MACKEN: Yeah, thats true.La Breawas a very different jot down of show, thats for sure.
Thats whats super fun about this show.
Thats where you live and you exist.
Image via Manfred Baumann
I just wanted to do something a bit different.
I just thought the character was really interesting and he was very different.
I had just come from doing an Irish show, where I was playing a Northern Irish police officer.
Image via Netflix
I just thought the character was really interesting, which is why I was excited.
I thought the whole world that they created was fun.
You just get lost in what this world is.
Image via Netflix
The streamer has another solid drama on its hands.
Had you wanted to do something specifically in this genre and do something that was modern?
Those were the movies I grew up on at home in Ireland.
We used to get all the old Spaghetti Westerns.
I hadnt thought of this as a specific choice.
Im not as drawn to stuff thats set in the past.
Image via Netflix
I do like contemporary cinema and contemporary characters.
You just exist in the world that theyve created.
Its not trying to be a specific time.
MACKEN: AndNightflyerswas in there.
Now, I keep seeming to have kids who are 20 years old.
I always take a stab at find a little something that I connect to.
Image via Netflix
The trailer for this show says that everyone inRansom Canyonis either running from something or running to something.
Which does your character fall under?
MACKEN: Davis Collins thinks that he is the center of gravity.
Davis thinks he is the center of the universe.
Every character should think that theyre the center of their own universe.
Hes the only one whos not running to anything or leaving anywhere.
Hes like, No, I exist here, and you’re able to all move around me.
Hes complex, in terms of he always seemed to have a different modus operandi behind everything.
Ransom Canyon: where love, loss, and loyalty collide beneath the crimson mesas of Texas Hill Country.
He definitely has opposing qualities.
Hes charming and hes a family man, but hes dysfunctional and manipulative.
Were you always thinking about that balance?
MACKEN: Its funny, but thats what I liked about him.
I loveSuccession, where there were always those internal politics and even subconscious politics going on.
For Davis, thats what hes dealing with all the time.
Theres nothing that hes doing thats particularly straightforward, and thats what I found fun.
Theres nothing that Davis does that is firmly black and white.
When youre playing someone who most people in town hate, does that rub off on your co-stars?
Do they tease you about it?
MACKEN: Not at all.
It just depends on who you talk to and on which given day.
That set up the whole season for the two of us.
It was always just simmering below and didnt have to be explicit.
There was always that tension going through it.
Did you have conversations about how he would react to that?
Were you surprised that he wasnt just an asshole about it all?
MACKEN: Davis really, genuinely cares about Quinn.
Thats why hes genuinely hurt by her breaking up with him.
There was a real feeling there between them.
Hes got nuances to him.
The series hits Netflix on April 17.
Do you think he ever considered maybe not crossing that line?
MACKEN: When you put it all down on the page, he is actually quite manipulative.
He did some gnarly things.
Davis Collins reminds me a little bit of the early days of a politician.
Hes the kind of character youd be really interested to see what hes gone in 10 years time.
Davis also doesnt really have the best relationship with his son.
What was that dynamic like to figure out?
MACKEN: I loved working on the relationship between Davis and Reid with Drew Liner.
I think hes fantastic.
Some of my favorite moments wwere the stuff to do with Drew.
“I hope we get to do many seasons of this show.”
I dont know which way Id like him to go.
I feel like I want him to go both ways, if that makes sense.
I feel like he needs a redemption arc.
Then,hes going to be the character you love to hate.
Do you think hes really over Quinn, or will he keep trying there?
Every show needs to have a certain kind of, not bad guy, but antagonist like that.
I think that Davis is that, but he firmly believes that what hes doing is not that.
If you do more seasons of this, would you want to direct an episode?
Is that something youve thought about at all?
Check out the trailer:
