Boardwalk Empire's Jack Huston: 'Don't Get Too Attached to a Character — Anyone Can Die'

Jack Huston is the man behind the mask on HBO’s Boardwalk Empire, steeling every scene as disfigured WWI vet Richard Harrow.

Viewers got a deeper look into his mysterious character during the second season of the award-winning series (now available on DVD, Blu-ray, and digital download).

“I didn’t know whether I was even going to come back as a cast regular, so it was amazing to explore the character and really flesh him out last season,” Huston tells PARADE.

Huston, 29, opened up about his challenging role, the third season of Boardwalk Empire, his famous family, and more.

On auditioning for the role of Richard Harrow.

“I think it was probably the strangest part I had ever auditioned for because it was simply written in the script: 'a WW1 veteran who is missing half of his face and wears a tin mask to cover his scares.' They left a lot to the imagination, so I added the voice.”

On coming up with his character’s mannerisms.

“They didn’t say his voice was affected, but I took artistic license to give him the voice because I thought if his face got hurt, maybe his neck got hurt, and his vocal chords got damaged in some way. I was just sitting with my brother on a train and I was trying all sorts of strange voices and suddenly that voice just sort of came out. I was doing a gurgly voice and my brother was sort of sickened by it, so I thought that was what I was going for, so let’s go with that!”

On the challenges of acting with only half of his face.

“A lot of acting is done with your eyes. You’re meant to convey emotions through your eyes and I’ve only got one eye to work with, which is hard, so that eye has to do double time. It makes me act less and sometimes by acting less, you convey more. It tones things down. I incorporate all the clucks and tics, but he’s a very still, astute character. He’s a watcher and an observer. It’s interesting. When I put the mask on, I transform into Richard.”

On how he reacted the first time he saw himself in character.

“It was great! Richard is not that old, but the war has aged him. In addition to the makeup and prosthetics and scars and bags under his eyes, we made the tin mask dirty and aged it up a bit. Seeing myself for the first time was kind of shocking, but I loved it. I wanted them to make him look worse actually — more tired and more haggard. It was shocking, but shocking in a good way.”

On the second season’s explosive finale.

“It was awful losing Michael Pitt (Jimmy Darmody) in the last episode. It’s the nature of the beast doing a show like this. No one is safe. Anyone can die. Rule number one is don’t get too attached to a character, anyone can go. The shock value of losing Jimmy was humungous. It was like losing my best friend, my confident, and the person who brought me back from [rip] almost. Losing Michael as an actor has been very difficult as well because he’s a great friend, but we see each other every chance we get.”

On what’s in store for Richard Harrow in season 3.

“We’re going to see another side of Richard — an even softer side. He’s lost a lot and we’ll see him develop in a lot of other ways. There are new characters. It gets pretty gangster this season! The gangster element is taken up a notch. We’re going to see a lot of violence as well.”

On his early acting ambitions. (Jack is the grandson of legendary director John Huston and nephew to Anjelica and Danny Huston.)

“Before I even knew what that half of my family did, I was interested in performing. I remember being seven years old and up on a stage and loving it. I’ve always adored it. Not just acting, but the whole process of writing and directing movies, everything that has to do with that part of life. Maybe it's in my blood.”

On the support of his famous family.

“They’re massively supportive. They’re the best. I’m so lucky to have such a great family. I respect them so much professionally, and they’ve been unconditionally supportive in the choices that I’ve made. It’s been very good having them on my side.”

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