The casting notice for the Eric O'Bannon character in the new Netflix series "Bloodline" called for a long-haired, tattooed, skinny guy from Key West. Jamie McShane was 0 for 4 in that description, but he auditioned anyways and put his own spin on the character.
"It took me a little moment and then I was like, 'Okay, I know what I want to do with this,' and I felt very free because from the description, I wasn't it at all, so I didn't feel like I had a lot to lose," McShane tells Headlines & Global News in an exclusive interview.
The 25-year acting vet also jumped at the chance to work on a project for Netflix and to meet the creative team behind the show, which included brothers Glenn and Todd Kessler and Daniel Zelman, who together created "Damages." When he landed the part, his first-ever series regular role, McShane then faced the daunting task of leaving his family for nearly eight months to shoot the series in the Florida Keys.
"As tough as it was being away from my kids, you go down to the Keys and you're just down there for work. You're down there for this character, this job," the father of two says.
"Bloodline" centers on a close-knit family, the Rayburns, who own a beach resort in the Keys. The family starts to unravel when brother Danny (Ben Mendelsohn), the black sheep of the family, returns home.
The show stars Kyle Chandler, Mendelsohn, Linda Cardellini and Norbert Leo Butz, as well as Oscar-winner Sissy Spacek and Oscar-nominee Sam Shepard.
"Where the Rayburn family is very successful - they're very well-liked and very well-respected in their community - Eric O'Bannon is more the ticket into the dark side, the seedier element of the Keys," McShane says.
As Danny's good friend, McShane shared most of his scenes with Mendelsohn, who he called the "most amazingly unique individual I have ever met." Since much of the cast came to set without their families, it allowed the actors to develop those close bonds that their characters share.
"You're just there for work and because of that, some of us got to be very close. You really grow and bond with people and you see that element come out in these characters who have known each other for so long," McShane says.
The New Jersey native has worked steadily on network and cable TV for most of his career. He has recurred on shows like "24," "Sons of Anarchy" and "Southland," but he found a new sense of freedom in his transition to Netflix.
"Sometimes with networks you're a little more regimented with what you have to do and how things go, whereas this was just a blank canvas and we could create," McShane says. "It seems like Netflix hires the creative people that they want, in this case, the creators like Glenn and Todd Kessler and Dan Zelman. Then they let them do their thing."
The first season of "Bloodline" has 13 episodes, but McShane thinks of it more as a 13-hour movie. "It's not just a television show and you jump from each episode and their self encapsulated, it's more like a film," he says, but he'll leave it up to the viewers to decide whether to binge-watch the series.
"I can imagine some people just sitting down and going through the whole thing and some maybe saying, 'You know what? I need a break.' I love this style, especially for this show, that you can watch it all at your choosing," he says.
One of the things McShane appreciated most about his time on the show was having the chance to develop a character. Unlike his recurring or guest-starring roles, he knew how many episodes he had coming into the project, allowing him to find his way.
"I had time to research how I wanted this guy to be and talk to the makeup people and meet with the wardrobe people," he says. "I was in the Keys. I'm living in the Keys. I'm living in that lifestyle and finding that character while I'm there so that was real."
McShane also will have time to further explore his character, Justin Burnside, when he returns for season two of TNT's "Murder in the First," which starts later this summer, but he hopes Netflix gives the green light to a second season of "Bloodline."
"It was an amazing opportunity to work on Netflix, which I think is the hottest thing out there in TV, and to work with the writers, show creators who are so incredible and that cast," he says. "Across the board it was such a privilege to get to be a part of that and I hope people tune in and enjoy it and all that."
"Bloodline" is now streaming on Netflix.
