With his velvet growl and his predilection for portraying villainy,Patrick Pageis hitting his stride.
Now, at 60, he’s working more than ever.
“I dreamt about it for a long time.
Patrick Page on ‘Spirited’ red carpet.Netflix
In my life, I wanted to be involved in something likeSchmicago.
And I’d wanted to be in a major period television show.
What appeals to you about exploring all of these baddies?
Patrick Page as Hades in ‘Hadestown’ on Broadway.
PATRICK PAGE:There’s probably a couple of reasons I get asked to do it a lot.
One has to do with physiognomy and my voice and so on.
But the other would probably have to do with the fact that I never think of them as villains.
Patrick Page as King Lear.
But the rest of the people that I play, I look for what’s broken in them.
I look for the accident, the place where they made the wrong turn.
Because we can all make a wrong turn.
Patrick Page as Octavius Kratt on ‘Schmigadoon!'.Robert Falconer/Apple TV+
That’s what interests me about playing them.
Is it because we like to think of villains as people with deep voices for some reason?
People worry about actors getting typecast, and I suppose it can be a concern.
For me, it’s wonderful to have a niche, so that when something likeSchmigadoon.
comes up, someone as gifted and prolific as Cinco Paul will think of me for that role.
And that’s swell.
You mentioned thatLearis something you’ve wanted to do for a while.
How long and why was now the right time?
I studiedLearfirst in college, in undergraduate.
I played Lear when I was 22 at Whitman College.
I had played smaller parts in Shakespeare.
And it just blew me away.
I’ve found a whole new understanding and a new respect for it and love.
SinceSuccessionpremiered, there’s been so much talk ofKing Lear.Was that at all a reference point for you?
The show, of course, is based on King Lear, not the other way around.
People will say, ‘Oh,King Learreminds me ofSuccession, and I’ll go, “Really?
MaybeSuccessionreminds you ofKing Lear.”
So, I do think it’s an influence for me.
The actors are so skilled.
I do think it sets a bar that we can all aspire to, including in our classical work.
What have you learned about yourself in playing Lear?
How tenacious my ego is.
No matter how selfless I’ve tried to become, just how persistent my ego is.
And can you be okay with that?
You’ve also been very honest on social media and in interviews about your mental health.
Does taking on a role like this create extra obstacles or challenges?
Do you have to put certain things in place to see to it that doesn’t happen?
I felt it was actually therapeutic.
I was fearful that it might be triggering of my depression or my anxiety.
Switching toSchmigadoon,tell me more about playing in the world ofSchmicago.
It was just so wonderful.
First of all, to be surrounded by the people that I was surrounded with.
I’m just a fanboy on the set.
This is heaven for a theater kid like me, who grew up listening to cast albums.
Then there’s the material itself, all of the little references that you get to play with.
It was joy in every way.
Is it difficult straddling that line of satire of musical theater and genuinely playing the thing?
It’s so funny, isn’t it?
Because I’ve had someone say, ‘Oh, Kratt is just basically Hades.’
And I’m like, ‘Oh, I hope not.’
I hope I wasn’t quite that pompous and selfless as Hades but maybe I was.
There’s a very fine line between playing an archetype and playing a caricature.
All things point to Octavius Kratt being the villain of the season.
Cinco’s a very clever writer.
He could end up being a lovely guy at the end.
Can you put my “yes” in bold caps?
You’ve wrapped production on season 2 ofThe Gilded Age.Can you tease it at all?
You get to know Richard Clay a a bit better.
He starts moving from the background into the picture.
The relationship with George Russell (Morgan Spector) starts to come more into focus.
That will interest people a lot.
It’s a world I want to step into.
