Q & A: Holt McCallany of ‘Lights Out’

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 38:59 — 26.8MB)

FX has another great show on their hands in the new boxing drama, Lights Out.

The show stars veteran character actor Holt McCallany as Patrick “Lights” Leary, an aging former heavyweight champion of the world. Holt’s been acting for 20 years working with some of the best directors around; David Fincher, David O. Russell, Lawrence Kasdan, Brian De Palma. His films have included Three Kings, Fight Club and many others.

This is his first opportunity at headlining a show and I have to say, he is absolutely wonderful.

I had a chance to speak to Holt and executive producer Warren Leight on a conference call where they talked about the show, his training regimen and his advice to actors.

For the full interview, click the audio link above or download from iTunes.

Holt, how did you get involved?  What was it about the role that said, “I must do this?”

Holt McCallany: I had always wanted to play a boxer all of my life.  I grew up watching great boxing films, obviously like the ones you would think, Raging Bull and Rocky and Body and Soul and Fat City, and more obscure movies, like I love a movie called The Set-Up by Robert Wise.  Even more recent things Cinderella Man, which frankly before it ever got made was a script that existed around Hollywood for a number of years.  It got sent to me at one point and I was like, “Oh, my God, this is a really good movie,” but it’s hard if you’re not a big movie star to get the lead in a really great project.  I take my hat off to my friend, Mark Wahlberg, because I know that it took him a long time to make The Fighter and he overcame a lot of obstacles to do it, and now the film is an unqualified success.  I’m really happy for Mark.

But you wonder, “Will I ever have my opportunity to realize a dream like that?”  That’s what Lights Out was like for me.  From the first time I read it, I understood very clearly that this was not just a part on a TV show, that this was an opportunity to do something very special.  This was one of those tour de force parts that very, very rarely comes along and that it was also in a milieu that I love, in a world that I love, and in a world that I had spent time in.

I had done a couple of boxing films and I had been interested in the sport all my life, and I boxed recreationally from the time I was a boy, so for a lot of reasons, my passion for it and my background, I felt like I was the right guy for this part.  But my feeling that way and the studio and the network feeling that way are not always going to be the same thing.  I was really lucky on this occasion, really, really lucky, that I happened to become the choice for the men who make those decisions.  They took a chance with me and showed a lot of confidence in me and gave me the best opportunity that I’ve ever had.  I literally thank my lucky stars the day that I was chosen for this part.

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Send Your Stuff! Pilot "Lights Out"

Lights Out is a 1 hour AFTRA pilot for FX.

Synopsis: Patrick “Lights Out” Leary is a retired prizefighter in his 40s who needs to support his wife and 3 kids. Diagnosed with pugilistic dementia, he knows he needs to make fast money before early Alzheimer’s kicks in.

And check out the post on Karina Walters from FMW Casting.

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