Alex Rich of FX on Hulu's "The Patient" Says His Role Was a Challenge "In All the Right Ways" (Video)
Alex Rich, a Critics Choice Award nominee for his acclaimed role as the young version of the title character in the National Geographic limited series "Picasso," joins us to talk about his physically and emotionally taxing role as Elias, the victim of a serial killer, in the chilling FX on Hulu series The Patient. Rich worked alongside Steve Carrell as Alan, a troubled therapist held prisoner by his homicidal patient; Domhnall Gleeson as the murderous Sam, and one of our previous guests, Linda Emond, who plays Sam's villainous mother.
Despite the heavy subject material, Alex describes his experience as "high stakes with a small cast. The episodes read as a play. You're in one set and staying in the emotional peaks and valleys of these people in a confined area."
Alex explains that as Elias is tied, blindfolded and continuously tormented by Sam, he did all he could between takes and off set to keep a calm demeanor and not exhaust himself from the long days of shooting. "Staying in that space for days on end can be taxing," he says. "It was a really dynamic place to try to stay in. Every actor should have the good fortune to sit in that experience because it was a challenge -- but in [all] the right ways.
"Domhnall is such a great guy and that made it easier," he adds of working with the actor in very intense scenes. "I couldn't see what was happening because of [the blindfold] but Domhnall would come in and scare me. He'd do something unexpected and it was really intimidating. But we were able to separate the person from the character. He's lovely, but a lot of the reactions you see are authentic."
The Patientis now streaming on Hulu.
Watch the full interview above or listen wherever you download your podcasts, includingApple, GooglePodcasts, iHeartRadio, Pandora, Stitcher and TuneIn.
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Juan Ayala
Juan Ayala is a Brooklyn-based writer, podcaster and columnist at MediaVillage. He covers programming aimed toward diverse, multicultural and LGBTQ+ audiences under his Multicultural TV column. His love for TV and film ranges from workplace comedi…
