Richard Coyle on ‘Crossbones,’ John Malkovich, and the Appeal of Pirates

Richard Coyle stars opposite John Malkovich in NBC’s swashbuckling dramatic series Crossbones airing on Friday nights at 10pm ET/PT. Coyle plays Tom Lowe, an English spy whose mission is to keep the game-changing “Longitude Chronometer” out of the hands of the infamous pirate Edward Teach (aka Blackbeard). As the series develops, so does the complicated relationship between Lowe and Blackbeard.

Richard Coyle Crossbones Interview

Can you talk about what it was that first attracted you to the role?

Richard Coyle: “Well I suppose it was [that] it’s a great script. It was a great script and I immediately liked the pas de deux between Lowe and Blackbeard, which was fascinating. You know, obviously, it’s a series-long arc between these two characters. But in the pilot, the first episode that I read initially, it’s very much like a boxing match, these two characters going toe-to-toe. I found that very interesting, the idea of an agent of the crown [squaring off with an] Osama Bin Laden-like terrorist and the potential for where that would lead. It was intriguing.

How difficult were the action scenes?

Richard Coyle: “It’s a very physical role; it’s a physical show. There are a lot of stunts, a lot of sword fighting, a lot of running around, a lot of hand-to-hand combat. I love to do that stuff and that was a full-time job in itself, you know, a full-time part of this role was hands-on with the stunts.

We had an amazing stunt department – Keith Campbell and Andy Dylan leading, and Thomas Dupont. I’ve worked with them before, and it was amazing to have a chance to work with them again in such a close way on this. Brilliant, brilliant guys.”

What was so appealing about the character?

Richard Coyle: “There’s something really interesting about Tom Lowe. There’s a duality about him, which I find interesting. You know, whenever I find those kind of dualities like this, I’m always drawn to it.

And then with Tom Lowe, it’s a case of his nature is to tell the truth but his job is to be a liar. So it was like, ‘How do you reconcile those two sides of who you are?’ I found that fascinating, that he had to lie and dissemble, really, is the word for it, for a living. But he is a man of integrity and truth, and tallying those two things was a fascinating prospect, especially given how the series develops and what happens later on, which obviously we haven’t seen yet.”

Other than the stunts, what would you say is the most challenging aspect of starring in Crossbones?

Richard Coyle: “I think probably some of the learning, the sheer volume of some of the dialogue probably, in a short amount of time. As the series progresses, there are some incredibly wordy exchanges between Lowe and Blackbeard. Like anything, you have to own it and make it truth, and you have to make it native to you. Sometimes that takes time and you need the luxury of time sometimes to make that really land. So the challenge, I suppose, was making all that stuff work with the time limitation that we had. But it is, again, it’s just part and parcel of what is required. But that was probably the most challenging thing, apart from the stunts and the physicality.”

You were saying when you first read the script you loved the character, but you also have to love the idea of just going opposite John Malkovich. What is that like?

Richard Coyle: “I’ve worked with John Malkovich before. I worked with John 10 years ago on a film and I had great memories of being around him and what he was like. I wasn’t out of drama school that long when I worked with him then and I was pretty starstruck. It’s amazing to work with John because he’s almost unique amongst actors in that he’s become this kind of cultural icon. He’s more than just an actor nowadays; he’s one of the only actors who’s actually got a movie named after him with his own name in the title. He designs clothes and he’s like a cultural behemoth. You know what I mean? He’s an amazing character and an amazing man to be around, and it was a great thrill and a real privilege to be able to square off to John in character as Tom Lowe. He’s very generous and made it very easy, and he was just amazing.”

Did you find the working relationship between the two of you has changed much since the first time you worked with him?

Richard Coyle: “Oh yes. I mean, when I first worked with him 10 years ago I was very much sort of a character on the sidelines, as it were. I was trying to make my mark as an actor. And this is very different because I am sort of going toe-to-toe with him as equals in Crossbones in a sense. We’re adversaries, as it were, but it’s a much more complicated relationship. It’s like adversaries and friends. There’s a weird mutual respect, kind of mutual envy, and a hate, and it’s a complicated relationship here. Much more is required here than it was when I first worked with John.”

Did they tell you very much about your character or any of the secrets behind him or did they just let you figure it out on your own?

Richard Coyle: “Well I mean obviously before we started filming I read the script – or as many scripts as were written which was six, I think, at that point – so a lot of information was available to me. And also obviously I could pick up the phone and speak to [Neil Cross], which I did, frequently. Once we all arrived in Puerto Rico the weeks before we started shooting, there was plenty of opportunity to sit down and flesh out backstories and ideas and secrets.

I think it’s important to have that stuff on hand, and I think as the series progresses you’ll see that it sort of deepens. The sort of direction of the characters, certainly of Lowe and Blackbeard, changes a little bit, and you realize there’s a lot more going on than you may have first have realized. So it was all sort of plotted and planned. There’s a direction, yes.

How do you explain the continuing appeal of pirate stories? Do you know why it is that audiences love watching pirates on film and TV?

Richard Coyle: “Well, I think it’s probably something to do with the romance of it. I mean it’s a bygone era, we don’t have that anymore – it’s gone. It’s a time of romance and thrills, and swashbuckles, and all that, you know? We’ve made pirates into these sort of romantic figures of villainy, and I think there’s kind of an enduring appeal in there.

It’s like we can make anything up, anything goes because we don’t really know much, to be honest, about pirates. They can exist in any sort of way we want them to. I think there’s something appealing in that in itself. Do you know what I mean? We don’t have any definites, really. Pirates were figures of mystery and fear, and they still are in a way. I think you can almost tell any story and we find it fascinating, any pirate story because they can be anything we want them to be. It’s amazing. I mean, that’s probably part of what it is.

You know, we don’t know anything about Blackbeard, really. It’s like it’s amazing, this figure who is like Public Enemy Number One for so many years and we really don’t know much about him at all. We don’t even actually know what his actual name was. It could be Edward Teach, or Edward Thatch, or all of these possibilities. It’s amazing that these people came sort of out of the mist and then vanished into the mist, and I think that’s fascinating right there. So I’m sure that’s part of its appeal, the whole piracy thing.”

How do the costumes and the sets further inspire you with your performance?

Richard Coyle: “Well, it was amazing I have to say because we were filming in a disused naval base, and basically we had the run of the place. They were able to build a pirate town and it’s amazing to be able to work like that because it’s not like you’re stopping off a block in New York City. We actually exist in that place. It’s weird…I mean they had really ships so it’s like you can just go no acting required because I’m standing in this amazing costume and I’m looking around. I can see 100 people dressed as pirates, or as whatever they are, in this town square in a period town. I’m in situ.

I don’t really have to do too much imagining because I’m right there. So it’s kind of amazing to be able to work in those circumstances. It’s not like you’re standing in front of a green screen having to sort of draw these places and people in your mind. It’s all there in front of you for real, which is terrific. It’s a real help for you as an actor.”

What do you think is Tom’s greatest weakness?

Richard Coyle: “That’s a good question. What is Tom’s greatest weakness? I think there are two things about Tom. The thing that drew me to him initially is the fact that he is a man of integrity, and his nature is to tell the truth and his job is to lie. So I found that fascinating. I think that is also his weakness is that he is a man of integrity in a business where he is required to lie and dissemble and cheat and manipulate because that’s his job. He works for the crown as an agent, and I think his weakness is – well I wouldn’t say a weakness – he has a conscience that is slowly creeping up and gaining in strength and power. All the things he had to do in the past are slowly creeping up on him and catching up with him, and so I suppose you might say that would be his weakness that he can no longer square away some of the things he’s had to do.”