Stewart didn’t think it was possible to immerse himself in the comedy world, although it wasn’t for lack of trying. He guest starred on the final season of Frasier (“Kelsey Grammar tells me I helped him win his Emmy that year”), and on Ricky Gervais’ Extras, which he states was one of the “grandest days” of his life.
“I always wanted to do comedy, but years ago, I’d written it off.” Seth McFarlane, unlike other creators, didn’t think it was problematic for Stewart to make the transformation from drama to comedic character. After casting Stewart on American Dad and as the narrator in the 2012 film, Ted, a bigger project between the two was bound to happen. During a screening, MacFarlane exclaims, “Why is this great comedian being wasted on drama? I wanted to put right what I saw as a great wrong.”
And he was right. In the pilot episode of Blunt Talk, Stewart is Blunt, seamlessly. After a heavy night of pot brownies, alcohol and other vices, he picks up a transgender sex worker and is caught by the cops. But he gives them a run for their money when he jumps on top of his car, screaming a Shakespearian monologue, which is all being filmed by the nightly news. Another great moment is when Blunt believes he can interview himself on live television, to prove to America that he’s deserving of another chance. Watching Sir Patrick Stewart berate himself on a split screen is spectacular, to say the least.
“Let me give you an illustration,” Stewart says to us. “I’ve been in productions of A Midsummer Night’s Dream five times—all I’ve wanted to play was Bottom the Weaver. I wanted to play the comic character and I pitched myself. They said, ‘No, I don’t see you as funny.’ Maybe that’s about to change.”
And Stewart still has some things he wants to accomplish during his career. “At the moment, I’m healthy, so there’s no reason why not. There are some great classical roles I haven’t played.” Now that he has Walter Blunt on his resume, perhaps Bottom the Weaver is an attainable dream. There are also a few musicals on his list and of course, he’s always looking for an “original, brilliant” script.
With a Season Two already planned for the show, Blunt Talk has some time to grow without the worries of a heavily censored network and the stress of ratings. From a creative perspective, Stewart has a few ideas that might work well within the show’s framework. What if Walter Blunt was given a side web series to conduct non-scripted interviews with his subjects? “Would people want to come and be interviewed? I hope so.” Stewart says he would ask his friend, Madeleine Albright, the former Secretary of State, to join as his first guest.
Jacki Weaver has this to say about her costar: “He’s impressive, because he’s so brave. He will attempt just about anything. He’s a real risk-taker, which is so admirable in a gentleman, a dignified gentleman at that. To be prepared to go right out on the limb and make a bit of a crazy of himself.”
Suffice it to say, we’re here for this.
The Blunt Talk series premiere is tonight, Saturday August 22 at 9PM EST on Starz.
Iris A. Barreto is a writer for Fangirlish, freelance writer for Paste and social media intern for Pink is the New Blog. Heavily caffeinated. Forever lost in Westchester, NY & NYC; all GPS apps hate her. You can follow on Twitter.