A Series of Unfortunate Events’: Neil Patrick
Harris on Playing Four Roles as One Villain and Why He Had to Watch Jim
Carrey’s Take
When Neil Patrick Harris signed up for “A Series of
Unfortunate Events,” he knew it was going to be a challenge. But what he’s done
with his character, Count Olaf, goes beyond the typical trials associated with
a tough role. It’s a feat best summed up by his director.
“Neil Patrick Harris as Count Olaf is extraordinary,” Barry
Sonnenfeld said, while listing his favorite things about the series. “Whether
he’s Shirley, Count Olaf, Captain Sham, or Stephano, he’s extraordinary. He
should be nominated for four different Emmy awards for each one of his roles.
He’s that good. And yet underneath it, no matter who he’s playing, you see
Olaf. It’s an amazing performance.”
In the new Netflix series, Harris, as Count Olaf, is the
overarching villain of the series who’s dead set on stealing the Baudelaire
children’s fortune. When he’s not scheming against the newly orphaned kids,
Olaf is an amateur actor who thinks he’s one of the greats. He’s not, but none
of his henchmen, “friends,” and theater troupe members are willing to tell him.
So, when he’s exposed as a generally bad man, he tries to disguise himself in
various costumes, pairing each with a new voice and personality — Stephano,
Shirley, and Captain Sham — to get back into the children’s lives and steal
their inheritance.
“It was pitched to me
as Netflix’s first four-quadrant show,” Harris said, speaking to IndieWire last
August on the show’s Vancouver set. “Meaning, they were wanting to get as
many demographics as they could; to be respectful of the people who read the
books when they were younger, but also to encourage young people now to watch
it. I was intrigued by that idea.”
Harris, who had never read the books, immediately did so and
was struck by how dark they really were. “[Olaf] doesn’t put air quotes around
‘getting rid of the children’ to get their family fortune,” Harris said. “He
will dig a pit and toss their live bodies in it, if need be.”
Harris also watched the 2004 film version of “A Series of
Unfortunate Events,” even though he was told not to.
“I was encouraged to not watch the movie,” Harris said. “But I
watched it anyway. [laughs] I try not to act with blinders on: I’m very
interested in getting as much information as I can get. […] A lot of times good
actors make good choices, and so you think, ‘That’s a good choice. That’s the
right choice. I’ll go in that direction.’ So I wanted to see what Jim had done
just so that I didn’t inadvertently do exactly the same thing. But I was very
conscious of watching it and not doing the opposite, which was, ‘I’m not going
to do anything that he did, and I’m going to now do something completely
different.’ I just wanted to stay focused on what the material is. It’s Jim
Carrey. He’s a fantastic and hilarious actor, and he brings his own whole
flavor to it, but ours is much darker.”
Before signing on, Harris spoke with Sonnenfeld about how
the series would address his primary character.
“I sat down with Barry — who came to our brownstone in New
York and sat on the couch with his big booklet of images of the sets — so that
I could see the visual palette of what it was. It was mostly of Episode 2,
which is Olaf’s mansion. It was so dark: almost broken-down staircases, very
Disney’s Haunted Mansion, in a way; that cobwebby, dark vibe. So when I knew
his take was darker — more in ‘Edward Scissorhands’ land than ‘Alvin and the
Chipmunk’-ville — that made me more excited.”
Then came the real work: Cracking not only Olaf, but each of
the characters Olaf played. “[The books are] super descriptive about how
they looked,” Harris said. “I tended [to think] more as a director than an
actor, to be honest, because I tried to plot them over the course of the
season. I didn’t want it to seem like I was replicating voices.”
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