Interview with Titus Welliver star of Amazon's 'Bosch'

You may know him best as The Man in Black on Lost, or perhaps you’ve seen him this past summer in Transformers: Age of Extinction. You also could have seen him in Argo, The Town, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., CSI, The Good Wife or any number of shows or movies of late. Either way, you likely know Titus Welliver.

A professional in Hollywood since 1990, Welliver is a seasoned and talented performer finally gets his chance to shine in the titular role of Amazon’s latest series Bosch. The show, which premiered all its episodes on February 13, is based on Michael Connelly’s extreme popular literary detective Harry Bosch.

TheCelebrityCafe.com got the chance to talk to Welliver about his new shows, what he likes to binge-watch, working with his friends Laurence Fishburne and Ben Affleck and his interests in directing, among other topics. Check out our exclusive interview below.

Note: As this was a phone interview, some delays and cut-offs were found during the conversation. Any moments where dialogue was cut-off were made to look as seamless as possible

TheCelebrityCafe.com: So how familiar were you with Michael Connelly’s work before you got the part?

Titus Welliver: Well, I mean unless you live in a bubble, you knew about Michael Connelly and his work, especially with the enormous success of The Lincoln Lawyer film. But I didn’t have a great wealth of knowledge of Harry Bosch or his universe. I read one Bosch novel many, many years prior before I read the script, and it certainly landed on me. I remember thinking it was a great character. But, you know, time and space, I only read one novel and I couldn’t even tell you which one it was. It was so long ago. I think it was probably very, very early on but probably not in the first books.

But when I read the script and it said Bosch, I didn’t think it was a show about a dishwasher or something like that, you know. I wasn’t ignorant. But I learned very early on and very, very quickly because it really was a page-turner. It was really wanted to jump at the opportunity to secure that role.

TCC: And that leads me to my next question: I was curious about your preparation for the role? I thing I liked about the performance is that it has its own identity but it also had odes to detectives of the past. So I was curious about what your preparation process was?

TW: In all honesty, things moved on the fast track. And I was in shooting Transformers: Age of Extinction at the same time this came along, so I was in Michigan, Chicago, Los Angeles and in Hong Kong. I was shooting all over the place, and so I was cast as Bosch, and I had to go to Hong Kong to shoot for a few weeks, and then I finished shooting Transformers, got off the plane, basically had two days to decompress and readapt to time changes, jet lag and then we started shooting the show.

So, you know, I didn’t have a long period of being able to do a lot (of research). I did certainly read the books that Michael told me to concentrate on to familiarize myself with Harry Bosch and his world, which was City of Bones and The Concrete Blonde And that’s when we shot the pilot. And then, eventually, Echo Park was also put into the first season, so I read that book. And then just for pure pleasure, I continued to read the books.

But we have LAPD, robbery and homicide detectives were technical advisors on the show. So they were there, but it’s not like I was riding around with detectives or responding to calls, things like that which, ultimately, wasn’t necessary. I’ve played enough cops in my career to understand certain procedurals, although procedure attitudes are different with various members of the police. I was able to talk to those guys, and of course I had Michael Connelly on set at all times. I was able to constantly check in with him and ask him questions. And he was really, to me, the barometer of success, or achieving what I thought was Harry Bosch. Michael is, and always will be, the real go-to person for that.

TCC: Especially with Connelly being involved creatively, what’s it like getting feedback from the creator of your character regularly?

TW: Well, the thing about Michael is that he very generously gave me room for interpretation. But for me, that character was so well realized from the books, so it wasn’t something that was built from the ground-up. It wasn’t one of those characters that’s created in the pilot and you finding it as you go. This character has a tremendous amount of history.

And so a few of the changes we made were his military service from Vietnam to the first Gulf War and to Afghanistan due to my age. I’m a bit shy of the age to able to serve in Vietnam and to go back and make it a period piece didn’t seem to make any sense to them because they wanted to find out where to start up the show. Because Harry ages in real time, he’s now 60 and very much on his way out of being a cop. So we choose to set it in his mid-40s.

And I wanted to make (a few changes). Harry always wears a suit in the books, and so I asked Connelly if he has to wear a suit all the time. I wanted to make him a guy who was not one to focus too closely on the clothes he wore. The sort of guy who got up in the morning and grabbed a shirt and a pair of pants and just sort of pull himself together, and Michael was fine with that.

A lot of detectives do wear suits, and I do specifically make sure Harry wears a suit when he’s doing a death notification or, obviously, when he’s in court. Most of the time, though, he’s pretty casual, his sleeves are rolled up and/or wearing a blazer. He’s a bit more casual in that regard than the Harry of the books.

TCC: Right, and something I’ve really enjoyed about your performance so far is that you balance this hard-knuckled, no-nonsense detective, but you also have a more sensitive, thoughtful interior that you balance equally. So when you’re on set, how do you work those two into the character?

TW: Well I think one of the things that makes Harry an accessible character is that he is a very human character. He’s not an overly heroic character. He does heroic things, but he’s not this straightforward, macho guy who goes around kicking people’s asses or things like that. He’s a guy of few words, which is also what I like. When he speaks, it resonates because he has something to say. But he’s a very internal character.

And I don’t read reviews or anything, but a couple people have said that some of the reviews in the Amazon world were that the Harry I portray is a bit nicer than the Harry of the books. That’s, to me, all contrary to what’s interesting about him. He’s polite, but he doesn’t suffer fools. He doesn’t subscribe to the societal politeness or rules of politeness.

He’s not a guy who walks around and is rude and a prick. He’s just a guy who sort of puts himself in the world. He’s a kind of take-me-or-leave-me character, with the exception of his relationship with his child, which is the most important relationship he has in the world. And even that, those moments of going back into his daughter’s life and now she’s no longer a young girl. She’s now a young woman. To see that character struggle and navigate being a parent at this point in her life I think is interesting stuff.

TCC: Yeah definitely, and I’m curious with Amazon and this new model, and especially since you’ve worked very much with the old, basic-cable and regular-cable models, what’s it like getting into this new system?

TW: Well the process of creating a show is identical to that of doing any show as far as the procedure. What is different is that Los Angeles is a character in the show, and we have Paul Sommers and Patrick Cady, who are our rotating directors of photography. They are given the artistic license, for a lack of a better word, to shoot at a much broader scope. It’s far more filmic than what you see normally on television.

The scope is just bigger. We don’t do those sort of standard covers you see so often, those quickly-mastered establishing shots. Cameras go on dollies and cameras sit statically, so I think in that way it’s different. But the process is the same. We still shoot a considerable amount of pages of dialogue every day like you do on a network show or a cable show. A lot of work that gets done; the days can be operated on the same sort of level in that regard.
As far as working in this so-called new media, there’s this incredible amount of energy that’s very exciting to be in on the ground floor of this that I think is expanding more and more into the future. I mean, I’m a person who will binge-watch stuff. I still have my go-to shows that I like to watch in that episodic format. But I also like to sit down and watch eight episodes of Breaking Bad in one sitting.

TCC: Any shows you’ve recently been binge-watching?

TW: You know, I’ve honestly haven’t really had so much free time to do that. But I do love Downton Abbey and Mad Men, and with Breaking Bad I’m fully up to speed to. I like to go back and look at shows periodically I was in before my participation. I like to binge-watch Lost, and I think that’s a great way to watch that show.

I’m trying to get on Orange is the New Black and Orphan Black. There’s so much stuff that’s out there now. Luther, I love Luther. I mean Idris (Elba) is such an amazing actor. I love his work. All the different seasons of Prime Suspect, which, for me, is the quintessential experience of binge-watching.

TCC: Especially with you being in the show and this being the golden age of television, headlining the show, what’s it like to be in this creative position?

TW: Well what I hope is what we created is this next generation of this genre, you know. And the response of not just friends but the fans I’ve come to contact with on their street, they’ve all been very, very positive. People feel like it’s sort of the next step and there’s a lot of material that’s come before Bosch. And there’s a certain amount—in all art—they’re trying to reinvent the wheel. And so I don’t think anyone really reinvents the wheel, you just sort of reinvigorate the wheel. You change the color and the shape of it.

It’s still the wheel; it’s still has its primary function. But you just try to come up with a really good story, and because Michael has written all these fabulous books we’ve got an incredible amount of material to call from to create our show. But I think it’s something I’m very proud of. I think it’s something that will stand the test of time.

TCC: Definitely, and I wanted to (shift) gears a little bit and talk about Riff Raff.

TW: * laughs * Cool.

TCC: Yeah. What’s it like working with Laurence Fishburne?

TW: He’s my closest friend. All my words couldn’t really capture the essence of my friendship with him. He’s like a brother. We’ve known each other for 30 years, and we’re very close. He’s the godfather of my children. Obviously, when you work with really good actors, it raises your game. So with the experience of doing Riff Raff both in Los Angeles and New York and then realizing it as a film later on in Once in a Life is an experience that’s certainly challenged and changed me as an actor. I’ve learned a tremendous amount from that.

And I still have people who come up to me on the street and ask “When are you going to do that play again? You got to go back and do it on Broadway in New York.” And we toy with that idea sometimes, and I always say to Fish, “Are we too old? Or does it make it more interesting, the idea that these guys are the age they are that we are now, in real time? That they would still be doing these low-level crimes?” But it’s an amazing experience, and working with the late and great Heavy D, who that was the first time he ever acted before. It was wonderful to see him come into his own and, alas, was taken from us too soon. What a wonderful actor.

I love it, and Laurence and I are as close as people can be. And when you work with people whom you have that kind of trust and love for, the work is going to go to the next level.

TCC: And especially with all the work you’ve done with Ben Affleck, do you have any interest in directing ever?

TW: Oh yeah. I’ve directed theater in the past and I’ve directed out of, what I would say is, intellectual necessity. I directed to gain a better understanding to help me as an actor to actually direct something as an academic exercise and discovered it was something I really enjoyed. Yeah, I would like to direct, and direct episodes of Bosch and/or direct a film and/or go back and direct some theater. That would be something I’d enjoy.

TCC: When you directed, did you ever act at the same time? Or would that be a first time if you did?

TW: No, no, I never have. I made the choice solely to be a director. But you know, having worked with Laurence, who directed both of the stage productions of Riff Raff and the film, and then working with Ben on Gone, Baby, Gone, which he did not participate as an actor but then came back and directed both The Town and Argo, I learned from watching there’s a great balance.

So one thing I will say about Ben as well is that the scope of both of those films, Argo and The Town is so big, I don’t know how he did but. But he’s one of those guys who’s just so thoroughly prepared, and his homework is all there. So he just gets in there and does it. But it’s not casual by any stretch of the imagination. He just has that energy and ability to do it seamlessly, in my estimation. And I learned from watching him on how to tackle it.

TCC: Great, and so you’re his good luck charm I think.

TW: I tell him I’m his rabbit’s foot. * beat * It’s purely coincidentally, you know. The honor is purely mine. I’m filled with gratitude that I got to do those films with him and to watch him grow. Although, with that said, as I watched him work and see a direct who never directed in his 40 years, I was astounded when I saw (Gone, Baby, Gone). Although I knew on set Ben had the energy and it was very contagious.

You know you’re participating in something exceptional. It comes from that. It’s great material; he’s a great writer as well. And as a director, he delegates the acting stuff to the actors. He hires you because he knows you’ll bring your best, and so he’s not a one to micromanage. He does his thing, and he has great trust in us and that’s a wonderful way to work.

TCC: And have you heard anything about Live By Night?

TW: You know, bits and pieces. Ben’s an aquarium. There’s always something going on with him. He’s always just busy, busy, busy. I’m sitting around waiting for Batman v. Superman to come out. I’m so excited to see it. He’s going to be an amazing Batman. But yeah, yeah, all that stuff is in (the works) and we’ll see how it shakes out. I told Ben I’d do a puppet show for him. You know? Because I love working with him, and of course I’m very, very filled with gratitude to be given those opportunities to continue to work with him.

TCC: And before I forget, how did you get the gigs at Comcast and Jack Daniel’s as a spokesperson?

TW: You know, that’s through my agents. One of the ad guys from Comcast had heard my name and signed off on it. I really like it because it’s a real character. It’s not just me being a spokesperson. It’s very tongue-in-cheek and they’re a bit of a wink and they’re really a lot of fun to do, and people really seem to respond to them. They’re funny and they enjoy them.

And the Jack Daniel’s ones were a lot of fun. By the same token, it was shot by Robert Elswit, the D.P. who shot The Town. And we worked together and it looks pretty amazing. People will say to me, “Well I was watching this and I was thinking ‘What is this a trailer for?’” Then they see me break out the booze, and so that was really interesting and fun too. Tom Carty directed that, great director. It was a really, really good experience. And I guess they’re still playing, the commercials. The Jack Daniel’s commercials, and I continue to do the Comcast stuff. I just did a few more recently and they were really, really funny.

TCC: Yeah, no I agree. Every time I see your Jack Daniel’s commercial on TV, I always have to remind myself it’s not a new movie coming out.

TW: * laughs * No, they’re fun. They’re really fun.

Bosch airs now exclusively on Amazon Instant Video.

Image courtesy of ACE/INFphoto.com