Game of Silence is not a George R. R. Martin spinoff. It’s based on the Turkish series Suskunlar. On the American version, David Lyons stars as Jackson, a successful lawyer whose life is turned upside down when three friends from his childhood show up. Flashbacks show us the secret the children kept and now it’s threatening to boil over in the present.
The cast and creators of Game of Silence were on a panel for the Television Critics Association on Wednesday, January 13, 2016. After the panel, Showbiz Junkies joined reporters asking Lyons follow-up questions about the show. Game of Silence is coming this year to NBC.
David Lyons Interview:
You had a short break in-between Revolution and Game of Silence. Why did you decide it was time to return to series television?
David Lyons: “I did a film in between and I went home for a bit. I kind of just wanted a break and went home and I wasn’t actually going to do the pilot season. I came across this script and I really loved it. I put my hand up for it; this is the only one I chose to go in for…maybe there was two other ones. But when I read it I knew I wanted to play that guy.”
Have you seen the Turkish version?
David Lyons: “I haven’t. I still haven’t.”
Was that a deliberate choice?
David Lyons: “It was a deliberate choice. I find that if there’s a character out there that I’m taking any leap from, I don’t want to see what they’ve done because I will have that in my mind the entire time. Maybe that’s to my lacking. Maybe I should have.”
Have people from your past tried to get back in touch with you since you became successful as an actor?
David Lyons: “Yes, in a way, but I’m not on any social media at the moment so it’s a little harder for them to find me. Like, anyone who’s come back into my life that I’ve willfully accepted is because I love them and I miss them. But that’s the only problem with social media is now is that those people that you don’t necessarily want back in your life do.
But in reference to Game of Silence, this is a meeting that was always going to happen. There’s no way that you could hold this secret down long enough in his life. It was always going to come out either in therapy or because they turn up on his doorstep.”
Do you see any similarities between your characters in Revolution and Game of Silence?
David Lyons: “Well, I think that Monroe was more emotionally available. He was certainly all over the place when it comes to those emotions. But he was probably, even though he was kind of psychotic, he was probably a little bit more emotionally acute. He understands his emotions. Jackson Brooks is man who has spent so much time pushing them down, that when they come up he doesn’t quite know what to do with them. So unfortunately when these guys come to him, his world starts to turn on its axis a bit. He negotiates that fairly well up until a point. I think there was a similarity in that they’re both emotional, but Jackson compartmentalizes better than anyone that I’ve ever played.”
Do we ever see your character in the courtroom?
David Lyons: “Yes, a little bit. Now, we don’t see it a lot. We found that the courtroom stuff, while it’s interesting, we want to drive the story. The courtroom thing for Jackson Brooks is an act. It’s all an act, and I’m not sure that that’s the most interesting side of his character. Thankfully, they kept him out of the courtroom unless they really needed him in there.”
As a culture we don’t really talk about male friendships in the way that we talk about female friendships. There are a million Sex and the City-type shows, but not many focusing on male friendships.
David Lyons: “I think that’s an interesting point and I’m glad you raised it. I think that that’s one thing that this show really does. It explores men dealing with grief from the past and they also have to fight the culture norm to keep that suppressed. So, one of the hardest things about men grieving or men who’ve suffered from abuse is that they’re not allowed the outlet. And I think that what’s really fascinating is that we see these guys in public and we see them in private, and I think it’s really beautiful that we do get to see that. I think that it’s important that they’re telling this story and I think, yes, it does represent something that has been underrepresented in television and film.”
There are multiple secrets being dealt with in the series. How much of each do we get to learn about and do you know everything?
David Lyons: “I know everything up until episode 10. What David Hudgins has done is create a bit of a Danish pastry of these secrets. We will learn about everyone in due course. As it stands in the pilot, there is one major secret that they’re all keeping, and then there’s something that Jackson holds very close to his guard.”
What does it mean to be back in the NBC family?
David Lyons: “I was waiting for that question because I have done a lot of NBC stuff. I have to say that NBC’s been very good to me but this was not a point of, ‘Oh, it’s an NBC show. I’ve got to do it.’ I saw the script; this was very much about the writer. It was about David Hudgins. It was about Carol Mendelsohn. And because NBC has been so gracious to me, it was an easy sell for me. So, it feels good.”
How does David Hudgins make this world feel authentic to you?
David Lyons: “When I read the pilot, the world was so nuanced in itself that it was easy to see. He’s always there on the end of the phone to answer any questions that we have, but I guess when you come from the stable of Friday Night Lights and Parenthood…the first thing that I thought when he was on it, I thought, ‘They’re two of the best network shows for the last 10 years.’ I would put West Wing, Friday Night Lights, and a few others in that vein. And so to know he was on board was a no-brainer for me.
He’s a very personable guy. If you shove a couple of martinis under his nose, he tends to open up.”
