The Many Faces of Damon Herriman

Culture

14 May

The Adelaide-born character actor discusses playing Charles Manson (twice), his role on Justified and his excitement surrounding being part of the upcoming production of ART

Damon Herriman has spent the past two decades making a name for himself as one of the great character actors in Hollywood. From serial killers to hapless criminals, Herriman has quietly built a career taking roles audiences love to hate.

After years cast as the nerdy friend, Herriman’s unsettling turn in the 2005 horror remake House of Wax opened the door to Hollywood. He’s gone on to portray a rogues’ gallery of horrifying characters, including real-life child kidnapper Bruno Hauptmann in J. Edgar, the misogynist Sergeant Ruse in The Nightingale and smarmy crime boss Freddie in the hit Australian TV series Mr Inbetween. And who can forget his captivating performance as Charles Manson, not once, but twice, in David Fincher’s serial killer procedural Mindhunter and Quentin Tarantino’s epic Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood.

“I played nice guys for so long. I was quite happy to make the shift until I got to doing Charles Manson twice. And then I was like, ‘Okay, now we can pull back. This is getting ridiculous’,” Herriman confides with a laugh over the phone from his Sydney home. Not that he regrets the decision, explaining how he enjoyed the opportunity to play one of history’s most notorious criminals for two directors he admires greatly.

“They’re totally different. The Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood character is a bit of a doofus. That version of Charlie had a level of comedy under it, whereas the one in Mindhunter is deadly serious. There’s a tonal difference. It [was] an incredible opportunity, especially because you're getting to play the same character 11 years apart. I also kind of like the idea there wouldn't be another actor that I'd be getting compared with.”

Herriman couldn’t be further from the disturbed characters he portrays on screen. Warm, funny and quick with a laugh, he speaks thoughtfully about his career and achievements. Born in Adelaide, Herriman spent part of his childhood in Alice Springs before growing up in Vale Park. Introduced to acting by his father, he began appearing in commercials before landing the plum role of Frank Errol in the long-running Australian drama The Sullivans.

One of the few active child actors in Australia during the ‘70s, there was no shortage of work, although a career in the film industry wasn’t something Herriman aspired to. “I never thought I was going to keep doing it,” he says. “I remember as a kid having a fantasy of working in America. But I never thought that would happen. I thought [it] was a fun hobby. I'll go to high school and study, and I'll get a proper job. I got to the end of high school and went, ‘I don't know what to do’.”

Herriman has spoken of wanting to be a vet or a policeman during his time in high school, but after graduating, he found himself unsure of his place in the world. Seeking fresh pastures, he followed his father to Sydney, where he got a job working alongside him in insurance. But the acting bug returned, and Herriman began auditioning again. Just over a year after making the move, Herriman landed his first major film role alongside emerging stars Ben Mendelsohn and Claudia Karvan in the Australian cult classic The Big Steal.

He was 19 at the time, and the film’s success had many on the outside convinced stardom was imminent. But things didn’t pan out that way. Although Herriman continued to score small roles in local TV shows and movies, along with finding his feet in the world of theatre, he found himself typecast as the “clean-cut guy with glasses”, unable to land roles of substance.

Deciding he needed to shake things up, Herriman headed to America at the turn of the century after winning a green card in the annual lottery. He found the experience difficult and struggled to find work, returning home disappointed but undeterred. Continuing to build his portfolio, he took to writing and starring in several well-received short films, going on to win Best Screenplay at Flickerfest 2004 for his short film Soar. Not long after, he got his next break when he was granted an audition for House of Wax.

An American production shot in Queensland, Herriman tried out for the role of Lester Sinclair, who he describes as a “dirty, inbred kind of Southern hick character.” He believes he won the role because it was House of Wax director Jaume Collet-Serra’s first film, and he had never seen Herriman act in anything else. “He had no preconception of me, and I think that helped me get that role.”

His performance didn’t go unnoticed, and Hollywood soon came calling. Herriman’s biggest breakthrough role was Dewey Crowe on the neo-western crime thriller Justified. Based on Elmore Leonard’s stories about US Marshall Raylan Givens (Timothy Olyphant), the show was a critical success that also starred character actor turned leading man Walton Goggins.

Dewey Crowe is a bumbling Southern criminal who continually falls afoul of Raylan throughout the series. Herriman calls Dewey his favourite character he’s ever played. It’s hard to believe for those who have watched the show, but he was only meant to have a guest spot in the pilot. When the show got picked up, Dewey became a fan favourite and a recurring character across Justified’s six-season run.

“I was never contracted to that show,” Herriman reveals. “[Producers would call] and ask, ‘Are you available? We're thinking of having Dewey in season three’. I was always wanting to be available. I never wanted to miss out on playing that role. It was too much fun, and the writing just got more and more suited to the character. It was one of those things where the writers are watching the actor and the actors watching the writing, [they] go hand in hand, creating a character together. If you look at the first episode of Justified, Dewey's just a guy; he's not fully formed. I feel like that doesn't happen for a couple of seasons where we sort of, in an unspoken way, the writer and the actor form this character together, and then you sort of go, ‘Okay, now we know who he is.’ Then they started really writing the funny stuff, and goodness, it was a lot of fun.”

This collaborative experience of creating a character with the writers also applies to his work on Mr Inbetween. Widely regarded as one of the best Australian dramas of the past two decades, the dark comedy revolves around Ray Shoesmith (Scott Ryan), a divorced hitman struggling to balance his criminal activities with looking after his daughter and his terminally ill brother. Herriman plays Freddy, Ray’s charming yet sleazy boss who farms out his dirty work to Ray. He was attracted to the project for two reasons: Scott Ryan’s writing and Nash Edgerton’s directing.

“We had known each other for about 20 years at that point,” Herriman says enthusiastically of Nash. “I knew that whatever Nash touched turned to gold. He's so good at what he does. I'd seen Scott’s short film and The Magician, so I knew how talented he was.”

Did he have any inkling how successful the show would become?

“I had no idea. It's really become quite a slow burn. I say often that the show required three elements for it to work as well as it did: Nash directing it, Scott writing it and Scott playing the lead role. If you removed any one of those, it just wouldn't be the same. We really did create a sort of magic in a bottle with that combination. It’s probably the thing people mention to me most.”

His success in America has meant Herriman has had the opportunity to work with some of the best directors on the planet, including the aforementioned Tarantino, whom he calls “charming” and “full of energy”, Gore Verbinski, Jeff Nichols, Andrew Dominic and the legendary Clint Eastwood, a man he claims makes you “absolutely focused” when on set.

Known for his one-take style of directing, Herriman found Eastwood’s process stimulating. “I went in knowing that, so I just made sure I knew my lines really well and was prepared that the first time we're doing it might be the only time,” he says.

“What's also interesting [is] he doesn't really give any direction. I think he famously casts people who he wants for the role, and then pretty much lets them do it as they would see fit, which, in a way, took the pressure off a little bit. It was a really pleasant experience. He's a lovely man, very quiet. That was the first time where I was genuinely pinching myself, thinking, ‘I can't believe this’.”

After years appearing in film and television, Herriman returns to the stage this year in a new production of French playwright Yasmina Reza’s award-winning ART. Directed by Lew, the play revolves around three friends who get into it when one of them buys a ridiculously expensive painting, and the other two don’t agree with spending that much on one piece of art. Exploring themes of friendship, honesty and good taste, it’s a riotous comedy that marks Herriman’s first theatre production in a decade, although he didn’t plan to stay away from treading the boards for that long.

“I wasn't ever actively avoiding theatre. It's just that there were film and TV opportunities that started coming along that were too good to pass up,” he explains. “I was always open to a play coming along, but the tricky thing with a play is often you've got to sign up to it really far in advance. And I was always thinking, ‘Well, unless I really, really want to do it, I'll hold off’, because I don't want to miss out on some amazing film or TV thing. And when ART came along, it was just too many perfect things that all lined up together.”

Herriman calls ART “brilliant” and says he is excited to get on stage night after night and perform alongside good mates Richard Roxburgh and Toby Schmitz. “Richard, I probably met 15 years ago. So, you know, when you're playing friends, it helps to not be complete strangers. You've already got a shorthand in the way you behave around each other and a shared history of sorts. That definitely helps when you get to performing the play.”

As an Adelaide lad, he’s quite thrilled to bring ART to Her Majesty’s Theatre in May and perform in front of his family and friends. Although Herriman visits every Christmas, he hasn’t acted in a theatre production in his hometown since he was in his 20s, saying he is “super excited to do it at home.”

Speaking with Herriman, it’s hard not to be buoyed by his infectious personality. Whether spouting the praises of his Justified co-stars or talking about playing against an animated chimp in the Robbie Williams biopic Better Man (“I was excited by it because I knew that Michael Gracie, the director, was an absolute genius”), it’s easy to tell Herriman is enjoying the ride and taking nothing for granted.

“I'd love to work with Martin Scorsese, Meryl Streep and all that sort of stuff,” he confides. “But I'm also totally fine if it just moseys along in the same general way it has been. If this is the pinnacle, it's already beyond any wildest dreams.”

Catch Damon Herriman, Richard Roxburgh and Toby Schmitz in ART at Her Majesty’s Theatre 20–24 May. Tickets on sale at adelaidefestivalcentre.com.au.