Apple TV+’s newest miniseries to watch is the streamer’s upcoming psychological crime drama. Crowded room. Being on a publicity trail, a star Tom Hollandwho is serving as the show’s producer for the first time, spoke to Collider’s Steve Weintraub about his involvement with the material and what his experience behind the camera was like. “I’m so proud of this project,” he tells us during this spoiler-free discussion, which you can watch or read below, and goes on to praise his ensemble of colleagues, including Amanda Seyfried And Emmy Rossum.
Adapted and Executive Produced by Director Akiva Goldsman from the novel Daniel Keyes, Crowded room tells the story of Danny Sullivan (Holland), a troubled young man who becomes entangled in a series of life-changing felony crimes. As for the series, Holland tells us that its concept and style strike “the perfect balance with a show that evokes nostalgia for the 1970s while also being incredibly unique and unlike any TV show that has ever come before it.” He does this by revealing a mind-blowing story through an interview with investigator Ria Goodwin (Seyfried). Crowded room also features Sasha Lane, Will Chase, Thomas SadoskiAnd Lior Raz.
Holland discusses the challenges of balancing the title role and his duties as a producer on the series, admitting that it was a lot of work, but the experience was “very rewarding”. We learn what these duties included and how the series developed in the editing room during their “giant sessions”. Read on and check Crowded room Exclusive to Apple TV+, premieres June 9th.
COLLIDER: I watched the whole series and I really want to congratulate. I think you did a great job in this role.
TOM HOLLAND: I appreciate it, thanks Steve.
You’ve done some really cool stuff in your career and maybe it’s because of this project, but I’m curious if anyone has ever seen anything you’ve done, what would you like them to see first queue and why?
HOLLAND: Honestly, it would Crowded room. I’m so proud of this project, I’m so proud of what everyone has achieved. I think we’ve struck the perfect balance for a show that is nostalgic for the 1970s, yet incredibly unique and unlike any TV show that has ever come before it. I have to produce it, I have to star in it. I am incredibly proud of my work. I take pride in everyone’s work. I think the show is really fantastic, I think it’s exciting. So if I had to point out to anyone any part of the work I did, it would be Crowded room.
One of the things about this project is that you mentioned that you are a producer, a main actor and a difficult role that you really have to give your all; what is it like at the end of the day when you’re filming a few intense scenes and then you have to put on your producer’s hat and try to find Tom again before returning to the set the next day?
HOLLAND: I mean, yes, you’re right. This is a complex issue and I have not taken this new responsibility lightly, I have been very involved. I was very practical. I wanted to be as involved as they let me be, and it was difficult, it required a lot of concentration. This meant that my days were longer and my nights were shorter and it was hard but it was so rewarding. I really think I made my mark on this show. I’m proud of what I’ve done as a producer, I’m proud of what I’ve stood for and I’m just really happy that the fans will see it.
I want to ask a specific question; as a producer, what did you see during the making of the show that you thought, “Oh, we need to do this,” and kind of put your producer hat on to make sure it happened?
HOLLAND: Good question. I mean, there are a lot of things, we re-shot the episodes on my request, we changed some aspects of the episodes on request. I was very involved in editing with Akiva. [Goldsman] and our wonderful editors. Weekly we would sit down and have these giant sessions where we would go through the episodes. I would like to keep that to myself because the show is part of the magic and it shouldn’t be about whose decision was that and whose decision was that? But I know what it is and I’m really proud of it.
What is it like when you are in the cutting room? You literally evaluate your performance, you know what I mean? You look at your work and maybe you have the opportunity to say to the director, “I think it’s better to take two.” Where is this line?
HOLLAND: That’s interesting. I feel like I wasn’t the best judge of character when it came to my own game. I think Akiva and our editors have done an amazing job of coming up with the best I could come up with. I really enjoyed figuring out how we can manipulate history so that the evolution of the show keeps changing. Even when we edited it, we moved episodes; Episode 1 became Episode 5, Episode 5 became Episode 1, and we’ve been constantly adapting the show. So I guess I didn’t have much influence on my performance, I trusted them. Several times I said: “Can I watch a few takes?” And we changed a few things, but overall I believed they were doing the right thing, and I really believe they did.
Crowded room premieres on Apple TV+ on June 9th. Check out Collider for more cast interviews.
Source: Collider
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