Tom Hollander Didn’t Know Truman Capote’s Appeal Before ‘Feud’

Truman Capote, in his ongoing quest for infamy, left behind a series of television appearances on which Tom Hollander drew inspiration for his portrayal of the flamboyant American novelist in the FX television series. Conflict: Capote vs. The Swans.

“If I had known how much [he’s known]“I would have been more nervous,” admits Hollander, who didn’t realize the extent of Capote’s appeal when he accepted the role. “I was glad I didn’t know what a huge character he was. It was incredible for me, as a tourist, as a Brit, to play an icon of 20th-century American culture in America. I was learning as much about America as I was about him.”

Hollander’s performance earned him an Emmy nomination, his first, for best lead actor, adding to the gratitude he feels for the opportunity to be a part of Ryan Murphy’s production. “It’s not every day that you get to play a role that’s this incredible at this level,” he says. “I’m not a young kid, as they say. I’m 56, and to have, in some ways, the most wonderful job of my life in my mid-50s is a brilliant and magical thing.”

You join a long list of actors who have portrayed Capote on stage, in film and on television. Have you revisited any previous performances?

I did it, but nothing as much as [Truman’s] own appearances. I watched Philip Seymour Hoffman because I watched [Capote] at the time [it came out]and I admired him enormously and I thought he was incredibly talented. I was very aware of the long shadow he left behind. And I was nervous; he has an Oscar. But when I rewatched the movie, I realized that our story, the Robbie Baitz and Ryan Murphy version, was about a very different time in his life. The tone of the show was so different that I didn’t feel like I was stepping on his toes or competing with him.

You’ve often been asked why you think people connect so well with this story today.

One answer that just occurred to me is that things are so scary in America right now – and uncertain. People are less confident, whereas if you look at Truman’s story, even though his personal story is very tragic and difficult, the world he’s in is the most confident America. And it’s quite nostalgic to go back to that, to those cars, to those clothes, to those swans living like European royalty lived a hundred years ago. That was part of the fun of watching the movie, but part of the fun of making it was recreating that world. I had the opportunity to walk down the street on the Upper East Side with Diane Lane. [as Slim Keith] He was strikingly handsome and angry, and the street was lined with old cars, ’70s cars, Chevys and Studebakers and Cadillacs. It was awesome. That was the America I watched on TV when I was young. I think one of the great privileges of being an actor that people don’t talk about enough is the time travel aspect. The fantastic things that happen in…