An Interview with Douglas Booth from ‘That Dirty Black Bag’

Douglas Booth is an accomplished actor with a bevy of film credits to his name, and now Douglas is starting to branch out into meaty television roles and is currently playing Red Bill on the AMC+ series, That Dirty Black Bag and we here at Nerds That Geek were fortunate enough to sit down with Douglas to discuss acting and the challenges and thrills of being part of a modern spaghetti western.
 
John Betancourt: What was it that got you into acting?
 
Douglas Booth: I'm dyslexic. So, I struggled academically. At school, with reading and writing. And I found that initially, I wanted to be a musician. I played trumpet from a very young age, and I wanted to be a jazz musician. But I always learned classical, and I kind of wanted to be in this jazz band. And that never happened. I kind of felt a bit limited and I was also playing guitars and wanting to be in rock bands and then I tried out for a school play and got the part. And I think when I was on stage, I finally found that actually, this was a really amazing way of expressing yourself. I fell in love with it. And I just kind of, you know, I used to, I used to love movies like Lord of the Rings and Gladiator as a kid. And the idea of just going on these quests and dispatches, these journeys, was something that I dreamed of. Or having a horse, which is great, and just having a horse and going off. And you know, that was just, I wanted to, you know, live 1000 lives within my own and, and this was a way to do it, I guess.
 
John Betancourt: And speaking of a horse, you’re on a western!
 
Douglas Booth: -laughs- Yeah!
 
John Betancourt: Which is great and that leads me to my next question, in that… what was it that attracted you to the character of Red Bill?
 
Douglas Booth: Well, I think it was unlike any character I'd played before. That was a huge draw. I found the scripts interesting. And I kept reading and reading and reading I wanted to know what happened. And Dominic Cooper is a friend of mine, and I always wanted to work with him. And we get on very well and have a fun banter between us. And I thought I could see that coming out in you know, coming out between our characters, you know, as the story goes on, so, yeah, I mean, who wouldn't want to be to be a cowboy, really, and ride a horse in the west? So, it was it was, you know, a no brainer for me.
 
John Betancourt: Now this is definitely a bleak western, one that really goes to some dark places, and I was curious… as to how you as an actor got into the mindset of playing a character that is so angry and filled with notions of revenge?
 
Douglas Booth: So, a place I had to start was, I guess my mother, I think. I’m very close to my mother. She’s very much still alive, and I was a bit of a, you know, mommy's boy. -chuckles- I remember I when I was a kid, I used to have recurring nightmares of losing her and it was horrible. And so that's a place I started, I guess, where it's a very simple, yet horrible place to start. And I think, you know, that's the foundation of who this person is. He was a young boy who at the age of eight, lost his mother in a very violent way in front of him and some people can deal with trauma. Well, and some people can't. And I think he probably hasn't dealt with it. I mean, you see in episode four that he had a second chance at life, had a second chance at having a family, having a mother figure and he seemed happy there. But he couldn't. He couldn't get over the trauma, he couldn't set himself free, which is very sad for him. But interesting for me as an actor, because it means that I get to play this person that is so utterly damaged. And I feel that he's kind of in Purgatory, or he's on his way to Hell. And he doesn't know how to rid himself of one, the guilt for not being able to save her, two, the trauma of losing her. And also, just kind of just feeling completely lost and feeling that revenge is the only way to salvation. I mean, I would even, at beginning of the story, I'd question what he would do if he ever found Bronson. And if he ever killed him, I don't know whether he whether he would want anything else after that. But I think as the story comes up, moves on, I think he begins to thaw his heart, and he begins to remember who he once was. And I find that very interesting to play to.
 
John Betancourt: On the flip side of that, what kind of physical preparations did you have to take part in for this?
 
Douglas Booth: Yeah, I mean, I'm obviously the riding, but I rode as a kid so that was just a complete pleasure. I think for me, I came from a movie where the character’s quite all over the place and I’d been shooting it a couple of months, like a month before, so I had to focus on centering Bill, I felt like he was, you know, he was almost like a fox, you know, it was very still and then move very quick. So, I think it was kind of the physicality… was actually just slowing, slowing myself down. I’m a bit of a fidgeter and worked on that side of my physicality. But yeah, apart from that, yeah, the writing and then obviously, we spent time with the armor. And yeah, that was it and kind of just getting used to working in that heat and those conditions and that we worked in the mountains a lot. So, when you're in those cowboy boots on the hill on uneven ground, you're always walking. It was exhausting. Yeah, and being hung upside down. That was… I had to practice being upside down.
 
John Betancourt: Now I have to ask, how long were you upside down during the filming of Episode Two?
 
Douglas Booth: We realized it was safe for about two minutes, two and a half minutes. But sometimes it went a bit longer than that. But after that, you feel like your eyes are going to pop out of your head. So, God knows how Bill long lasted that long.
 
John Betancourt: Now I want to circle back on something you mentioned about Bill, and how you pondered upon what he would do if he got the revenge he wanted. But since he’s such a layered character, I was curious as to what else you think he’s searching for in life.
 
Douglas Booth: Well, I think I think at the beginning of the story, he purely wants revenge. He's got to a point where he's so hollow. He can't see anything else. I think as the character as the story develops, he begins to want to know, why? What are the circumstances? You know, I think for him, he's been so blinded by this. This happened. My mother, I think, it's, it's the idea, I think, as the story will go on, it's the idea of who did this to my mother and why did this happen? And what are the circumstances around it? And I think he begins to get in touch more with the person that that he once was. And you're going to see a lot more of that in five, six and seven, and you can see a lot more of that side of him. There'll be way more layers coming out.
 
John Betancourt: Now I think… that this is a western that features some messages as well. In part, that it is a cautionary tale about revenge and how it can consume us. What would you say is the big takeaway from this series and what the characters go through?
 
Douglas Booth: Um, see for me as an actor, I never approach it from that point of view. You know, I'm so one character centric. But I think you're right, I think it's definitely a cautionary tale. But I think what I find interesting, and what makes it interesting to me and rather than just straight up Western is, it's about it's about how every character is in contempt, you know? Every character is struggling against or towards something. And I find that interesting to have, you know, you have this western backdrop with the beautiful cinematography and the rest, but it's, you know, it's a real look at a really hard time in the past, where, you know, that the frontier was, it was a terrible place. And it sent people crazy and, and I just, I think it's just this really interesting kind of place to, to magnify, you know, like, put a magnifying glass up to up to the human condition in those scenarios and see how people survive. And I think one of the most interesting storylines or most interesting dilemmas in the whole, whole show is that Steve's, you know? He has everything, he has nothing, it's like, he's got a lot on his shoulders there. So, I'm really intrigued to see how that develops.
 
John Betancourt: Overall, were there any challenges you ran into as an actor from dealing with such a physical and mentally taxing role? Courtesy of the darkness that Red Bill resides within?
 
Douglas Booth: I mean, we were working six days a week for six months, so it was just it was physically exhausting and, and there were times where it took it took its toll on our bodies, but I see these roles as rather than a burden, they're, they're a gift to play. You know, this is my job and it's enjoyable to be able to play these complex characters and I think I have a good enough support system. And we had, we had a very close-knit group of friends on set, and we had a lot of fun shooting in Italy, Spain and Morocco. So, I wasn't going home at the end of the day and crying into my pillow. -laughter- I was enjoying wine and having a good time. So, you don’t have to worry about me.
 
John Betancourt: What would you say you’re most proud of when it comes to your time on this show?
 
Douglas Booth: Um, I think I'm most proud of the fact that it’s a character that I've never played before. I've been you know; I've wanted to play lots of characters like this. I'm proud of my physicality. I, you know, I'm 29. I think for ages you kind of… you play boys, and then kind of not a boy and not a man. And I think, for me, this signifies the first role, really where I feel like… a man. And I feel ready to take on a lot of the roles that hopefully I will get the opportunity to play in my 30s. I think I found a solidity in this role, and then an assuredness. Yeah, I'm proud. I'm proud of the character I created. And I think it's… yeah, I think he's solid. And he’s unlike me in real life, and I'm very different. So, I don't see myself when I look at him on screen, which is good.
 
John Betancourt: Last question for you today, what are you most looking forward to the audience experiencing in the back half of the season, without spoiling anything of course.
 
Douglas Booth: I think… you meet Bill in the beginning, and he makes an impression, and then you kind of learn some more about him. And like, a lot happens to Bill in the next couple of episodes. So I'm really looking forward to seeing what happens with him, to try and figure out how he's going to get himself out of this predicament he's in, if he's going to get out of it, how he is going to take his next step towards his super objective of revenge, how he's going to do it, who he needs to enlist to help him if he can, if he can even get out of the situation he's in. And I think, on the fun side, you get to see Bill unleash some of his talents. You know, he's been tied up for a lot of it. Apart from the first episode, you haven't seen him dispatch any souls recently. So, you're gonna see that he's very good at doing what he does, which I think is quite fun.
 
This interview has been lightly condensed and edited for clarity.
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