Hence the genius of having Ken steer this ship as well. You have to invest these characters with a Shakespearian quality and not in a way that might disengage the audience but in a way that actually lets you play to an audience.

The best piece of advice Ive ever been given was, Be in the business youre in. Dont just be a satellite around it and expect it to come to you. Be in the business youre in.

The way Shakespeare wrote Fallstaff is with a heightened language and everything.

I don't think you see a pirate with a parrot on his shoulder, for example. And even with the accents.

There's not a lot of direct back story but you do get to see them playing around each other a lot.

I don't give a damn if you like Blackbeard. I don't care if you think he is an absolute despot. Do you believe me? If you do, I've done my work.

When you're wearing jeans there's a shift in your center of gravity. A costume like this and a character like this, there's no way to hide. If you try and play him any way sort of modern or normal, you diminish. He's larger than life. He's 150 percent. You've got to go for it all the time. It was just impossible.