An Interview with Jeff Daniels & Maura Tierney from ‘American Rust: Broken Justice’

Jeff Daniels and Maura Tierney as Del Harris and Grace Poe in ‘American Rust: Broken Justice’ (Photos Courtesy of Dennis Mong/Prime Video.)

Jeff Daniels and Maura Tierney are a pair of highly decorated and accomplished actors that have appeared in countless films and shows that are near and dear to our hearts. Currently, they star as Del Harris and Grace Poe on American Rust: Broken Justice, on Prime Video and we here at NTG had the distinct honor of sitting down with both of them to discuss season two of this magnificent show. 
 
John Betancourt: I would love to start off by knowing what it means to each of you. And we'll start with Jeff here to be back for a second season.
 
Jeff Daniels: Well, it's nice. I mean, we were at Showtime, and we got canceled. So, I thought, we thought that was the end of it. And then Prime Video picked it up and it was all, “Oh! Okay.” And, you know, I remember going back into The Newsroom, the second season, you already know the character, you don't have to discover, you don't have to find your way into him. He's there already. And so now, with season two, we can take all these people that, those you know, who watched season one, you know them, and we can just take off from the get-go. And that's what we do. Season two… it starts off and it just takes off. And so that's fun. I it was fun to see what Danny Futterman and Adam Rapp had planned, once we set up all the characters that you needed to care about.
 
Maura Tierney: Again, with Jeff, it was kind of unexpected, because the show was cancelled by Showtime. So, it was a surprise to me that we were going to go again. And I think for me, which I didn't really know, in advance, but I did talk to the writers before, I think that there's a shift with Grace, because she really couldn't catch a break at all last season. And this season, she's catching some breaks. And I think it's hard. It's just as much of a challenge for the character to deal with having some good fortune in her life. Because you know, someone who believes they deserve nothing, who starts to get something has to figure that out. So, it was a completely different challenge with the character this season, which was fun. 
 
John Betancourt: That’s something that I noticed this season, that there is a lot of a lot of want for everyone. And I'm very curious to hear what you think your characters are ultimately searching for in season two?
 
Maura Tierney: Well, ultimately, the character is searching for everyone to do exactly what she wants all the time, when she wants it. I mean, I think, but realistically, I think she wants, you know, she wants a healthy and content relationship with Del, she wants a healthy and more intimate relationship with her son. I mean, I think even more intimacy in both relationships. And I think there is a desire in her to kind of exert some independence, aside from mother and girlfriend, but that's at the bottom of the list. I think.
 
Jeff Daniels: Well, Del comes into season two with some baggage from what happened at the end of season one. So, he's, you know, he's searching for peace. He's also searching for, you know, there's some atonement for something that happened in season one that was kind of his fault. And now someone's dead. And he's trying to atone for that by going after the core of what caused that. So, he's on a mission to kind of right that wrong, even though he's got to commit about four other wrongs to get to it. But that and ending up with Grace with the sun coming up, you know, every morning, that's kind of -- he wants the peace of just, that's his American Dream is to be in his cabin with Grace and live the rest of their lives together in peace. That's kind of what he's shooting for.
 
Maura Tierney: Literally. (Laughter)
 
John Betancourt: Last question that I have for each of you today, without spoiling, what are you most excited for audiences to experience in this new season?
 
Jeff Daniels: The unpredictability of the story turns in season two, that's the whole battle of storytelling is, and I do this with scripts. I don't know Maura, if you do this, but it's, you get 10 pages in, and you stop and you go, “All right, what happens next?” And if I guess right, that's probably a reason not to do it. But I think the guys have done a really good job of, you know, whatever you think is about to happen, something else happens, and it's unpredictable and plausible at the same time. And that's, you know, good storytelling. 
 
Maura Tierney: And there's a bunch of new characters. 
 
Jeff Daniels: Yeah.
 
Maura Tierney: Which is nice. That story expands out. Which I think is going to be good.
 
This interview has been lightly edited and condensed for clarity.

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