#also it was specifically the spanish encyclopedia which is how i KNEW it was for me and it was p. 250 middle entry

[mybreadsmybutters]

kept having the nagging feeling that i was missing something crucial all through my dream last night until i woke up sick and sweating because i remembered that my beloved best friend is euthanizing herself through maid TOMORROW and this is the last day i’ll ever have with her and i just completely lost it even though i know it’s wrong to ask her to stay when she’s so sick just begging and pleading climbing all over her begging her to tell me why she feels the need to do this why she won’t tell me what ails her please is it cancer are you suicidal you can’t leave please please and eventually she said with pity “i don’t want to say it. i don’t want to say it. just look up this entry in the encyclopedia” and in that moment i woke up to real life where not only do i live in amercia where maid ISN’T a thing but where i half-awake ran/fell down a flight of stairs to frantically ask if she was planning on euthanizing herself to which she said to me “i don’t know what that word means”

[end-of-the-world-optimist]

“We enjoy seeing other people commit crimes”: James Norton, actor of McMafia

Link: https://www.elespectador.com/entretenimiento/medios/nos-gusta-ver-otras-personas-cometer-crimenes-james-norton-actor-de-mcmafia-articulo-888168

McMafia is going to be released in Latin America. My translation of the interview with James originally in the Spanish language:

“We enjoy seeing other people commit crimes”: James Norton, actor of McMafia

Interview with James Norton, one of the protagonists of the show McMafia, who plays Alex Godman, the son of Russian criminals who tries to lead an honest life.

Why do you think that the stories about mafia are so fascinating for the audience?

I’m a big fan of mafia stories and epic movies like Godfather or The Irishman. I think it is related to the fact that we like what is subversive, we like seeing other people commit crimes; I think we all fantasize with what it would be like to go against the wind and break the system. Specifically, in terms of mafia there is a great story, sexiness, weapons and danger. Mafia is related to Italian families and loyalty, but the contradiction proper is smuggling, and our idea of mafia is this opulent family who is in control of a city. The whole point is to show how this community has expanded beyond a city, having values related to family and loyalty be overshadowed by a search for money and power. It is a different kind of mafia.

What has been your greatest challenge when interpreting Alex?

James Watkins, the director, and Hossein Amini, the screenwriter, wanted Alex to be the product of his upbringing. As he was born in Russia and was immersed in the private education system in England, working for very powerful media in the city, he is someone not so open emotionally. Thus, we wanted to show someone who was enigmatic and mysterious, in control, and I think having gone through many private schools and thriving is part of a survival mechanism. The challenge was concealing his deepest story, about his family, revenge, his most human side, the most emotional side. And another challenge, a bit more practical, was learning Russian. I had to talk to Aleksei Serebryakov and Mariya Shukshina in Russian, and that was tough, having to learn my lines and then talk to them and just nod as if I knew what they were saying; that was a challenge.

What is your opinion on the criminal world?

The show is based on the book McMafia by Misha Glenny, so we interpreted characters or people that were victims or committed those crimes. We wanted it to feel real; we wanted to show that the world of mafia and crime have permeated the corporate world, as well as the corporate world being linked to crime. What I most learned from the show was that the more aware I became of the corruption in the world, the more it shocked me; we should do more to placate this type of corruption. Part of the reason why we are fascinated by this type of life is because of the mansions and cars, but in the show we show the cost of that. My heart is with those who pay the price for a reduced number of people who lead a glamorous life and I think we should do more of what we can to stop this, being agents of change.

What was the most fun part of interpreting this character as an antihero?

What makes Alex so genuine is the fact that he is deeply human and I feel that increasingly, the idea of antiheroes is being left aside. We take distance from the idea of villains and heroes as shown in comics. We wanted the audience to feel they knew Alex, that there are people like him in the world that are working in finances or politics. Alex has a desire for revenge, but also for survival, and in most cases you think his actions are fully justified. I think the more complex or undefinable is a character, the more human it feels, and for me this is the reason why Alex is more appealing to the audience.

Did you have a chance to talk to the writer, Misha Glenny? Was there anything in particular that you took from the book to build this character?

Misha was very present during filming and it was exciting, because he is an encyclopedia on modern mafia. With him we structured the world to which Alex belongs, we borrowed plenty of anecdotes and knowledge on certain characters.

What is your expectation on the show?

We would be very satisfied if it sells internationally. We explored Russian corruption and part of the argument occurs in South America. Thus, we wanted to make sure that the story is as international as possible, because the whole point of McMafia is to show how mafia is no longer about the control held by a single family, is about control by global corporations.

Do you find any difference between cinematic and television productions?

One of the things that excited me about participating in McMafia is that almost all of us have participated in movies. James Watkins, British director of the Woman in Black, is for me someone renowned globally. The production of McMafia is so good that it would work if shown in movie theaters. Now in television there is a chance of having the same scale as in a movie, but with the chance of telling an 8-hour long story, and for an actor that is a gift.