Go on home now, shows over!
But of course, the show is not over.
Why were you reluctant?I had convinced myself that I had very little interest in revisiting.
Warrick Page/HBO
And I was right for about seven years.
Thats one of the best things about this job Im pretty sure they cant fire me.
Which makes it more fun than the last time I did it.
I thought for sure Id get fired the last time.
I thought theyd fire me at any second.
What made you think that back then?Show business.
Cmon, were a bunch of neurotic actors at the end of the day.
Thats what all actors think.
When did you get a sense this was real?When I told them Id do it.
[Ian McShane] had already signed on.
The impression I got was everything was lined up.
By the time I said yes they had made the official announcement.
Its been a really nice experience.
What was your reaction to David Milchs script?Youre reminded how wonderful the writing is.
The language is so rich.
What made this show great were the characters; you wanted to spend time with the characters.
Whoever was on screen could be the star of their own show.
Secondary to that, I was thinking: Why did this ever go off the air?
I dont watch everything on TV I dont know who does but I hadnt seen anything like this before.
Its amazing how groundbreaking it still felt as I was reading it.
Whats Seth Bullock been up to?Hes got three kids.
So hes a federal lawman in the territory.
Hes done really well for himself.
Hes a successful guy at this point in his life.
He and Starr opened up a hotel.
Hes not just survived, hes done really well.
And back in those days that meant something.
And what is his relationship like with his frequent nemesis, Swearengen?Its more or less intact.
Swearengens not quite himself, which has put pressure on Bullock.
Sometimes having a guy like Swearengen allows Seth not to do the dirty work.
You spent 6 seasons playing a lawman onJustified, which was also a Western of sorts.
Whats it been like switching back to Bullock?There are certain things I really liked about theJustifiedgig.
Definitely a different beast.
You learn a lot along the way.
I think hes still doing that.
The cast is just ridiculous.
If this were a ball club, we got a deep bench.
The cast really loves their job.
Youd think that would be a normal thing in my line of work, but its not.
Nobodys going back to their trailers.
Nobody is on their cell phone.
They were all really good 12 years ago, and now theyre ridiculously good.
Yet you come here and its like time stood still.
And in some ways, its like the creative experience, as well.
They call action and its, Oh, this is the same gig.
But you like to think youre not the same actor you used to be.
Weve had many people start shedding tears out of the blue.
The funniest things catch you.
And then I saw one of the actors crying.
And she said it just snuck up on her, all these memories and moments.
What about working with Milch?Hes quite an inspiration.
You dont get very many opportunities to be around that.
I learned so much from watching the way he works.
His willingness to trust his unconscious mind to take these ridiculous leaps.
It took me a long time when I was first working with him to get used to it.
I thought he was fking around, then I thought he was ruining it.
And finally, I realized it wasnt doing either, he was dead serious and a genius.
Its pointless to think about with all due respect to them.
So this is it, right?
This is the end of Deadwood?Listen,Im on recordas sayingthiswould never fking happen.
So who am I to talk?
