00:00So American Hostage is based on a true event that happened in Indianapolis in the 70s in which
00:05a man who struggled with mental health but also had been wronged took his real estate agent hostage
00:14and requested to be interviewed by the voice of Indianapolis, Fred Heckman, to get his story out.
00:21See, that's why we're...
00:22That's great.
00:26Well done.
00:39Hi, it's Sayah Rankin with The Hollywood Reporter, and I'm here with the other half of American Hostage.
00:45Thanks, guys, for joining.
00:46What was it about this show that drew you guys to it?
00:51What made you want to be part of it?
00:53Whoever feels the most passionate can go first.
00:54I mean, wonderful writing, wonderful cast, wonderful directors.
00:57I mean, this...
00:59Sometimes, you know, you pick a job for one or the other of the things, and this project has all
01:04the things.
01:06Mm-hmm.
01:06I got an audition, and this man's name was on it.
01:09And anything with Adam Arkin's name on it, I was like, oh!
01:12Well, maybe I have a shot at getting it.
01:15Adam and I did a pilot together in 2001.
01:18So I've known this gentleman for a long time.
01:21What was the pilot?
01:22It was called Third Degree for Fox.
01:23We shot in the footprint of the World Trade Towers, actually.
01:27It was really interesting.
01:28Oh!
01:28Yeah.
01:29But he's been a friend and a mentor.
01:31And so when I saw his name on the audition, I was like, all right.
01:34And then when I read the script, I was like, holy shit, this is an amazing script.
01:39The writing is so tight.
01:40It's so good.
01:41But it was Adam that drew me to the project.
01:45Same for me.
01:46The story, first of all, was what captured my attention.
01:50And it was a news item that I actually remembered.
01:55Some of the images from that were kind of indelible because I was an adult in the late 70s.
02:04And then getting to work with this group of people.
02:07There were quite a few cast members that I'd worked with multiple times before.
02:13And worked with Eileen and Sean on other projects.
02:17And just jumped at the chance to jump on board this.
02:22Yeah, I was just really, really interested in the story.
02:26Like, I got the audition and I was like, huh, where does this go?
02:30And then I got to read a couple of other scripts and I was like, oh, this is wild.
02:34So I just wanted to be a part of telling it.
02:37Does acting in a newsroom feel like sort of second nature to you now?
02:41Or did it feel really, like what felt most different about a newsroom from the 70s versus like morning show
02:45era?
02:46Well.
02:46Computer screens, I suppose.
02:48Yeah, I mean.
02:48Not pretending to look at screens.
02:49I think like, you know, morning shows more, I was, you know, like on the producer side.
02:55And it was, I wasn't a reporter necessarily.
02:58And it was also, it was about so many other things other than the story that we're covering.
03:05And this is really about this event, this 63 hours.
03:09And so it's all locked in on that.
03:11I would say that this is a little bit more kinetic in its storytelling because of what we're dealing with
03:15and how we're telling the story.
03:18Chris, did you, you knew what role you were auditioning for, I assume, right?
03:24Yeah.
03:24I mean, just like the physicality, I guess I would use the word, of like having to spend most of
03:30your time with a fake gun at the back of your head.
03:33Or at the back of my skull.
03:34Yeah, and a wire.
03:34Well, so whenever Adam Arkin reaches out to me, it's only for the purpose of brutalizing me on Canly.
03:42Okay.
03:42So he directed a series called Get Shorty.
03:45And he cast me in this role where I had to perform fellatio to a golf club at gunpoint.
03:50What was at gunpoint?
03:52A golf club.
03:54The die was cast.
03:55And so when I got this audition, I was going to be called a soft-handed, you know, C-word
04:04sucker in the sides.
04:06And I was like, oh, okay, Adam.
04:08So just more brutalization.
04:11So I knew kind of what I was heading into.
04:13Like it was, yeah.
04:15I have to say, all kidding aside, there are very few actors that could do what Chris did in this.
04:23He turned what many people would think of as an ordeal into an unbelievable opportunity to create this character.
04:34And had to handle the physical requirements of this without a moment of complaint or anything other than like total
04:45commitment.
04:46And it was grueling.
04:48It would have driven me out of my mind to have to deal with the physical constraints he turned into
04:56gold.
04:57So we were very lucky to have him.
04:59Does anyone have really good or strong memories of their hometown, like local reporter, newscaster, morning show, radio guy, anything
05:09of the sort?
05:11Is that?
05:11No.
05:12I do.
05:12You're like, I didn't want to.
05:13Yeah.
05:14Yeah.
05:14Like in Dallas, we had this guy who did the sports.
05:21And his name was Dale Hanson.
05:23That's a good name.
05:24Yeah.
05:24But he was great.
05:25He was like this sort of folksy, smart, very entertaining news guy.
05:31But yeah, he was great.
05:33And every now and again, he pops up on my Instagram like with some sort of monologue about how we
05:39need to be better to each other.
05:40So he's kind of dope.
05:41He's still doing this.
05:42He's still around.
05:42Yeah.
05:44And I grew up in a small market, Reno, Nevada.
05:46And you did.
05:47You got to know the people who were reporting the news because they weren't flown in from other places.
05:52Right.
05:53But like even now, Josh Little on ABC is the guy that every time I have a project, he welcomes
05:58me onto the show.
05:59And I get my old news coverage.
06:01Oh, yeah, that's good, too.
06:02Yeah.
06:02Making good on the local newscaster from your hometown.
06:05Where did you grow up?
06:06Sugar Land, Texas, which is like a suburb of Houston.
06:11But I don't remember.
06:13I don't know if we didn't watch the news.
06:16We didn't get those formative relationships.
06:17Well, they should be inviting you back at the very least to be whatever local.
06:22He's still making the calls.
06:23I'm going to go ahead and wrap this up.
06:24Yeah, thanks.
06:24Bye, man.
06:25Bye.
06:26Bye.
06:26Bye.
06:26Bye.
06:26Bye.
06:27Bye.
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