By Jamie Ruby

James Wolk, who has previously appeared on television in series such as Lone Star, Shameless, and Happy Endings, plays the part of Douglas Hammond on Political Animals. Douglas is the son of Secretary of State (Sigourney Weaver) and former president of the United States (Ciarán Hinds). He works as his mother's Chief of Staff and tries to balance the politics with his own personal life, while also trying to help his twin brother keep it together.

Wolk recently talked to the digital press about his new role. ?

USA Network Conference Call
Political Animals
James Wolk

July 25, 2012

QUESTION: Tell me about Doug’s relationship with his dad. This weekend’s episode hits a critical point; you guys get in a big old heated argument. Tell me where all that’s coming from and what’s going to come after.

JAMES WOLK: Yes, so this week the show really takes an interesting turn for Douglas. What’s going to happen in this episode is the audience is going to see where his angst and anger comes from. And a lot of it and what you’ll see play out in the episode is exactly what you’re saying.

The anger he feels towards his dad is born out of growing up as a young man watching the rampant infidelity that went all around and his father’s dishonesty towards Elaine. And when Elaine fell to the ground and when Elaine fell to pieces, Douglas was the one that picked her up time and time again. And when she was publicly embarrassed, Douglas was the one that was there for her.

And he really feels like his father is responsible for tearing the family apart. And tarnishing his mother who he holds in such high esteem.

QUESTION: Douglas has a realization about the last campaign and you guys come to an agreement on that. But does that smooth over the whole infidelity thing, the personal side of it? Or is that going to play out throughout?

JAMES WOLK: It’s such a good question. Douglas loves his dad, and that’s 100%. You know there’s a thin line between love and hate, you always hear that phrase and that’s exactly what Douglas feels for his dad. He loves him and he wants his respect which Bud doesn’t give to him at all, for his own reasons.

And then combined with that is his anguish for his father’s infidelity. And so it comes to him in this episode. We have a big - it all comes to a point and we get into a big screaming match and it’s while we’re away on this fishing trip, all these memories start trickling back to Douglas because we’re jumping back into a campaign.

And that’s the last time his father really let the family down in a big way in Douglas’ mind, when his dad went AWOL during Elaine’s last campaign.

So all these memories start rushing back to him and he just can’t take it anymore and the top pops off, which I’m so excited for audiences to see because this perfect, pristine guy is really going to crack in this next episode.

QUESTION: And then also the leak. Doug makes the leak and then has second thoughts about it but it looks like you’re over a barrel a little bit. For the future, will you have to be pumping information or leaking information throughout the rest of the season?

JAMES WOLK: Oh, the web we weave. It’s the web we weave. Man, it gets bad; it gets bad for Doug. He is totally over a barrel and I think it’s going to be really interesting for audiences to watch him try and navigate the murky waters he’s put himself in.

SCIFI VISION: Can you talk about how you became involved in the show?

JAMES WOLK: Sure. Greg’s script for Political Animals was a really hot script around town and it was one that was talked about. And we’re just as excited for the series as I think the community out here was when this script was circulating.

So when the script came to me to read, I (unintelligible) had access to the script. And I had a meeting with Greg and he talked about where this is going and I expressed what I thought about the character, and I was just so enthused.

And I remember leaving the meeting and just going, “I hope he feels as excited about this opportunity as I feel.” And it happened to work out thankfully and that was the start of my role in Political Animals. And at that point nobody had been cast either. It was really early in the process when I came to the project. But it just jumped out at me.

And I love playing characters that seem like they should be perfect on the outside but are just totally screwed up when you pull that veil away, and Douglas had that in (unintelligible).

SCIFI VISION: Can you talk a bit about working with Sigourney Weaver?

JAMES WOLK: Sigourney - she’s wonderful. She’s a consummate professional. She’s an amazing actress. And what you see and what you think she will be as a person, she lives up to that and more. And it’s a real treat to work with her. You learn a lot from her both behind and in front of the camera of just how to carry yourself on a set.

And it’s a joy. It’s like being a young tennis player and being able to play tennis and volley with the pros. And she is a total pro and it’s a real joy to work with her.

QUESTION: Do you think it’s possible for a politician at such a high level to be a good parent, or is it in the nature of their work to be prone to be self indulgent and selfish?

JAMES WOLK: That’s a really good question. The first thing I think of when I think of a politician being a parent is Obama, because he’s constantly talking about his two daughters and constantly talking about his family. And so you really do get the idea that he puts family first. And I want to believe that and I think that’s true of him.

What I would imagine and what I’ve learning from playing a neglected son in a political family is that I think there is a lot on the plate of these politicians. And I think that whether it’s a self-centered thing or whether it’s just that hey, this is my profession and it requires so much of my energy, I do think it would be very easy for the children of those politicians to get sidelined unless they were truly made a priority. And I’d like to think that some politicians can do that.

But with our show there’s this great dynamic between Douglas and Elaine where she loves him but she does expect him to be okay with being pushed to the side because she has so much on her plate. And it really screws his act and it makes him a total head case, which is awesome.

QUESTION: Okay. And do you think the media crosses the line when it comes to the families of public figures, whether it’s photographing the children of celebrities or in the case of your TV brother T.J., reporting his suicide attempt, or do you think its par for the course?

JAMES WOLK: I think it’s crossing the line. I think that’s the unfortunate part of being in the public eye is that in this day and age with all the social media we have and the easy access to posting things online and taking pictures with your phone, there’s really no privacy any more.

And I think that people who are in that public eye, whether it be a politician or some other person in the celebrity life, you have to realize that that’s going to come with the job. It’s unfortunate but that’s the world we live in, I think.

QUESTION: I talked to you when you were on Happy Endings and we still haven’t gotten you to Tweet, so maybe we’ll get you to back in for this show.

JAMES WOLK: I’m back on Twitter. This is a recent arrival. I just did it this week and I’m excited about it. I’m not even going to hide it. I’m excited to be back on Twitter. I think I took like a two- year hiatus.

QUESTION: What challenges you about playing Douglas?

JAMES WOLK: That’s a really good question. I think the greatest challenge playing Douglas is when I first read the script and I saw the character, my only concern was that he was going to be the straight man and what can we pull out of him; where can we find conflict in him to make him an interesting character?

And I think that as the scripts have gone on and this series has been written, the challenge has become almost a group effort with the writers as well as myself making him very layered and dimensional.

But initially I thought, “How do you take someone who seems very perfect - because in the pilot episode he does - and tear him down?” And that has been a challenge that I’ve enjoyed rising to because it’s so fun to find the duplicity in Douglas and the screwed-up dark nature that he has deep within. But it was a challenge to find it.

QUESTION: You have a great relationship on the show with your brother. Can you talk about the dynamic the two of you have?

JAMES WOLK: Yes, Douglas and T.J. are the only people in each other’s lives who they fully trust and who they can always count on. And so it’s been a blast to play that out with Sebastian Stan, who’s playing T.J., to find that brother relationship.

They’re twins, and so they feel responsible for each other and I think they feel like either one could have gone either way. Had one been born before the other or - I think they feel entirely responsible for each other. And so that will play out really interestingly in the limited series that we’ll see initially here.

And it’s been a joy to play that. They are each other’s rock and they are there for each other through thick and thin.

They both go through some really bad shit, so it’s fun to see them there for each other.

QUESTION: Well as a twin myself, it’s definitely a true reality as to how you’re portraying. We do feel responsible for each other and look out for each other in that way. And the show has gotten such great reviews and a lot of fan attention already. What is it you think about the show that really attracts people and makes it such a favorite?

JAMES WOLK: I think quite frankly it’s we have such - politicians are such a celebrity in our culture now. It’s kind of one and the same, they go along with each other.

And when we watch the news and we watch our President and our senators and candidates running, they become these celebrities. And then they step away from the camera and they step away from where we’re able to see them very clearly, and you don’t know what goes on behind closed doors, unless of course leaks happen or what have you.
But the point is that with this show, we’re pulling the veil back on this former first family and we’re stepping inside where you usually don’t get to follow them and you’re seeing how these pristine people really do have flaws and really do struggle. And I think it’s really putting the magnifying glass on a portion of it that we don’t get to see in real life but that we imagine in our heads and that we’re curious about finding out. And I think that’s what so fun about watching this family.

QUESTION: Your character’s relationship with Anne is really interesting to me when I compare it to your relationship to the rest of the family. Can you talk a little bit about the dynamic of the differences between those two sets of relationships?

JAMES WOLK: Yes, that is very right on; that is very right on. I think what Douglas has with Anne is very outside of what he has with his family. And I think that is what he is so attracted to in Anne is that his family is this very tumultuous group of people and there’s so much turmoil within the family. And they love each other and they care about each other but it’s a very tough dynamic within the Hammond family. And I think that just comes from being inside that fishbowl; from being inside that pressure cooker.

And when he steps into a room with Anne and when he’s alone with Anne, it’s a real escape for him. And it’s an ability for him to extract himself from this fishbowl that he’s grown up in and relax and put his inhibitions away and just be and be present. And that’s what he enjoys about being with Anne.

QUESTION: Do you think he’s going to find out a little bit more about her back story? I know we’ve seen her suffer with her own eating disorders. Is that going to play into how open they are with each other?

JAMES WOLK: What’s going to happen -- I can say this -- is that relationship is going to grow and it’s going to evolve. And there are certain things that happen in the series. They find out about sides of each other they didn’t quite know existed before, and I think it’s going to be really interesting to see how they deal with that. And how Anne deals with Douglas when he tells her that his mom is running again and that he may be a part of this.

And when Anne came into the picture she was Douglas’ escape from what he does. But Douglas gets sucked back into this political world and it’s really interesting -- Brittany does an amazing job of playing this -- how Anne deals with that and how she deals with Douglas turning the tides of the ship back towards his political ambitions.

And I think Doug has also learned a lot about Anne in this series and I think it will be really wonderful to watch that unfold.

SCIFI VISION: Before taking on the role did you do any research or watch any political stuff, for lack of a better word?

JAMES WOLK: Yes, when I took the role, right away I went out and I bought Bobby Kennedy’s biography. And I read his biography because Bobby Kennedy was his brother’s Chief of Staff, and he was a very dark character.

We see pictures of Bobby and he’s this very all-American, affable fellow. But what you find out about him is that he was the family bulldog, he really was the runt of the family so it turned him into this ambitious, ruthless guy. And I thought how interesting would it be if that’s what Douglas had, if that’s where Douglas came from.

And I read it and I really wanted to take Douglas in that direction and it was something that Greg felt when he created the character as well. So I immediately went out and bought the biography and it was really helpful in creating the character.

SCIFI VISION: And is there anything you’ve learned since you started filming this; whether from an acting standpoint or just in general about yourself?

JAMES WOLK: That’s a good question - what have I learned. I’d say I’ve had to go to some really dark places to play Douglas and that’s not always easy to do. But it’s been a wonderful stretch as an actor to go to these really dark places and these unlikable places and it’s been a real great exercise and experience doing that.

QUESTION: You talked a little bit about Doug and T.J.’s relationship, but I was wondering is there a point where Doug will just get completely tired of T.J.? Do you think he could ever reach that point of T.J.’s antics and screw-ups?

JAMES WOLK: Yes, I so badly want him to get sick of T.J.’s antics. I actually read it and I’m like, “Come on man, can’t you say no to T.J.?” But he can’t. And he puts T.J. in his place and you’ll see that. They come to a head just as, I think, some of the scenes you’ve seen between Bud and Douglas. But I think once it’s all said and done it really goes back to that twin thing which is so heartbreaking to see because he just doesn’t have the willpower to completely dismiss his brother. I think he feels so connected to him. And so that’s an interesting one to navigate. He’s a really good co-dependent; Douglas. He’s terrible in that way.

QUESTION: And do you and Sebastian, have you guys bonded and talked about how to play this the way - because it really seems very natural.

JAMES WOLK: Thank you. You know we have - the funny thing is -- and I can say this candidly -- is that we have really; him and I did very little discussion about how to play these characters. But one thing that happened that was really interesting was right when we got down to Philadelphia to shoot the series we ran into each other in the street. He was moving into his place; I was moving into my place, and we had never met before. And we immediately - we were just truly like hey, what’s going on.

We really bonded and that stayed through the whole series. There was a really great comfort factor between him and I. And I think that we both knew that was there. We didn’t talk about it, and we just built on that. We were like okay, this is a great starting place for a brotherhood. And it’s been really fun to play with him. He’s a great actor and a great guy.

QUESTION: Doug seems very calm, cool, collected, and the perfect guy on the surface and obviously that’s not the case. But who do you think is actually more messed up, Doug or T.J.?

JAMES WOLK: I think that Douglas is more messed up because I think he’s keeping it all down below. And if you ask T.J. he would probably say that he thinks T.J. is more messed up.

But I think Douglas has some real shit going on with him. I think he needs to get a psychiatrist fast, but unfortunately he won’t and it all comes out.

QUESTION: All right. And how do you think he cultivated his hero complex that he has where he wants to take care of everybody and everything?

JAMES WOLK: It started with his father’s infidelity. I think it started with growing up, and I think two things played into it. I think it was his father’s infidelity and having to take care of his mom, and I think it was T.J. being the squeaky wheel of the two and him being sidelined by that, not getting the attention he wanted from his parents.

I don’t just want to make it a mommy and daddy problem that he’s dealing with here, but it’s born out of that. He cares so much about his family that it’s born out of that. But then it grows and that’s the seed for it. And I think when the audience meets him in this series he has a total hero complex that gets the best of him quite frankly.

QUESTION: When you saw the cast on paper; when you realized who you were going to be working with, was it like all your Christmases had come at once?

JAMES WOLK: Yes, it really was. It’s such a great cast. I was really, really happy. These guys are awesome and they do everything from film to theater to TV and they’re just real actors. So I couldn’t believe it had all come together in such a great way.

QUESTION: That’s cool. And do you think that you’ll ever have any desire to run for office in your lifetime?

JAMES WOLK: I don’t think so. I have a lot of respect for the role of someone in office and I think it’s amazing when people come in to that place with true ambitions of helping people and changing the world for a better place.

But I don’t think that I will run for office. No, I don’t think so.

QUESTION: The show is just a six-part miniseries that’s airing this summer but I already want to keep going with these characters. Has there been any talk of extending it past this run?

JAMES WOLK: You are so kind. It has not been asked yet. We are all open to the possibility of it extending. And it was such a joy to make this miniseries, and I mean that in its truest sense and I’m so happy that you feel that way as well in watching it. And I think that we’re all excited for that possibility and hope that we do get the chance to unravel this world even more.

SCIFI VISION: If it was up to you and you were writing it, what would you like to see happen to Douglas if it could be anything?

JAMES WOLK: If it was up to me, we have such great writers; we really do. One of them in fact wrote a play that I starred in with him just this year. And so we have these guys that come from theater; they come from everywhere you could possibly want -- film, TV -- and they are writing the hell out of these characters.

I really couldn’t imagine bringing anything more to them than they’ve created and I mean that. They blow me away every week. When we get these scripts it’s like opening up a Christmas present. And you open it up and you can’t wait to see what’s happening with your character and where it’s going and some stuff that shocks you happens.

I remember when - did you see last week’s episode when Douglas spills the beans?

SCIFI VISION: Yes.

JAMES WOLK: In that episode I remember Ellen Burstyn running up to me with the script in her hand and going, “I can’t believe it; I can’t believe what you did.” And we just can’t wait to get these scripts. And so I’ll just go where the writers take me.

QUESTION: A lot of actors - George Clooney, Matt Damon, Ben Affleck - are really vocal when it comes to politics. And they get ragged on it sometimes because people don’t feel like actors and politicians should mix.

JAMES WOLK: Yes.

QUESTION: Do you feel like being on a show like this gives like pressure for you to have an opinion in the upcoming election year? And how do you feel about that?

JAMES WOLK: I think first and foremost that for those actors that do really have a voice in politics, I think that at a certain point you have the bully pulpit. You have the ability to speak because you’re in a place with you in the public eye.

And I think if you have something intelligent to say and you’re passionate about what you feel, then by all means I think it’s okay to speak. But I don’t think that there should be a responsibility that necessarily comes with being in the public eye of having to speak about politics.

And so for me personally, I’m educated in politics; I follow it. I wouldn’t say by any means that I’m a political junkie. But I feel like in this upcoming election, whether or not I was on this show I would definitely have an opinion either way. And I might not necessarily share it though because I’m on the show.

QUESTION: I know Greg has been - have you ever seen his Jack and Bobby, the one that he did about two brothers?

JAMES WOLK: Yes, the one that was on a couple of years ago about Jack...

QUESTION: Yes, yes.

JAMES WOLK: Yes. I have to be honest, I have seen it. I didn’t follow it regularly but I had seen it. This was a couple of years back. Yes, I am familiar with it.

QUESTION: Right, right. I was listening to it and I realized that I didn’t know that you guys are twins. And that creates an interesting dynamic, and you guys went through the father’s infidelity together, but you came out so differently. And I see that in my own family that I have a sister who experienced the same thing, but we had such a different take on any events or incidents. What do you think, because you’re older brother; is that correct?

JAMES WOLK: We’re twins. I’m actually...

QUESTION: You don’t know which one is the older?

JAMES WOLK: No, I’m three minutes younger than him.

QUESTION: But why do you think you feel more responsible for the family or why do you think you’re in two different extremes?

JAMES WOLK: Well I think that T.J. and Douglas, they are as you see them in the show, totally different. And yet as you’ll see as the show progresses, there is actually a line where Douglas says to T.J., we’re not that different, you and I. Because the truth of the matter is that Douglas, his perfect, pristine exterior starts to crack and he really does become unraveled as the show goes on.

But I think that each of them found themselves in these two positions - Douglas as the caretaker of the family; T.J. as a drug user. And I think that they both came from places of hurt and places of being frightened and it just manifested in different ways. And one of them said okay, I’m going to fix this, and the other guy said I’m going to - I don’t want to speak for T.J., but maybe he said I’m going to fix it or I’m going to find a way to deal with it and they just went in different directions with it as you can see.

QUESTION: I think you’re right on. And the other thing is your fiancé, is she supposed to be Japanese?

JAMES WOLK: She is Japanese, Anne Ogami. Except she was born in California in the show.

QUESTION: Usually, when you don’t have a real good role model, parent wise, you usually go from one extreme to another. Because you have a very unfaithful father, do you think you picked Anne because she has this very -- what’s the word I’m looking for -- kind of submissive, women’s role model type culture; a woman so that you can control her?

JAMES WOLK: I think as you’ll see in the show that they actually a very equal partnership. No one is walking in front or behind, they’re walking kind of together side by side. And he actually looks to her for strength and they are each other’s rock in the show. And she really becomes a friend in a big way.

QUESTION: I hear that you get to show us some of your DJ moves from your days in Michigan in an upcoming episode.

JAMES WOLK: I just spoke about that this morning. Yes, that is true. I can’t tell you what happens though, but coming down the line, I think Douglas has a drink or two and he lets his guard down and that comes out. Yes.

QUESTION: Now the last time we saw him let his guard down, he slept through his dad’s appearance in the last campaign. Is something bad going to happen?

JAMES WOLK: I would just say stay tuned - stay tuned.

QUESTION: And was it fun to get to do your DJ stuff?

JAMES WOLK: Oh yes, it was fun and embarrassing. I think I had a flashback to the late 90s and it was definitely fun.

QUESTION: So you were talking a little bit earlier about the relationship you have between you and T.J. as it opposed your relationship with your parents. Can you talk a little bit about why your relationship is different that T.J.’s with your grandmother?

JAMES WOLK: T.J. is really close with my Nana; is that what you were referring to?

QUESTION: Yes. T.J. is really close to her and you don’t seem as close and I’m wondering why that is and is that born of Douglas’ need to fix things or is that born of T.J.’s dependence on somebody to make him feel better?

JAMES WOLK: I think Margaret, the character being played by Ellen Burstyn, I think she has a quiet strength in her. And she herself is always looking over the family and taking care of the family.

And little does anyone know that Douglas probably needs a lot of caretaking, but it seems like he can take care of himself. So I think that Margaret really reaches across the table to T.J., because she sees the anxiety and the fear in him. And I think that she came from a life, she was a dancer -- a go-go dancer in Vegas; Margaret -- and I think she’s been around a lot of alcoholics. She’s been around a lot of addicts.

And so she really reaches across the table to take care of T.J. as best as she can. And I think that Douglas’ job and his role in family as the strength and as the caretaker doesn’t make him an easy person to take care of. He pushes that away a little bit and I think that’s why you’re seeing a difference between those two relationships.