Exclusive Interview: Kelly AuCoin Talks The Girl from Plainville, Billions, and More

Kelly AuCoin has built an illustrious career in the industry with the dynamic characters that he’s brought to life on the screen. His past credits include Law & Order, House of Cards, The Americans, and dozens more.

Currently, he stars in not one, but two exciting new projects: The Girl from Plainville and Billons.

Pop Culturalist was lucky enough to speak with Kelly about The Girl from Plainville, Billons, and more.

PC: How did you discover your passion for the arts and storytelling?
Kelly: Music has always been a huge part of my life. My mom was a singer when I was growing up. Not professionally, but music and song were in our lives. She was always teaching us songs while we were driving back and forth over the mountains between Portland and Central Oregon, where my extended family lived. My grandfather played the mandolin and would often entertain guests at the saloon in his 1890s-themed restaurant in Tumalo, Oregon. My mom and sometimes my aunt would sneak us kids in the back so we could watch and sing along. Sometimes my mom would hop up on stage and sing with the musicians. It was pretty magical.

Also, my dad was an eighteen-term congressman and two-term state legislator. Twenty-two years watching him in front of people, not performing but communicating with people, was very shaping for me, both in terms of the artist and the activist I’ve become.

PC: Who or what has had the biggest influence on your career?
Kelly: Other than my parents, for the aforementioned reasons and for being the absolute most supportive parents one could possibly hope for, I had some great teachers in high school: Laura Rosberg, Andrea Oram, and Bill George. They understood the value of rigorous academics, but also the importance of nurturing a talent or a spark that they apparently saw in me. I’m so lucky that they did. I knew I wanted to be an actor for years before I admitted it to anyone. Bill, who was also my botany teacher, was actually the first person I told, and subsequently, luckily, he became the first person to tell me that I could actually make it. I reminded him about it a few years ago when he came up from DC to see a play I was in at Manhattan Theatre Club. He responded, “I’m so sorry…” [laughs]

PC: You’ve had a lot of success throughout your career. When you look back, is there a moment that stands out?
Kelly: Being on stage, nose to nose, with Denzel freaking Washington is pretty high up there. It was my first Broadway show. A really nice role, doing Shakespeare in New York and working with one of my acting idols. Come on…

Also, the moment I first stepped on stage during my first season at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. I’d grown up seeing plays there, including my first professional show, As You Like It. I fell in love with the actor playing Rosalind. I still remember her name: Maureen Kilmurry. Sigh. My dad says he remembers ten-year-old me, seeing someone standing on that stage, literally carrying a spear, and saying “I want to do that someday!” And, file this away in the “Be careful what you wish for“ category…that’s what I did my first season. [laughs] Fortunately, I was able to play some fun and more substantive roles later that season and in the one after that.

The fake fight scene in Billions, remains one of the most fun things I’ve ever done in any medium. Just a ridiculously fun time playing with Damian Lewis and the director, the great Karyn Kusama.

PC: Tell us about The Girl from Plainville and what audiences should know about Detective Scott Gordon.
Kelly: Gordon is a dogged detective. He is the one who pieces together what happened and first comes up with the idea that perhaps a manslaughter charge is warranted.

PC: There is a wealth of information about this case. As an actor, is that more or less helpful? How did that affect the way that you approached Detective Scott Gordon?
Kelly: We definitely weren’t trying to do an imitation. But it was really helpful to watch and listen to interviews with Gordon to pick up on his general tone and his manner of speaking. There was an understated style about him that felt very informative.

PC: There is a fine line that you have to walk when you’re working on a project that’s based on true events and tackles sensitive subject matter. Does that bring a different weight to a project like this? Was that a conversation that was talked about during the filming process?
Kelly: Everyone was absolutely aware that the events we were portraying were real events and that the people we were trying to bring to life were based on actual people. I’m really proud of how much respect and dignity everyone brought to the work every day. Our terrific show runners, Liz Hannah and Patrick Macmanus, came into this whole endeavor with the intention of digging beyond the headlines, beyond the sensationalism. They set a tone that fostered that kind of respect. It was pretty extraordinary.

PC: You’re also one of the stars of Billions. Is there anything that you can tease about what’s ahead for your character?
Kelly: Yes! We’ve been renewed for a seventh season, which is obviously very exciting. I love playing “Dollar” Bill, even though we couldn’t be more polar opposites. One of the things that’s been so fun about doing these other shows over the past year, including The Girl from Plainville, was that each of these roles is just so very, very different from “Dollar” Bill. I absolutely love playing that bulldog, but it’s been a blast exploring these other people, these other kinds of mindsets, as well. Last year was kind of the best of both worlds for a journeyman actor like me. As far as specific plot lines…? I mean, I could tell you, but then I’d have to smash your Porsche.

To keep up with Kelly, follow him on Twitter and Instagram. Watch The Girl from Plainville on Hulu today.

Photo Credit: Steve Dietl/Hulu