One of my favorite shows on television is Prison Break. It is a show about a man who is wrongly accused of murder and sentenced to death row. His brother then purposefully gets arrested and put into the same prison in order to break him out. It's incredibly deep, suspenseful, and emotional. One of the characters that contributes to this is named "T-bag." He is played by Robert Knepper and his role is a dumb, redneck, psychopath who molested children and got into all sorts of trouble with the law. He is an incredibly good actor. I say this because throughout the show I could honestly believe that he could be a sick psychopath in real life. That's how well he played the role. I watch a lot of TV shows and I have never felt like this with any other actor. The way he talks, the way he stares, and the way he acts is unlike anything I'd seen before.
In his interview with the Huffington Post he presents his real self which is the complete opposite of his role in prison break. He is actually incredibly intelligent, funny, and down to earth. During the show he gets into an accident where he loses his hand and in the interview he discusses this. He says that the prosthetic arm they gave him was too tight and that he could only wear it for about 5 minutes at a time. He says that if you notice that he is in pain in the show it is because he was in pain from the fake arm and I thought that was funny and displayed a completely different side of him. I believe he was trying to show the real him because most people only view him as a psychopath. A big part of this is the fact that he is not a very well known actor. This was his first big role so few people had seen what he was really like; they only had seen him as a sick criminal. Compare him to an actor like Leonardo DiCaprio. DiCaprio has been seen in countless films with a variety of roles. Because of this, it is difficult to feel that he truly is whatever role he is playing. Within a year, you will see him in another movie with a different role and it will be difficult to connect at the same level people connect with T-bag.
The main takeaway from the interview is that he is just like everyone else. He was discussing his role and explained how different it was and how much of a good experience he had. He just wanted people to know how he felt about the role and the impact it had on him. He is very well-spoken and it completely changed my view on him.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZhAE1WchvSQ
John, I also love the show Prison Break and felt the exact same way about "T-bag." He has possibly been one of the most disgusting characters I have seen on TV. There were other shows I saw Robert act in and his characters always seemed to be this psychotic type. It is refreshing to know that he shows to be a genuinely good person through his interview. You did a great job of explaining this!
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