JOHN CUSACK: It was the overall story.
I wouldnt say its an easily recognizable genre but the wild conspiracy thrillers are always interesting and juicy.
And then, Gillians writing was a big attraction.
CUSACK: You just work with whats on the page and what you have in front of you.
My character wasnt in the original British show.
Was there any specific preparation that you did for this?
Image via Amazon
Gillian Flynn has talked about certain influences she had, as far as movies and certain thrillers.
Did you watch any movies?
Did you do anything to get into this whole mood and tone?
Image via Amazon
CUSACK: Yeah, you immerse yourself in the world.
Gillian and I would trade different stories or books or poetry or films or songs.
Its a collaborative talk about tone and theme.
There was almost a sense of a dystopian Willy Wonka to the character.
It was a very wild character that she created, and it was fun to create him with her.
Gillian Flynn has talked about how she thought about all of the little details for all of the characters.
We were always trying to one-up each other, in that way.
We would talk about, What are the limits to Christie?
That was an interesting exercise because you couldnt really find them.
We talked a lot about cult leaders.
Its a pleasure to work with somebody with that kind of a rigorous, fierce mind.
Thats a great thing, if you’re free to work with something like that.
Thats really as good as you could ask for.
Who do you see as the villain of this story, especially from your characters perspective?
Well, I dont wanna give away too much.
Its hard to reveal all of that.
Its wonderfully precise, delicious, juicy, twisted storytelling.
Without spoilers, how did you feel about the ending of the season?
What was your reaction when you were reading and shooting that final script?
CUSACK: I was really interested in it.
It was a cross between a tight rope walker between two buildings and a suicide bomber.
I hadnt read anything like it.
I thought, This is gonna be really hard to pull off.
Can you pull this off?
The sheer ambition of it and the audaciousness of the final episode, its gall was gorgeous.
I was just like, Really, youre gonna go there?
It does not back down.
Youve played some very memorable characters in your career.
CUSACK: I havent really done sequels as much.
I did that a couple of times.
Thats just getting into that Stephen King headspace.
Although I love George Romero and the originalDawn of the DeadandNight of the Living Dead.
Im great fans of those and I think theyre really great.The Shiningand Stephen King, I love that stuff.
That could be a fun thing to do but it never came up.
Utopiais available to stream at Amazon Prime Video.
For more, read ourinterview with showrunner and writer Gillian Flynn.
Christina Radish is a Senior Reporter of Film, TV, and Theme Parks for Collider.
you’re able to follow her on Twitter @ChristinaRadish.
