Interview: Jimmi Simpson and Luis Guzman Reflect on the Complexity of ‘Perpetual Grace, LTD’
Last week at the ATX Television Festival, we had a chance to participate in a roundtable interview with Jimmi Simpson, who plays James, and Luis Guzman, who plays Hector Contreras, about their new series, Perpetual Grace, LTD.
Simpson and Guzman discussed the unique aspects of the show, the skill of showrunners Steve Conrad and Bruce Terris, and what’s to come this season on Perpetual Grace, LTD.
Why They Took the Role
When asked what drew each of them to Perpetual Grace, LTD, Guzman noted two things.
“What intrigued me about it more than anything was the mystery of it. It was like, ‘Oh shit, where is it going? What’s happening?’ So that was one,” Guzman said of his reaction to reading the pilot.
“Then the second thing, which is close to one, was absolutely the style of writing, because I’ve never read anything like this before that was so mysterious and so well put together — so well structured. And the words, to me, were kind of poetic, and there was a rhythm to it,” he added.
“I’ll put it to you this way, it challenged us. It challenged our senses. It really wracked my brain in the best way.”
Simpson also had a positive reaction after reading the script.
“You read the script you’re like, ‘Oh I feel this in a different way than really any other television show.’ Television’s normally about getting exposition across and your moment of trauma,” Simpson said.
“Steve Conrad writes in this very kind of tapestry style, and it’s unavoidable. A lot of it is not actors coming up and chewing scenery. The scenery’s in there. It’s written in there. That’s the time it takes. It’s that slow from the genesis,” he continued. “As an actor who’s used to being in television where everything is about, use this and you’ll get a reaction out of this moment, you do this bit for a laugh or for a shock. It’s different, and you’re like, ‘Oh, the restraint.'”
For Guzman, there is nothing but gratitude for Perpetual Grace, LTD.
“It doesn’t feel like a TV show, and I was grateful for that. And I was grateful when I saw the end product, that this does not play like a TV show whatsoever,” Guzman said.
“So I read the script, blown away, and well, how do you do that? How are you going to execute that? And then I saw Patriot, after I read the script, and like, ‘Oh fuck, you do.’ He executes it and he makes it somehow better than this brilliant script,” Simpson commented.
“It made me think of Paul Thomas Anderson or Michel Gondry, or someone who puts in so much time because it’s a movie. You only get two hours to tell your story, and, goddamn, it better be good. It better be fucking Boogie Nights. But, it’s brilliant. Not a thing is overlooked and the result is a beautiful experience. And to know that someone is going to try to do that on TV, I was just like, ‘how do I get to be a part of this,'” Simpson continued.
Everyone’s Moral Compass
We don’t know a lot about the characters in Perpetual Grace, LTD before they get placed in these very unusual situations, and yet, the series does a good job of cluing the audience in and letting us know what kind of person everyone is.
As for how this is accomplished, Simpson credited showrunner Steve Conrad.
According to Simpson, Conrad “makes very clear the moral compass of most of these characters. You get little windows, whether [they’re] doing nice things, and they’re assholes, or they’re doing shitty things, and they’re decent humans. He’s [Conrad’s] going to let you know to some degree. There might be some red herrings here and there though.”
“With Luis’ character, you’re sitting there in Episode 1, and you’re seeing this man, and you see the love he has for his family and the hope he has that he could just do things by the book because he’s willing to. His heart’s big,” Simpson stated.
“And with James, I’m just trying to save, you know, 11 orphan girls, and I was just supposed to return this necklace and maybe knock a guy out, but there’s this child here…and you see when he takes that mask off how it affected him. You see on Luis’ face how disappointed he is he couldn’t get his family to come to light, so he’s going to go ahead and do this. We all make those decisions as humans,” he continued. “Unfortunately, in Perpetual Grace, each time we go, ‘that’s right, this is better,’ shit falls apart even worse.”
Flashbacks
While we are only two episodes in, we have been treated to some interesting flashbacks, and according to Simpson, there are many more to come.
“You see a lot of James flashbacks, and it’s all to kind of, open up your questions and answer quite a few of them as to what exactly is this guy’s deal. And the way Steve and Bruce have pulled that off [is] not through exposition of like, ‘Hey, so this happened,'” Simpson said. “It’s better than any description you could ever have, and so, again, it’s another one of those things that sets Steve Conrad apart. Who else is flashing back to black and white on a TV show?”
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Perpetual Grace, LTD airs Sundays at 10/9c on EPIX. Make sure you check out our interview with showrunners Steve Conrad and Bruce Terris from ATX Television Festival right here.
You can also check out all of our coverage of the ATX Television Festival here. There is still more to come!
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Allison Nichols
Allison is in a love affair with television that doesn't seem to be letting up anytime soon. Slightly damaged fictional characters are her weakness. She loves to spend her free time curled up with a cat and a show to binge-watch. Allison is a Tomatometer-approved critic (Rotten Tomatoes).