Thereβs a guide the size of a metropolitan phone directory in βThe Bondsman,β a new Prime Video series.
Inside, actress Jolene Purdy says, are βall the secrets.β
All the secrets of the devil, that is. Since sheβs an employee, she must know the tricks of the trade and be willing to pass them along to employeesΒ β like Kevin Bacon, who plays a bondsman hired to do the dirty work.
Jolene Purdy, right, gives Kevin Bacon assignments in "The Bondsman."Β
βWhen you sign up to work for the devil, he does offer good vision and dental,β Purdy offers with a smile.
When she was offered the role, the βDonnie Darkoβ actress wondered how she could play it.
βSheβs stronger than I am, so itβs actually made me stronger as a person,β Purdy says. βThe twist I took on it is a lot of times I will choose kindness, right? And that, sometimes, is a manipulation tactic, something that may come from the devil.β
Bruce Miller, Sioux City Journal entertainment reporter talks with Maxwell Jenkins, star of Amazon Prime Video's "The Bondsman."
Digging in, Purdy realized Midge was the strongest character she has played β βeven more than the ones in βWhite Lotusβ and βOrange is the New Black.ββ
Nuance, she says, is key.
That plays well with Beth Grant, who often gets scenes with Purdy. She plays Baconβs mother, Kitty, a gun-toting defender who isnβt afraid to level the playing field.
Beth Grant plays the mother of Kevin Bacon in the new thriller, "The Bondsman."Β
βI liked killing that pastor with that sawed-off shotgun, but he wasnβt the pastor anymore,β Grant says. βI was convinced he was a demon. I tried with the cross, but it didnβt work.β
Like Purdy, Grant has had ample opportunity to play folks on the fringes. Both starred in βDonnie Darko,β both sing the praises of Bacon.
βIβve played a lot of mothers, each one different,β Grant says. βCertain actresses donβt want to play moms, but Iβve loved it. Of all my sons, Kevin Bacon wins it all because his work is just extraordinary. Heβs a kid from Philadelphia, but a country boy at heart.β
Beth Grant has played countless mothers in television series. Now, she's Kevin Bacon's mom in "The Bondsman."
During filming, Grant says, she became shy around the showβs lead β βI was seeing the level of work he was doing and the transformation. Itβs an unusual role for him, so itβs very exciting.β
Playing his mother β who dances with the devil as well β she got to expand her repertoire with the kind of things Kitty is asked to do. βDo you see this finger?β she says, flexing her trigger finger. Itβs primed.
So, too, is Purdyβs guidebook. Does it include a pension? βThere is,β she says, playing along. βThereβs a little bit of a pension just to draw you in.β
βThe Bondsmanβ now airs on Prime Video.
