On Tuesday, July 14, The Knockturnal got the chance to speak to the cast of the new FX show, “Sex&Drugs&Rock&Roll.” The show is created by Denis Leary. The cast includes Denis Leary, Elizabeth, John Corbett, Elaine Hendrix, Robert Kelly, John Ales, and Josh Pais.
Elizabeth Gillies (Gigi)
What are you wearing?
I didn’t make this dress, I’m not Cinderella. It’s an Australian designer, Finder’s Keepers.
What drew you to the role?
I get a lot of scripts for girls my age that are of the girl next door or somebody losing their virginity for the first time, all these cliché roles. There’s nothing wrong with them but I wanted something a bit more grown up. So originally this character is supposed to be 25 and it’s written beyond her years. I feel like I have an old soul so it was a match made in heaven for me. I felt like I was reading myself off the page. For me it was a dream. We sang live on this show, when does that happen.
What were your favorite parts of filming?
The live performances were really incredible. Joan Jett came on our show; I mean that had to be in the top three coolest moments if not the top one. Yeah just getting to perform, playing pretend rock stars in a group of extras and performing real concerts in these big venues was fun. When do you get to do that?
How did you prepare for the singing scenes?
I though that I would try to take care of my voice. Day one in the studio, Denis wanted me to give Janis Joplin screams. So I realized that this was not going to be like doing Broadway. I just came ready to go. Denis liked to drop scripts and do a lot of improv and you had to come ready for anything.
Who are your favorite bands?
I’m a big Beatles fan. I love Zeppelin, Joni Mitchell, and the Alabama Shakes right now, they’re killer. My music spans so far beyond; I like 70’s rock music and jazz.
Any fun moments from filming?
Everyday with these guys is fun. Even when we’re fighting it’s fun, I love it.
Elaine Hendrix (Ava)
What drew you to the role?
Denis Leary drew me to the role. Any chance to work with him, I’m going to jump at. It’s a dream. As an actor, you don’t always get the chance to be sexy and smart and funny and get to sing. The list goes on and on and Denis is like bring it, bring everything you got. A lot people in Hollywood, men included, don’t know how to write that, much less allow women to do that. Denis actually champions that and that’s why I love working with him.
What were your favorite moments from set?
Well first of all, anytime we’re all together on screen, to me it’s when we’re the most dynamic. As a group, we really do love each other and have so much fun and it translates. As soon as we’re done for the day, we’re all still hanging out with each other; so it’s 24/7 for us. Aside for that, my favorite moments are when Denis and I are in our bedroom together because that’s really where you see the history, love, and commitment that we have.
How would you say you relate to your character?
I relate to her in terms of I like to think of myself as strong, smart, sexy, and funny. It’s certainly who I strive to be in my real life and to be able to take that to work, I love it.
Any favorite rock bands? What do you listen to?
I am originally from Tennessee, so I’m a Southern and classic rock gal. But I also grew up on country and blue grass. I like anything within that world that has a blue feel to it. For my champion song, I’m going to turn on some old fashion Journey, “Don’t Stop Believing,” you can’t go wrong with it.
Denis Leary (Creator, Johnny Rock)
Whose the trouble maker on set?
My character is the most troubled of the characters, but I’m not the actual trouble maker. The real trouble maker is John Corbett, he’s a practical joker.
How was it like working with him?
I had known John before, but I hadn’t worked with him. I liked him as an actor. Robert Kelly who plays Bam Bam is a guy I’ve hired before on a job, I used him on a pilot that I did for FX that was never picked up I wrote the part of him in mind.
What drew you to this role?
Well I have a lot of friends who are not famous rock musicians. I had exposure to a lot of bands who didn’t make and I thought it was really funny to tell that story.
What are you listening to right now?
Right now, I’m listening to the new Janet Jackson single, which is amazing, I think it’s one of the best things she’s ever done. Courtney Barnett, I love her. Tame has this new song called, “’Cause I Am a Man”, which I’ve been playing non-stop. Those are like my three go to artists right now.
How did you prep for your role?
I had a lot of musicians around me. Friends of mine had a lot of experience with the rock & roll world. So I got a lot of advice for stage performances. For the rest of the stuff, I felt that I knew that kind of ego.
Josh Pais
What drew you to the role?
Well Denis wrote it for me. He just wrote something so funny and edgy. It’s like everything he writes is just so easy to say and it has comedic timing built into it. Denis and I worked together on The Job and Rescue Me. It was a total blast, the cast is awesome, Denis is awesome.
How was it like working with everyone?
It was like a bunch of actors who had their own TV show. We could just try stuff, it was very creative; we could come up with stuff and improvise. It was a very creative and playful experience. Anytime it would get too serious, Denis would do something to completely shake it up. It was a very creative and spontaneous environment.
Any examples of scenes that were improvised?
There is a section where Denis’ character is having a photo shoot and he’s very uptight. So I was improvising and saying “Look as if you’re in a sand storm” and have that distant stare. Then he would close his eyes and I said, “Don’t squint, it makes you look old.” So just stuff like that and that’s in that episode with the photo shoot.
What are you listening to right now?
Nicholas Jarr is one of my favorite bands right now.
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The show premieres July 16 on FX at 10 PM.