Jeremy Luke talks ‘Mob City,’ saying ‘nothing else like it on TV’
Frank Darabont launched The Walking Dead and now moves from zombies to mobsters with the gangster TV show: Mob City.
While promoting his next film Don Jon, Jeremy Luke discussed with Collider about joining Mob City and how he prepares for the role.
“The funny thing with Mob City is that I was working on another movie and I got the audition and I was studying for it. I prepped and went out and bought a suit and hat. I just looked like a guy from the 1940s. I ironically got a hair cut that I hated, two days before, and it looked like a 1940s style hair cut. It was a blessing. I don’t know what the hell happened. So, I got called in on a Tuesday at six o’clock. I got out of work at 10:30 and drank a couple of beers. My manager called me and said, “Frank Darabont saw your audition tape. He’s at home writing, and you’ve gotta go in and do five more pages tomorrow. He loves you.” I was like, “Really?!” At that point, I had had two beers, and I went home and studied the five or six pages. And then, like with every actor, I was on hold. They told me that I was Frank’s choice, but I was on hold. I was on hold for 10 days, waiting. Finally, at five o’clock on Friday, I got the call that I got it. The good thing with Frank was that I didn’t have to audition for him. He’s great, but at the time, I probably would have been really intimidated auditioning for him. I had to do it on camera with the casting director.”
Mafia movie fans may be surprised by Mob City as Luke gushes over the show.
“There’s nothing else like it on TV. To be a part of this ensemble is just such a blessing. We’ve got some great people. Even the guest stars and recurring characters are people that I’ve looked up to, for a long time. I think Jon Bernthal is one of the best actors of our generation. He’s great. The thing with our show is that it’s not a bunch of really good looking guys. We all look beat up, in our own way, which is really cool. That’s what really attracted me to the show. For me, personally, I’m a 5’5″ leading man. I’m no Brad Pitt, or anything. So, the fact that you’ve got a bunch of guys who look like guys on this show is really cool.”
Luke plays Mickey Cohen and explained his research.
“I read a couple of books about Mickey Cohen, and I read a couple of books about the time period. When I was reading, I would listen to ‘40s music, just to get into the mind-set of what was going on, in that day and age. Mickey was a really interesting guy. He was just a character, in real life. He had OCD. He’d wash his hands 50 times a day. He got his house blown up and the big thing that he was pissed off about was that his suits got messed up. That takes a certain personality. He was 5’3″, and I’m actually 5’5″. But, the thing with Mickey was that there wasn’t a lot of footage of his real life. There was stuff when he was older. So, I had to read what I read, and then take that and put it into that. But, Frank gave us room to breathe. In a conversation that I had with Jon Bernthal, because this is my first series, he gave me some really wise words, which were, “Let the character evolve.” I’ve taken that and gone with it, playing it scene by scene and letting the character evolve. That’s been my main mantra, playing Mickey.”
Check out the full interview here
Check out the trailer for Mob City here
Mob City premieres on TNT on December 4th.