Murray Bartlett, who received our hearts as Armond in The White Lotus, and as Frank in The Last of Us, performs Gareth in Maulik Pancholy’s comedy podcast, Murder at the Patel Motel. He additionally seems as the disgraced puppeteer, Brian, in Season Two of Nine Perfect Strangers.
“They’re similar, in a way,” says Murray over a video name from Cape Cod, Massachusetts, USA. “Both have a mystery at the centre of it. The difference with Nine Perfect Strangers is we got to be in amazing locations in Germany and Austria, with a wonderful cast of people that I got to work with in person.”
Past traumas
Both characters, the 54-year-old actor stated, are coping with trauma from the previous that holds them again. “They both have to be backed into a corner before they reveal themselves. It is not easy for them to face or talk about it or be vulnerable around.”
The absence of visuals is each liberating and difficult, in response to Murray. “It feels uncomplicated to have one sense to hone in and focus on. There are fewer distractions. It gives you a strong focal point. It’s an interesting process where you’ve only got the audio so you become ultra aware of how you can play with that in interesting ways to tell the story.”
With a look
There are some scenes, Murray says, which you want you could possibly simply do with a look. “You have to find a way to do it with sound. It’s a double-edged sword, it is a challenge, but it also makes you creative. There’s something thrilling about that.”
Voicing a character in an audio-only format requires a comparable strategy to his work in tv or movie, Murray says. “There are certain subtleties that you can do visually without saying things that you can’t use in audio. You have to make sure you’re getting the character and the story across effectively through audio.”
Murray Bartlett with Nick Offerman in a nonetheless from ‘The Last of Us’
| Photo Credit:
HBO
Rich world
The world of audio is so wealthy as of late with podcasts and audiobooks, Murray says. “It’s an exciting genre to step into. We are now used to listening to content in the way that we used to listen to radio plays. I was familiar with the genre and how you can bring subtlety into audio in a way that you might when working on film and television visually. Murder at the Patel Motel is comedy, so you can be a little broader, and play with sound in a comedic way.”
Having recognized Maulik for a very long time, Murray instantly stated sure to taking part in Gareth, Maulik’s character, Milan’s, companion. “I love the idea of this small town in Montana where there’s this Indian American family, and the kind of world that surrounds them. Maulik told me about this network of Indian American families who run motels around the Midwest of America, which I was unaware of.”
Grounded in actuality
Comedy is difficult correctly grounded in actuality, Murray feedback. “You don’t want it to be totally untethered. This show has a definite reality to it, and there are some poignant moments. As an actor, you want to have fun with the comedy, while making sure that these feel like actual characters, with moments of reflection, poignancy and connection.”
Murray says the solid did totally different takes and variations of sure scenes. “When they were editing, they had some choices to get that balance of comedy, drama and mystery right.”
Occasional improvisations
While the solid largely caught to the script, Murray says there was improvisation too. “With audio work, you don’t work with the other actors. I was lucky, because Maulik was leading this project and was in all the recording sessions. We were reading the scenes together in real time. He encouraged improvisation when it felt right. We did the scenes as scripted, but then would do takes where we play around.”
There are scenes the place it made sense to improvise, Murray says. “With 10 episodes, the recording sessions were long, and once you start to settle into the character, you get a sense of what else you might be able to offer as the character. Maulik was collaborative and encouraged us to stay with the script to make sure that we were telling the story properly, but also to inhabit our characters and play with it.”
Close to residence
The podcast touches on themes of id, household and returning residence, all of which resonated with Murray. “No matter where a story is culturally, environmentally, or geographically, there are universal things about family that we can all relate to — complex, unsettling, challenging, and funny things.” Murray was intrigued with the “wonderful specifics” about Indian American households that he obtained to study via the podcast.
“A lot of us, particularly in the arts, who grew up in small towns, have the same experience that Milan has. We tend to be the black sheep of the family. I went halfway around the world to pursue the work that I love.”
Murray Bartlett
| Photo Credit:
Getty Images
Highlights the distinction
When you come residence, Murray says, there are all these great, troublesome and comedian issues that occur. “The dynamics highlight the contrast you feel between the person you’ve become and the 17-year-old you were when you may have left,” Murray says laughing.
Hoping that listeners to Murder at the Patel Motel snort a lot, Murray says, “There are some beautiful things about being disconnected from family and the complexity of trying to reconnect. A lot of the characters have secrets or parts of themselves that they’re not in touch with, or hiding. And through the course of the show, secrets come out and the characters have to look at and face who they are.”
If Gareth had a secret pastime, Murray says he would in all probability fancy himself a popstar. “I would imagine when nobody’s home, he would get out the karaoke machine and sing in the mirror,” he says laughing
Murray’s favorite scene in the podcast was when his finger will get partially lower off by an axe. “It was fun to be able to scream and let loose,” he says, laughing uproariously.
Murder at the Patel Motel is accessible on Audible
