Exclusive Interview: Kim Coates Talks ‘Double Down South,’ Immersing Himself into the Role, and More

Kim Coates, a dynamic storyteller, is best known for his transformative and layered performances in projects including Sons of Anarchy, Bad Blood, Godless, and Goon. His latest role finds Kim stepping into the shoes of a former keno player and current plantation owner in the critically acclaimed thriller Double Down South.

Double Down South penned by the Oscar-winning writer Tom Schulman. Immersed in the perilous realm of illegal keno pool gambling, Diana (played by Lili Simmons), a sharp and resilient newcomer, skillfully captivates keno-veteran Nick (Kim Coates), convincing him to mentor her. As they brace themselves to risk everything in a quest to dethrone the reigning world champion, they soon discover that the stakes are far higher than they could have ever envisioned.

Pop Culturalist had the pleasure of speaking with Kim about Double Down South, how he immersed himself into the role, and more.

PC: The film is loosely based on true events and a story that has stayed with Tom Schulman for many years. He actually wrote this part with you in mind. What were some of those early conversations you had with him about Double Down South and this character? Did it bring a different weight to this project when the writer-director is telling you that he created a role specifically for you?
Kim: Isn’t that nice to be reminded of? Tom and I have known each other personally since 1995. I was already a big fan because he won the Oscar for Dead Poets Society for Best Writer. He’s been the director of the Writers Guild for years, so Tom’s not only an incredible human being, but he’s also a marvelous writer. Like you said, he’s had this story in his mind to write since he was fifteen, sixteen years old, coming from Nashville. So this movie takes place in the mid-’90s.

My character, Nick, when I read the first draft, I said to Tommy, “This guy is a very, very dark human being, so we need to talk about him. We need to talk about where this came from.” Tom said to me right off the bat, “This guy’s a real guy. His name is Nick. He owned this incredible, decrepit plantation home in the South that was full of illicit gambling. There was all kinds of weird sh*t that happened in that house.” He was the head viper. He was the king of that mansion. What went down in there was fun and scary, and it happened! Tom saw it with his own eyes. So when this story was given to me, I was like, “Let’s talk about this guy.”

With Tom being the writer that he is, it was pretty easy to give my suggestions to him on how to make him even better, if I may, and more rounded, a bit funnier, and a bit more real. Of course, like you, I am a sexy mofo. [laughs] That comes with every part that I do. But the darkness of him, there’s not one ounce of me that is like this guy Nick that I’m playing. At my age and all the movies and TV that I’ve done, I guess it worked out pretty well for me that Tom trusted me and offered me this guy.

PC: In addition to the incredible work that you’ve done on screen, you’ve also produced in the past. Have you found that the experiences behind the camera have impacted the way you look at your work on screen and interpret characters and scripts like this?
Kim: That’s a great question. I’ve produced quite a bit so far; the biggest one was Bad Blood, the massive Netflix miniseries. The two seasons that we did, I played Declan Gardiner, and Anthony LaPaglia came on board, along with the late Paul Sorvino, who helped me with that. To be able to produce artistically and make those phone calls to these actors and other financiers to come on board, that was the most fun for me.

But to star as I did in Bad Blood and produce, it’s a whole different level of respect on set. I loved being number one on that set, and I loved being a co-producer with Mark Montefiore and Nataline Rodrigues up there in Rogers in Canada before we sold it to Netflix. So I will never stop producing, but right now, acting is still my main thrust.

PC: Time is never a luxury when you’re working on a film, and it’s even rarer that you have the opportunity to rehearse with the cast. I feel like there’s so much trust that’s needed when you’re playing a character like Nick because of his views and actions throughout the film. How did that process allow you to build those bonds with everybody involved and therefore approach your character with that inhabitation?
Kim: That’s an awesome question. But you never get to rehearse for movies. We never get to sit down for a week and discuss the entire script and get all those beautiful little questions out of the way. So by the time you start filming, you have no more questions. It’s about nailing it and being free to fail and being free to succeed. That week of rehearsals was paramount.

Lili Simmons, Justin [Marcel McManus], Igby [Rigney], Tom [Bower], Rebecca [Lines], Cameron [Cowperthwaite], and all of us together were able to sit around that table with Tom, Rick Wallace, and all the other producers in Georgia as we were getting ready to start filming. We were able to get rid of all the little creases and questions that we still had. We made it better. We changed the writing. We changed scenes. By the time that we started filming those twenty-two days, we were full-on. We needed every single day for that movie that you saw.

PC: After that trust is built, how do you create the space for yourself to dive into this character’s mindset? As you were saying, he’s so different from who you are. As an actor, I imagine you have to approach these roles without judgment.
Kim: That’s right. The respect from my co-actors, Alan [Caudillo] our DP, and everyone who worked on this film—this isn’t my first rodeo; I’m 107 years old. I look so good for my age. [laughs] But I was pretty much Nick 24/7 when we got picked up in the morning to go to set and went into that incredible house that we filmed most of the movie in, which is also a character in of itself; I was pretty much Nick the whole day. Lili was Diana pretty much the whole day. None of us brought our phones to set. This takes place in the mid-’90s in the South, so we had no technology.

We only had each other happily. There was trust that Lili and I certainly had to have for one another or this wouldn’t work. The movie wouldn’t have worked if we didn’t have that, and we did. This was a special project. These little independent films, you’ve got to raise the money, then you do. Then you got to cast it, and you do. Then you got to direct it. Tommy’s writing is brilliant. The DP is so paramount and important. Then you also got to edit it and you got to put the music in it. Now you have to wait for possible film festivals. We did that. We won awards at festivals that we went to. Now Level 33 is distributing it in America. It’s going really, really well from what I hear. These little films for me are so important for the artist.

PC: The performances in this film are incredible, and it doesn’t work unless you have the two right actors playing Nick and Diana. You and Lili were able to bring the best out of each other. What was it like getting to collaborate with her and bring this dynamic to life?
Kim: Another great question. You’ve seen the film, and people who have seen it can’t believe Lili’s pool playing. Lili had barely lifted a pool cue in her life. She had a month with Matt Craven. He’s a stunning, amazing, brilliant actor, and one of my best friends and one of Tommy’s best friends. He taught her how to play pool. Not only did he teach her how to play pool, she became so freaking good. We have no movie if you don’t believe Lili Simmons can play Diana as an eight-ball shark. We don’t have a movie without that, and we got that.

I’ve been playing pool my whole life. My character Nick has a physical impairment that doesn’t allow him to play pool anymore, which is why I’m trying to get these young stallions under my wing and sponsor them to go win. There’s a bunch of money in this game of Keno. We have no movie without Lili knowing how to play pool well, and she did that. I was so proud of her.

PC: We also have no movie without the commitment that you brought to Nick. I know you’re an actor who likes to stay in character during the filming process. What is it like after filming is done and shedding this character away?
Kim: It was a really tough one because it’s in the South, during the mid-’90s, and there are things that can happen anywhere in the world, not just the South, with racism and things like that. It was a very dark time for me to get into his skin and kill it and just go for it. But when it was over, I shed all those clothes. I didn’t keep anything except for my boots because they were Billy Fichtner’s boots. They were really thick. His boots were thick. I saw him wear those boots when I met him in the early 2000s. We had the same foot size. When I got cast in this movie, I said, “Let me see those boots.” He said, “Yeah.” I trashed them. [laughs] But I still have them hidden in my house in L.A. I’ll never forget those boots. I have no problem at my age now letting go of things. This guy was good to let go, and be proud of what we saw on the big screen and what we can learn from this movie.

To keep up with Kim, follow him on Twitter and Instagram. Double Down South is out now on digital and VOD.

Photo Credit: Ben Cope