Federal authorities probing the death of actor Hayden Panettiere are focusing on where the drugs and medications that played a role in her death came from, echoing similar probes that resulted in charges for suppliers in the deaths of Matthew Perry and Mac Miller.
Drug Enforcement Administration agents and local investigators have questioned several people about the circumstances of her Aug. 16 death, focusing on potential controlled substances and medications tied to her demise inside a Greenville, S.C., apartment, according to sources familiar with the probe.
Paramedics and police found Panettiere in cardiac arrest, according to the Greenville County Coroner’s Office. Dispatch audio recordings from Broadcastify.com reference a possible overdose and CPR in progress. Narcan was reportedly administered by paramedics who arrived, and after efforts to resuscitate her, she was declared dead at 2:31 p.m.
Her death echoes that of actor Matthew Perry and rapper Mac Miller, both of whom succumbed to overdoses. In their respective cases, prosecutors secured convictions for the people who supplied Perry with ketamine and Miller with cocaine and oxycodone pills laced with fentanyl. Perry’s demise in his hot tub led to his assistant, two doctors, a producer and a woman dubbed the “Ketamine Queen” pleading guilty.
The Greenville County coroner, in the wake of Panettiere’s death, conducted an autopsy but has not made a formal finding on the cause of death and toxicology results are pending.
Panettiere lived in Los Angeles, but her boyfriend, Brian Hickerson, is a Greenville native, according to authorities. A police report outlined the initial response from police who arrived at the scene. The report states that Hickerson and his brother Zach Hickerson were with Panettiere inside an apartment when the 36-year-old actor died.
According to the police report, Brian Hickerson showed an officer “a bag of medications HAYDEN is currently on.”
Several areas of the report were redacted, including statements from the brothers about what transpired as they called 911.
The officer who authored the report, Matthew Bryan, wrote that he recorded an interview with Brian Hickerson on his body-worn camera, and observed Zach Hickerson being “very emotional” while first responders tried to revive the actor. Brian Hickerson became emotional after she was declared dead, Officer Matthew Bryan wrote.
Later, he said that authorities obtained video of three individuals coming and going from the apartment from the complex’s security, which helped detectives with a search warrant.
Sloan Ellis, a South Carolina attorney for Hickerson hired in the wake of Panettiere’s death, said in a statement, “Hayden’s death remains under investigation, and it is important to allow that investigation to proceed. As has been publicly reported, police confirmed there were no signs of foul play. Out of respect for Hayden’s loved ones and the ongoing investigation, there will be no further comment at this time.”
Sources familiar with the probe have met with DEA agents about the actor‘s death, according to People magazine and TMZ.
Hickerson was arrested multiple times on suspicion of domestic violence against Panettiere, beginning in May 2019 in Los Angeles, though the charges were later dismissed when prosecutors couldn’t secure a material witness.
Following an eight-count criminal indictment in 2020 that covered multiple violent incidents over the previous year, Hickerson pleaded no contest in April 2021 to two felony counts of injuring a spouse or girlfriend.
He was sentenced to 45 days in county jail along with four years of formal probation, ordered to attend mandatory domestic violence classes, and received a five-year protective order.
If Matthew Fine, a 5-foot-8, 165-pound senior running back and lacrosse star for Loyola High, needs a walk-up song, he can go back to 1969 when Frank Sinatra’s hit “My Way” came on the radio with the lyrics, “I did it my way.”
Fine, who lives in Manhattan Beach, declined to be interviewed last week before the Cubs’ game against the public school he lives five minutes from, Mira Costa. He didn’t want to give friends he grew up with any bulletin board material. Then he went out and rushed for 105 yards in a 14-7 Loyola victory.
It was fun for him to catch up with neighborhood kids he used to play with starting at age 5.
“I traded jerseys and traded photos,” he said. “It was nice talking to them.”
Asked if he walked home from the game, Fine said, “I actually considered it.”
Fine, with his speed and strength from lacrosse training, could be the comeback player of the year in football. He quit football after his sophomore year to focus on lacrosse. Loyola has one of the best lacrosse programs in the state, winning last season’s Southern Section championship. He’s earned a lacrosse scholarship to Utah.
Football coach Drew Casani had lobbied Fine to return to football before his junior year with no success. Last school year, after the lacrosse season ended, Casani sent him a text inviting him to return.
“I’m in,” Fine responded.
“I love football,” Fine said. “There was a lot of uncertainty. My junior year is where you get recruited for lacrosse. After sitting out a year and watching all the guys playing football, I got really jealous and wanted to jump back in.”
He rejoined the team this year starting at the bottom of the depth chart. Now he’s had back-to-back games rushing for more than 100 yards. This will be his first and only year playing on varsity.
“I’m doing this for fun,” he said. “I love football. I’ve been doing it longer than any other sport.”
Whenever the season ends, it will be Fine’s final football game.
“I don’t think I’ll have any regrets,” he said. “I’ll just be sad. I don’t want to think about that.”
Incredibly, as much as people believe football gets players in the best shape of their life, Fine once flunked his conditioning test for lacrosse after playing football.
“It’s a different type of conditioning,” he explained.
Casani is thrilled that Fine’s one year off from football has had little effect.
“He picked up seemingly where he left off,” Casani said. “ He’s fast, has vision and is hard to tackle.“
Don’t ask his father, Mickey, what Fine might do next or any day.
“My son does things his own way,” he said. “Sometimes I don’t understand it.”
With a 4.0 grade-point average and terrific lacrosse talent as an attacker, Fine has a bright future. For those who play intramural flag football on Utah’s campus, Fine could be the ringer to deliver a championship next year.
Matthew Brennan emerged victorious in the 16th stage of the Vuelta a Espana to claim his fourth stage win of this year’s race.
The British Visma Lease-a-bike rider sprinted to victory ahead of Bryan Coquard and Vito Braet in Palos de la Frontera.
Brennan, 21, held up four fingers to celebrate each of his four stage wins in his first Grand Tour.
“It’s unbelievable, four victories here and the plan was for one,” Brennan said after the 181km stage.
Stage 16 was expected to be another chance for the sprinters.
A five-man breakaway got up the road early on, but with 100km remaining the peloton started to reel them in. The break was caught with around 23km remaining, setting up the bunch sprint finale.
Spanish rider Enric Mas of Team Movistar maintained his 2min 6sec general classification lead on Felix Gall, with Primoz Roglic a further four seconds behind.
The next stage takes place on Wednesday, consisting of 185km from Dos Hermanas to Seville, offering another sprint finale.
Arizona State hockey player Matthew Mayich remains incapacitated more than two weeks after he collapsed during an outdoor team practice in Tempe.
“Matthew’s injuries [are] from exertional heat stroke that caused the lack of oxygen to his brain,” the family’s attorney, Robert Carey, told The Times on Thursday. “There were no other contributing conditions, only exertion-related heat. This is not a coma, and the family is at his bedside praying for a miracle.”
While the family has not given up on the 21-year-old former draft pick of the St. Louis Blues, Carey said the prognosis they have received is not good.
“He’s been incapacitated from the moment he left the field, and with no chance of recovering,” said Carey, who added that he is limited on what he has been authorized to discuss concerning Mayich’s condition.
He added that the family is “just giving him a chance to have a miracle. And when they decide that’s not coming — I don’t know. They’re in a position no parent should ever be in.”
Mayich was selected by the Blues in the sixth round of the 2023 draft but never signed with the team. He played four seasons in the Ontario Hockey League and one at Clarkson University last season before transferring to Arizona State.
Arizona State and its police department referred questions from The Times to a recent statement from the university. In its statement, the university did not mention Mayich by name because of “privacy interests” but talked about an ASU hockey player “who collapsed during an outdoor workout on Aug. 20” and “remains hospitalized.”
Arizona State said that the workout was a team event at which coaches and training staff were present, “along with a third party who had previously worked with the ASU Hockey team.”
The university stressed that it has policies regarding the engagement of “outside entities who interact with ASU student-athletes” and heat-illness guidelines for outdoor workouts. It added that James Rund, senior vice president for educational outreach and student services, would lead a review into the “circumstances surrounding the workout and related university policies, procedures and training protocols.”
“The review will take the time needed to collect and assess information in a manner that is thoughtful, respectful of the student-athlete, his family, his teammates and ASU’s privacy obligations,” the statement says.
The practice took place on a field outside the team’s on-campus arena. According to the university’s statement, the campus police department responded to a 911 call at approximately 8:30 a.m. “and began investigating as they would anytime they are called to a serious incident.”
The temperature at around that time in Tempe that morning was in the upper 80s.
Carey said that from talking to people who were present at the practice and relying on “other objective evidence,” he has determined that it was a military-style practice that ran “nonstop for well over an hour. And there was no rest, and there was almost no water.”
“Matthew was struggling,” Carey said, based on the information he has gathered. “He was disoriented, confused, dizzy, well before he collapsed. … Matthew was demonstrating signs of a problem well before he collapsed, and they did nothing.”
After Mayich’s collapse, Carey said, the staff was “completely and utterly unprepared” to treat him.
“So when he left the field that day, by the time he got to the hospital, there was almost zero chance of recovery,” Carey said.
Carey, who was chief deputy attorney general of Arizona during the 1990s, said he has been retained as the family’s counsel to help guide them through the situation, but no decision about any kind of legal action has been made at this point.
“They’re not going to make any decisions, and I’m not going to make any recommendations, until we get an investigation completed that’s transparent and robust and competent,” Carey said. “We need to know what happened before we can say you have rights or here’s a way to fix things for other kids down the road. …
“We just need to see what the evidence is. That’s our main goal right now, let’s go get the evidence and figure out what happened.”
He added that the family wanted him to express their gratitude for the outpouring of support they’ve gotten during this time.
“They’re from Canada and they’re in Arizona, where they had no connection really, and they’re sitting in a hospital every day,” Carey said, “and they’re just very appreciative of the support they’ve received across the country to help them.”
A new three-part documentary series on Netflix will explore the life and struggles of Matthew Perry and feature an interview with his sister Mia Perry Bowick, along with unreleased photos and videos from the private archive of the Perry family.
“The One About Matthew Perry” will premiere on the streaming platform Oct. 27, according to an announcement by Netflix on Tuesday. The docuseries, directed and executive produced by award-winning director Mary Robertson (“Quiet on Set”), will tell the story of Perry and his journey from rising comedic star to the man behind the Emmy-nominated role of Chandler Bing on “Friends.”
“Through his many films, TV and stage performances, and his unforgettable portrayal of Chandler Bing, he made millions of us laugh, connect, and feel a little less alone,” Robertson said in a statement. “He also gave us so much more by bravely speaking about addiction. Yet the public only knew part of his story. That’s why we set out to make this series: to let the people who knew and loved Matthew reveal the person behind the public figure.”
The documentary will explore new details about Perry’s private struggles with prescription painkillers and alcohol through firsthand memories from his family and collaborators. The actor died in 2023 from acute effects of ketamine, according to the Los Angeles County medical examiner. Five people were sentenced to prison for supplying Perry with the drug, including his assistant, two doctors, a former drug counselor and a drug dealer known as the “Ketamine queen.”
Perry Bowick hopes the series gives everyone who loved him an appreciation of who he truly was and the legacy he leaves behind.
“It’s taken time for me to feel ready to share these memories and what it was like to love Matthew through all the complexity of his life — to see him as a whole person, not just as Chandler, and not just as someone who struggled with addiction,” she said in a statement.
“The One About Matthew Perry” is the latest documentary about the late actor; “Matthew Perry: An American Tragedy” was released on Peacock last year. The Netflix docuseries is produced by Maxine Productions, a part of Sony Pictures Television. Lisa Kalikow, Eli Holzman and Aaron Saidman are executive producers along with Robertson, Lora Moftah is co-executive producer and Jessica Call is producer.
McVay does not play starters or players expected to be significant backups or contributors during the preseason, especially in the final game.
Based on that, Bennett appears on track to be the No. 2 quarterback behind Matthew Stafford when the Rams play the San Francisco 49ers on Sept. 10 in Melbourne, Australia.
Or does it?
“I wouldn’t look too far into what that was,” McVay said of playing Simpson. “It was just continuing to get him experience.
“We’ve got three quarterbacks on our roster. Obviously, we’ve got the reigning MVP of the league and we’ve got two guys that we feel really good about. And if you say, ‘Hey, what does that really mean?’ That’s what it means, that we feel really good about those two guys.
“Not pigeonholing myself into any sort of decision other than I feel really good about Stetson Bennett, feel really good about Ty Simpson.”
Simpson, the 13th pick in the draft, completed 18 of 23 passes for 119 yards, including a second-quarter touchdown.
He faced Chargers starters during his first series, which ended with a punt.
“I was excited because it was my first time to where I was going against real guys in a real game,” Simpson said. “And it felt like I expected it to feel. Fast.”
It was Simpson’s second no-turnover performance. In the preseason opener against the Kansas City Chiefs, Simpson played all but the first two series and completed 21 of 25 passes for 190 yards and two touchdowns.
On Thursday, his most impressive play came early in the second quarter on third-and-seven from the Chargers’ 11-yard line. Simpson escaped pressure and rolled out to his left before firing a pass to diving receiver Brennan Presley for a touchdown.
Rams quarterback Ty Simpson slides in front of Chargers linebacker Nadame Tucker during the first half Thursday.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
Matthew Caldwell, an undrafted free agent from Texas, started the second half and played into the fourth quarter before suffering a knee injury. He completed five of 10 passes for 31 yards, including an eight-yard touchdown pass to running back Dean Connors.
Bennett, a fourth-year pro, took the vast majority of second-team snaps during training camp and preseason practices, and took first-team reps on days Stafford was held out. Bennett played the first half against the New Orleans Saints and rushed for two touchdowns.
NFL teams must trim their rosters to 53 players by Sunday.
“We’ve got some tough decisions over the next couple days,” McVay said.
Other noteworthy items following the Rams’ victory:
Atwell isn’t a fill-in for Nacua
Rams wide receiver Tutu Atwell celebrates after a touchdown against the Indianapolis Colts on Sept. 28, 2025.
(Marcio Jose Sanchez / Associated Press)
Running back Jarquez Hunter did not play — and was not in the building — but not because he was assured a roster spot with the Rams.
On Thursday, the Rams traded Hunter, a 2025 fourth-round draft pick, to the Miami Dolphins for receiver Tutu Atwell, who played five seasons for the Rams before signing with the Dolphins last March.
Nacua is the defendant in a civil lawsuit that alleges he made an antisemitic statement and bit a woman while riding in a vehicle. If the NFL determines that Nacua violated the league’s personal-conduct policy, he could be suspended.
Did the Rams acquire Atwell as a preemptive move in case Nacua is suspended?
“No,” McVay said. “It had nothing to do with that. It was exclusively a guy we were really familiar with that you could really get at what we felt like was good for us and good for Jarquez.”
“Tutu’s an alumni,” Rams general manager Les Snead said during an in-game television interview. “He should come back. He’s someone who knows Sean’s offense. He can come in and play all three [receiver] positions.”
Connors, who played at Murrieta Valley High and Riverside City College before finishing his college career at Rice and Houston, rushed for 69 yards in 18 carries. Jordan Waters rushed for 53 yards in 15 carries.
Still waiting on Aaron Donald
Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald leaves the field after a game against the Arizona Cardinals in November 2023.
(Rick Scuteri / Associated Press)
McVay reiterated that the Rams will continue to move forward until Donald decides whether he will end a two-year retirement and re-join the team.
“It’s really one of those deals that, what we’re doing is we’re focusing on this football team,” McVay said. “Aaron knows that, ‘Hey, if he wants to be able to do that, that’s something that we absolutely want to entertain and be able to figure out, and that’s really kind of all there is to it right now.”
During a television interview during the game, Rams general manager Les Snead said Donald, a three-time NFL defensive player of the year, was still going through his process.
“Obviously, the timeline’s getting a little closer to make a decision, but the timeline’s the timeline,” Snead said. “Time will tell.”
If Donald returns, he will join a front that includes two-time defensive player of the year Myles Garrett, acquired by the Rams in a blockbuster trade. Snead said in the interview that dealing for Garrett was not part of the Rams’ plan heading into the offseason.
“Never was Myles Garrett penciled into that intent,” Snead said, “and I’ll be honest with you: Never was Aaron Donald penciled into that intent. Sometimes luck goes your way, and we’re jacked to have Myles and we’re waiting on to see what happens with Aaron.”
Defensive standouts
Rams safety Nick Andersen, center, celebrates with teammates after recovering a fumble by Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert in the first half Thursday.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
Outside linebacker Darryl Peterson III had two sacks, including one that resulted in a fumble in the final minute to preserve the victory.
Safety Nick Andersen recovered a fumble by Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert.
Cornerback Cam Lampkin also had a sack.
Edge rusher Wesley Bailey, who made a big impression in the first two preseason games, started against the Chargers but played only two snaps and had one quarterback pressure.
Mevis finishes perfect preseason
Mevis kicked two 27-yard field goals, making him six for six in three games.
Mevis kicked two field goals against the Chiefs and two against the Saints.
Kelvin Washington: Hello, and welcome to this week’s episode of The Envelope. Kelvin Washington, Yvonne Villarreal and Mark Olsen here. We’ve been talking about it now for the last couple of weeks, but we’re less than a month away from the Emmys. Mariska Hargitay is gonna be the host. I’m looking forward to that because who’s living a better life than her? She’s nominated, of course. She’s hosting. And her Knicks won the NBA championship — she’s at this point an honorary Knick. I mean, it’s like she’s on the team.
Yvonne Villarreal: And she went to the Taylor Swift wedding.
Washington: That’s a good point.
Villarreal: Don’t forget that. And starring on Broadway.
Washington: So she is living her best life, yeah.
Villarreal: She’s living a better life than I am.
Washington: So I’m going to answer the question first. I’m gonna ask you, what are you looking forward to [at the Emmys]? Maybe some things you’re excited for. For me, it’s just seeing this culmination of all these things for her and just having a big moment there. I think she’s gonna own that space and I think everybody’s gonna enjoy it as well. What are you looking forward to?
Villarreal: I’m really, really excited to see my beloved Philip and Elizabeth Jennings as nominees — Matthew Rhys and Keri Russell. Not to be parasocial, but I just love that they’re both nominated. I just want a magical night for them both.
Mark Olsen: I don’t want to be a bring-down bummer here, but, you know, I find that the Emmys in particular, even more than the Oscars, kind of play favorites, and the same winners can happen again and again. It’s not as bad as it may once have been, but I’m always rooting for new blood, first-time nominees, people that it’s exciting to see them kind of get this platform. So nothing against your beloved, but I would be excited to see an underdog or somebody kind of an outsider. Say, for example, the rest of the cast of “Widow’s Bay,” which as you’ve said before, really came out of nowhere, [and] it’s become a bit of a favorite this season. And there’s some other performers there, Dale Dickey, Stephen Root, Kate O’Flynn, and I think any of them winning would be really exciting.
Villarreal: I won’t argue with that.
Washington: I was waiting on an argument.
Villarreal: We fight off camera.
Washington: And by the way, Mark, I mean, can good be good? Or great be great? If I’m great 10 years in a row, can I just be great 10 years in a row and win? You’re putting limitations on my victories.
Olsen: Yeah, but at some point, your shelf is full.
Washington: That’s true. Don’t worry about what’s going on in my mantle, all right?
That being said, we got Matthew Rhys, who you had a chance to speak to. Double nominee here, “Widow’s Bay” and “The Beast in Me.” Tell me a little bit more about your conversation.
Olsen: Just a rare double nominee, lead actor in a comedy series with “Widow’s Bay,” and then lead actor in a limited or anthology series or movie with “The Beast in Me.” And I think what’s exciting here is that these are just two very different performances. He’s this manipulative, maybe psychopathic real estate developer in “The Beast in Me,” and then this kind of harried, put-upon single dad and mayor of a small, cursed New England island in “Widow’s Bay,” and I think both of these roles show new sides of Matthew to audiences. But then when you take them together, it just feels like something else entirely.
Washington: All right, well let’s take a look. It’s M&M — Matthew and Mark — here now.
Matthew Rhys.
(Ebru Yildiz / For The Times)
Mark Olsen: For the Los Angeles Times and The Envelope, I’m Mark Olsen. I’m here today with Matthew Rhys, who is nominated for an Emmy for lead actor in a comedy series for “Widow’s Bay” [and] lead actor in a limited or anthology series [or movie] for “The Beast in Me,” and another nomination as executive producer on “Widow’s Bay.”
Matthew Rhys: I forgot about the executive producer part. It’s an exciting time.
Olsen: And now being nominated for these two performances, which are very different performances —
Rhys: [whispers] They’re not really.
Olsen: Now tell me about that. You don’t think they are?
Rhys: Look, I think I was about to speak for a number of actors and I shouldn’t. I can only speak for myself. Sometimes there’s seemingly or feels like there’s very little difference in them. I’m not, I don’t pretend to be an enormously transformative actor, hunting for the “chameleon” praise.
Olsen: But do you consider yourself versatile? It’s so interesting to me to hear you say you don’t see these roles as that different.
Rhys: I wouldn’t say I’m versatile in that chameleon-like way or transformative way, I just try to work from a place… We’re already into it.
Olsen: That’s what we’re here for.
Rhys: I know. It always makes me nauseous. I do try to live in a place that feels real to me and that what we talk about, working from your center. So when I move away from that, things start to feel insincere, so I tend not to.
Olsen: With “Widow’s Bay,” a lot of the coverage around it has been talking about how it’s been a real surprise hit. And I’m just wondering, what is it that you think that audiences are responding to?
Rhys: You know, timing is everything. I do think there was a place that was ready for “Widow’s Bay,” whereby nothing of the sort had been around for a while. You hadn’t had “Twin Peaks,” although we were kind of slightly “The Office,” “Twin Peaks,” sprinkling of “Northern Exposure” maybe, but nothing I think of that sort had been for a while. So I think people were just ready for something different, and then we’re certainly different.
Olsen: Betty Gilpin, your co-star on the show, she is also a nominee, in a recent interview said that she feels like it’s as if audiences are rejecting this idea of a really sort of safe, algorithm-approved show. And do you feel the same?
Rhys: Absolutely, and it’s wildly refreshing to know that people are going, “No, we want something different. And we are intelligent enough to deal with it. So give it to us.” And that I found very, very inspiring, very encouraging — that television and film should be pushing itself continually for that original material and not relying on remakes.
Olsen: When did you realize that the show was connecting in the way that it is? I’ve seen in some other interviews you say that even when you were shooting it, you weren’t totally sure, didn’t totally think that it would connect with people.
Rhys: No, none of us — a lot of us were like, “Are we getting the tone right? Is this right? Is this going to work?” It was a swing. It was an absolute swing. A kind of beautiful one, nonetheless. But we were all concerned — not concerned, maybe just intrigued — as to how it would be received. And it was a little bit more word of mouth. Friends were saying, “Oh, I’ve seen your show.” And then throughout my career, it’s probably the job I’ve been stopped most for. And I’m not saying that happens often. But at least twice I’ve been stopped for it. So that’s been refreshing.
Olsen: And people are really talking a lot about this mix of tones. It’s a horror-comedy that’s both very much funny and scary. What was the challenge of getting that mix right?
Rhys: Making both real, ultimately. I know that sounds very obvious and stupid, but it’s true. And also Katie Dippold spoke to this, the creator and writer, where she said she kind of thought one can almost relieve the other. When there’s incredible tension from horror, when the laugh comes in, it’s almost a big laugh because it’s the relief of being allowed to laugh. So she says sometimes that can pay off in a way. It’s much harder the other way around, but it also works the other way around where you catch an audience off guard because they’re laughing and then you hit them with horror. So I think both bizarrely can help each other.
Olsen: I’m thinking about something like the episode that’s mostly on a boat, that gets very sort of slapstick-y at moments, but then there’s still something very terrifying about what’s happening there.
Rhys: Yes, we’ve hit the nail on the head. That kind of tone I found very hard. There are these borderline farcical moments of wrestling with a man who’s 400 years old and it becoming kind of very comedic physically and yet it has to remain that there’s this element of danger or threat that’s very real and palpable. And so those are the moments you try and ground in a way so that the extreme elements can also live in a real place.
Olsen: Because you mentioned a man who’s 400 years old, the mythology of the show gets more complicated as it goes along, right up until the very last episode. Were there moments where you had to sort of step aside and ask people to explain it to you?
Rhys: No, because I think the chronology is laid out beautifully throughout the series and you’re kind of led in a way where it unfolds very organically. So I was very relieved that to be the case that there’s no kind of, “Wait, where are we? What’s, who’s this?” So that I thought was kind of beautifully executed. And because of that, because of the detail in the backstory, then the story I think pays off far greater.
Olsen: The final episode really lands it so well as far as being both funny and scary and also the way that it sets up a next season, which happily is happening. The finale promises even more murder and mayhem for Season 2. I know the writers room is already hard at work. Do you have any insights on what at least you would like to see happen?
Rhys: No, I’m desperately intrigued as to what she has in mind because I wouldn’t have the first clue as to where to start Season 2. I’m very assured that the warped mind of Katie Dippold will helm us into a giddy storm.
Olsen: One thing I have to ask about “Widow’s Bay” is simply, in preparing to play this small-town mayor who’s very concerned about tourist season, did you refer at all to maybe the most famous other small-town mayor played by Murray Hamilton in “Jaws”?
Rhys: Well, I would like to say yes because “Jaws” is an enormous favorite of mine, but he’s a very different mayor, if you look at his mayor. He’s very assured. He gets a little frustrated with Brody, but he’s not that kind of cortisol-burning, wild-eyed panic that Tom Loftis is. He is far more assured of what he should be doing for the municipality than Tom is. I even said at one point, I said, “Can we get away with the jacket, you know, the anchor jacket?” And they were like, no, because that would be too obvious.
Olsen: I like that you had the impulse.
Rhys: A lot of my performances have some reference to “Jaws,” regardless of the piece, because I’m usually Quint. So I was very upset in the boat scene you referenced when obviously myself, Stephen Root and Hamish Linklater sat around and said, OK, Stephen Root, you are obviously Quint, what does that make Hamish and myself? Who’s [Richard] Dreyfuss and who’s Roy Scheider in this? And Hamish went, “Well, I’m Dreyfuss.” I was like, “I am not Brody.” They’re like, “You’re wearing the life jacket. Of course you’re Brody!” This is the kind of thing actors talk about.
Olsen: But you weren’t happy with that?
Rhys: I’ve always wanted to be Quint. I love Brody, but my heart lies with Quint
Olsen: Now, I came to realize that “Brothers and Sisters,” it goes back 20 years now that you were on that show. And I’m just so curious, working steadily in TV for 20 years now, how has the job of being an actor on TV changed in that time?
Rhys: I don’t think it’s changed, per se. From a personal point of view, it’s been incredible to play the wide variety that I’ve been allowed to. I think the scope of television has changed wildly in 20 years and the length and breadth of the variety there is kind of remarkable at times. And sometimes you wonder if it’s sustainable. If anything, it’s offered more opportunities, I think, for actors, but the kind of core fundamentals I think are still the same.
Olsen: Do you yourself watch a lot of TV?
Rhys: Yes, yes. I never watch myself, but yes. I tend to lean towards more documentaries than anything else. Fiction, I’m always like, “Oh, that’s the day job.”
Olsen: Because I know you’ve talked a lot about your interest in boats, and is there a lot of boats-and-restoration content out there?
Rhys: What, fiction or documentary-wise?
Olsen: I wonder what your algorithm is like.
Rhys: I don’t do much with Instagram but my algorithm is generally older men showing you how to kind of spile a garboard plank next to a keel, things like that.
Olsen: And are there a lot of documentaries about boats and restoration?
Rhys: There’s a lot on YouTube, none of which really hold your attention. What I think is like, where is the kind of “Chef’s Table” of boat restoration? That’s what I’m waiting for.
Olsen: I think you maybe have to be the one to make that show.
Rhys: I might have to, but I worry about the breadth of audience we’d have there. Or how to make boat restoration interesting to the masses. Therein lies the challenge.
Olsen: Well, they say niche markets sometimes …
Rhys: You can capture a zeitgeist moment.
Olsen: With your work on television, you have a really strong track record between “Brothers and Sisters,” “The Americans,” “Perry Mason,” now with “Widow’s Bay,” and also with “The Beast in Me.” For you, what goes into choosing a role?
Rhys: This is the real luxury of having a degree of choice. It’s not always choice, but more often than not, a project comes along that I’ll read and there’ll be a number of things. I’ll be like, “Ooh, I’ve never done it.” Like “Widow’s Bay,” I read it and I went, “The scripts are fantastic and I have never done anything like this in my life.” “Beast in Me,” the same, the writing’s so strong, but also that role is something I’d never done before. And the same, obviously, for “The Americans” and “Brothers and Sisters.” So if there’s an opportunity to try something very new, to me, it’s the ultimate luxury. And so that’s been a real driving force. And strong stories, the want of knowing how it ends, just simple storytelling.
Olsen: Do you find that your instincts have changed over the years? Are you looking for the same things that you feel like you were when you were starting in television 20 years ago?
Rhys: No, not necessarily. I always wanted, if I was fortunate enough, to do something that would challenge me, that would push me, that I hadn’t done, that’d scare me, that’d make me nervous every day on set, which a lot of these projects have done. I thought that would be all that I’d want.
Olsen: Because your character in “The Beast in Me,” again, I have to come back to this idea that you think these two roles are kind of similar, because your character on “The Beast in Me” seems so self-assured, like he has a confidence that Loftis does not have.
Rhys: Yes, that is very true and it was the observation of the wealthy that kind of led me there and especially uber-wealth, where there’s a real assurance of not having to try almost because there’s no need and this innate feeling that you will absolutely get your own way and people will bend to your will purely because of wealth.
Olsen: And now playing that role, getting a little taste of that, like, is that a nice place?
Rhys: What, self-assured?
Olsen: Is that a good position to be in, that people do what you want.
Rhys: Oh, I’m sure it’s great. I’ve never tasted it. It’s something I aspire to by the hour. And being riddled with all the cliched insecurities that every other actor, when you’re playing it, you go, “God, this feels great. To not even have to try with people must be so wonderful.” I’ve no desire to kind of glean the kind of affirmation from the person I’m talking to. Almost quite the opposite.
Olsen: “Widow’s Bay” has such a big ensemble, and then in “The Beast in Me,” really most of your scenes are just you and Claire Danes in this series of escalating conversations. Did you like that distinction? For “The Beast in Me,” did you like the pared-back intimacy of those scenes that the two of you have?
Rhys: Absolutely. I think that was the big draw of the piece, these two people who are kind of, they’re like two magnets in a way, they’re so drawn, they are so repulsed, they’re kind of images of each other’s shadow self, they see so much of each other while [being] polarizingly different. That to me was part of the great draw of that piece, with these two people and how they connected or seemingly didn’t.
Olsen: I don’t think you’ve worked with Claire Danes before?
Rhys: Prior to that, no.
Olsen: Because just in a practical sense, what is it like for two actors when you have so many of your scenes together? Like you sort of have to feel out not only how the characters are, but also how you as performers, as work colleagues, get through the day. What is that process like?
Rhys: I mean, look, with Claire, having known and watched her body of work, [I knew] she’s like a powerhouse and kind of brings that to set. And from day one of rehearsals, I kind of sat up and went, “Oh God, right, come on, let’s focus here,” because she has that laser that is on a switch. And when it’s switched, it’s on. And woe betide you if you haven’t prepared as well as she has. So that was very quick. The ascent of going, “Right, yes, A-game at all times, please.” Which is fantastic. It’s everything you want in a scene partner. It’s someone who kind of scares you and kind of raises your game and demands, you know, a kind of a better tennis game, although I’ve never played tennis. I’m sure it’s great.
Olsen: Do you feel like you’re that kind of actor too?
Rhys: No. I’m the one making fart jokes and then kind of going, “Will you concentrate?” I don’t think I have that kind of prowess, that kind of switch [that] is so alarmingly kind of night and day. I creak into it.
Olsen: Because there’s an intensity to your performance here. I mean, it goes big at times, there’s the “Psycho Killer” dance —
Rhys: The Achilles’ heel. I begged them to remove that scene because anywhere I see the scene direction “He dances” or “[Character] dances,” I can taste the vomit in my own mouth.
Olsen: And now did you choreograph that ahead of time?
Rhys: Nope, I just went for it. In fact a very charming woman came up to me on the street and she goes, “I love ‘The Beast in Me’ and I loved how camp your dancing was.” And I went, “Oh, it wasn’t meant to be necessarily camp.” Well, clearly it was to her. And also playing drunk, drunk and dancing, I was like, “Oh, some vicious planets are aligning.”
Olsen: And do you have a trick to drunk acting?
Rhys: Yes, I get drunk. It’s a very simple trick that most actors overlook. You just drink and then you’re drunk. The only time I venture into Method acting.
Olsen: But then about how many takes do you have in you?
Rhys: Two. No, no, I didn’t get drunk. I got tipsy. No, no it’s very different. It’s hard, it’s hard. That’s always a hard one because also we shot that over the entire day. So it started at like 8 a.m.And to be perfectly honest, sometimes you’ll do a take and it’s like, the drunk acting is too apparent. Let’s bring it back. Claire Danes nailed drunk acting from take one. And I was like, god— it! I mean, she’s done it again.
Olsen: And then also the chicken scene, how many chickens did you have to eat?
Rhys: I come into my own. Eating on screen is not and never has been a problem for me. I will take down any amount of food and I will not ask for a spit bucket. They were like, “Oh, we have a spit bucket.” I think, “No, I’m not spitting up perfectly good chicken” — and it was really good chicken. I think I went through about three chickens. What I loved about that scene, and this is what I love about all good writing, is when a brief element, usually it’s wordless, can say so much about a character or what the character is trying to do to the person in the room through a very simple action. So I loved that from what it did in that moment. He’s doing it overtly to try and intimidate her. It’s something which says so much about him and the way he does it, I thought it was an incredibly beautiful and shrewd piece of writing.
Olsen: Over the course of the series, how did you modulate how crazy to seem?
Rhys: Because it’s kind of present from the get-go. And that was a heavy reliance on the directors. We had some incredible directors on that. Antonio Campos, who kind of began and ended us, we had a little bit of a dial, and he was like, “Bring it back a bit” or “I think it needs a little more.” He was very good at truly kind of conducting in that moment. And we had the luxury of being able to do a few takes where he’s like, “Bring it up a bit” or, “OK, that’s good, let’s take it down a bit.”
Olsen: Were you happy with how that ended up?
Rhys: I don’t watch it. I haven’t watched myself in about 10 years. I get stuck on the wrong things. I become too concerned about the way I use my hands or how strange my walk is or the weird kind of idiosyncrasy of my mouth. So then when I’m doing it next, I’m like, “I am not going to do anything with my hands and I’m going to change my walk.” And then the director is like, “What is wrong with your walk and why are you sitting on your hands?” So I tend not to watch myself.
Olsen: You said 10 years ago. Did something really make you be like, “I’m not doing that anymore?”
Rhys: In fairness, it was more than 10 years ago. It was “Brothers and Sisters.” I started watching that and I was like, “Oh my God. Why has no one said anything? Look at my posture.” And then you become obsessed with sitting with better posture. And then everyone’s like, “Why are you sitting weirdly?” I was never clever enough to take from it a kind of positive critical foundation. I was taking the wrong things, usually physically attributed, that would get in my head when I was acting. And then that’s all I could think about while I was doing it, and I was on a road to ruin.
Olsen: So often you’re doing an American accent or a voice that is not your own and I know for myself I feel like I wouldn’t be able to think about anything but that, that’s all I would be able think about while I was performing.
Rhys: The accent is strange because I think in one way such an enormous part of my head is always working on the next sound to come out of my mouth. I think it stops you in a way from kind of acting, if that makes sense. It takes the self-conscious element out of you because you’re so busy working on something else. My acting teacher from drama school would always say, “Give yourself something to do to stop yourself acting.” It’s like you’re spending so much time thinking about the way you sound, it can relax you in a different way because you’re not thinking about acting.
Olsen: And then is it also a big challenge for you to try to make different American accents? How hard is it for you to do those different American sounds?
Rhys: It depends on the accent. I mean, sometimes the more extreme sounds are easier to hook into, like, you know, the Southern states or Boston or New York. Then you get, you know, California’s kind of softer, so it’s harder. It doesn’t have that extreme hook to find. And then there are just simply words in the American dialect that can take me down, like “murderer” or “world,” sometimes “girl” is tricky. But “murderer.” Which is unfortunate, because I played lawyers, spies who kill people. I’ve had to say it a lot. So I always go, “Can I say ‘killer’?” I just sound like I run out of battery.
Olsen: Do you find that living in America, has it helped you?
Rhys: Oh, without question, because going into a job, a couple of weeks before, I’ll be doing it — not at home, because it drives the kids crazy. They’re like, “He sounds so fake.” And then they’re like “Oh, here he is, he’s doing that again.” I’m like, “I’m not Dick Van Dyke, so I don’t know who you’re impersonating.” So yeah, you can go into the bodega and pretend to be American.
Olsen: On the day that Emmy nominations were announced, you did an interview with my colleague, Yvonne Villarreal, and you told her that you were meeting your partner, Keri Russell, also an Emmy nominee, at a mystery location. Would you mind completing that story? Where did you go?
Rhys: We went to the U.N. No, we didn’t, but I wish I could say that. We went to the Armory in New York with, oh God, I can’t remember the name of the exhibition. It was an incredible exhibition where three enormous tanks of water were filled with water and ceramic bowls and a current was introduced and then these ceramic bowls would clank into each other to make different noises in this incredible space. It was wondrous. Now, if the artist, for some unknown reason, watches this and goes, “I can’t believe he didn’t remember my name or the name of the exhibition,” I apologize profusely. But it was incredible.
Olsen: That sounds like a great way to spend the day.
Rhys: Yeah, it was. It was fantastic. And then we had a great dinner and celebrated and said, you know, “This is the high point, it’s downhill from here on out.”
Olsen: Well, the two of you were recently referred to as television’s first couple.
Rhys: I said that.
Olsen: And I’m wondering, I can only imagine you don’t walk around thinking of yourself —
Rhys: Oh, no, I do. I have a badge and a T-shirt, but no one believes me.
Olsen: But what does that make you think of when you hear yourselves referred to in that way?
Rhys: It kind of makes me laugh. You go, “Oh, God.” And also — and I hate to sound like I’m some bitter old fool, but I am — we’ve done it a long time. We’re of a certain age. You kind of know tomorrow there’s another first couple. So you go, “We’re today’s first couple, and it’s great. And we’ll take it and we’ll enjoy it.”
Olsen: Do you find, especially in the way that your personal and professional lives are intertwined, is it good that you have each other to keep yourselves in check?
Rhys: Yes, it also helps that you have a partner that fully understands what you do, because it’s a mad circus life and sometimes, you know, it’s hard, I think, for partners who don’t quite understand how crazy it is. So it is great in that respect that you fully understand what the other one is doing.
Olsen: And is that also part of where your interest in boats comes from? Is it something that’s totally separate?
Rhys: So she could kick me out of the house is why she bought me the boat.
Olsen: There’s something just totally separate from your work life.
Rhys: Absolutely, absolutely. And it’s something so other. … Opinions can vary so wildly, you know, critics can contradict each other in certain criticisms. The kind of more simple aspect, especially when I was restoring the boat, was that it felt a lot purer and simpler. That you can, at the end of the day, you look back at this piece of wood you’d be working on and go, “There we are, I did that.” And there’s no one saying, “Well, you could have done it this way.” You know what I mean? I always enjoyed the satisfaction it gave me in that sense.
Olsen: Wait, how many boats do you have?
Rhys: I only have one. She’s for sale, if anyone’s interested.
Olsen: Do you want to now find another boat to do this all over again?
Rhys: I don’t, because my wrists have given up. It was much harder than I thought it was going to be. It was an incredible journey, and it was kind of inspired by Hemingway, in a way, it was the same class of boat that he had. So I had all these giddy, kind of rose-tinted romantic notions of what I was doing until I was knee-deep in fiberglass, going, “Why did I think this was a good idea?”
