Masters of Sex’s Sheen talks to Tonight

Nicholas D\'Agosto as Dr. Ethan Haas, Michael Sheen as Dr. William Masters, Lizzy Caplan as Virginia Johnson, Teddy Sears as Dr. Austin Langham and Caitlin Fitzgerald as Libby Masters in Masters of Sex (season 1) - Photo: Erwin Olaf/SHOWTIME - Photo ID: MOS1_PR04_WAITSIX_4C_300

Nicholas D\'Agosto as Dr. Ethan Haas, Michael Sheen as Dr. William Masters, Lizzy Caplan as Virginia Johnson, Teddy Sears as Dr. Austin Langham and Caitlin Fitzgerald as Libby Masters in Masters of Sex (season 1) - Photo: Erwin Olaf/SHOWTIME - Photo ID: MOS1_PR04_WAITSIX_4C_300

Published Oct 23, 2014

Share

Novels are fast becoming the Holy Grail of inspiration for TV show creators. It certainly explains the genesis of Game of Thrones, Gossip Girl, The Walking Dead and newfangled offerings like Orange is the New Black and Outlander. Debashine Thangevelo looks at how Masters of Sex, which is based on Thomas Maier’s biography, finds its feet in this evolved landscape of inspired and pioneering shows and got Michael Sheen’s lowdown on his role.

 

CRITICS are singing the praises of Masters of Sex, which is based on Thomas Maier’s biography, Masters of Sex: The Life and Times of William Masters and Virginia Johnson, the Couple Who Taught America How to Love.

The series covers the groundbreaking feats of Dr William Masters (Michael Sheen) and Virginia Johnson (Lizzy Caplan) in their studies of human sexuality. Their professional relationship gave way to a personal one and they eventually tied the knot. This period drama, set in the 1950s, marvellously chronicles the strides they made, their intimate journey along the way, and how their lives remained intertwined even after they divorced.

Welsh actor Sheen, who has been a tour de force in the UK’s stage and TV worlds – that’s not forgetting his notable in-roads in Hollywood with The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn (Part 1 and 2), Midnight in Paris, Tron: Legacy, Blood Diamond and 30 Rock – has already been heaped with praise for his portrayal.

Peeling back the layers of his character, Sheen says, “I would describe Dr William Masters as a man who, when we first meet him, has not been living an authentic life. He has a lot of issues.

“He is someone who is disconnected from the experience of the present. For whatever reason, Masters has decided that his sex study will be the focal point of his life. Everything else has to support and facilitate that.

“One of my starting points for the character was to view him as someone who has constructed who he is. Whatever he was before in life, he doesn’t want to be that any more. He’s reinvented himself and become something else. But that has inevitably led to him not owning himself, and the authentic person is somehow locked away. He feels like he’s the god of his own personality because he created it,” he continues.

“And then he meets Johnson and it awakens the real person within him, which throws his emotions off kilter. That creates a massive conflict within Masters, because he has spent his life creating this persona. Masters has a very complicated relationship with how he feels about all of this. On one hand, it represents something original and authentic that he needs. On the other hand, it goes against everything he has tried to do with his life.

“Because of these conflicting emotions, Masters’ relationship with Virginia becomes very complicated, and he has a real difficulty in showing certain sides of himself. He’s both drawn to Virginia and also wants to repel her. This war inside him can be very destructive and dark.”

While he wasn’t familiar with the book that the TV series is based on, he was intrigued by the project nonetheless.

He offers, “If you’re going to play the same character for a long period of time and tell an episodic story, I want it to be as complicated as it possibly can. I want the character itself to be difficult to get a hand on. I want it to be enigmatic.

“Even if the character doesn’t know what he’s doing, I know what I’m doing, and we’re going to really explore all of that. That’s what I’m drawn to.”

After reading the script, though, his curiosity led to him trawling through the internet to glean more on this fascinating character, and he also read the book.

Sheen adds, “I had to make a decision about potentially signing on to this show for seven years. That was a huge decision based on just one script. Fortunately, I could read the book and look into the lives of Masters and Johnson and, at least, get a sense of where the story could be heading. There’s so much to it all. It’s so fascinating. You move out of the ’50s and into the ’60s and ’70s. There’s too much stuff in a way…”

And he couldn’t stop singing the praises of creator Michelle Ashford.

He laughs, “That was part of what drew me to the project. If you are going to do a show about sex and sexuality, I think it makes sense to have a woman as a show runner. It was more comfortable anyway. I think it would be different if it were all men. I love the fact that the key writers were women. For this series, I feel the strongest point of view is a female point of view. I’m certainly comfortable with my point of view, so for me, this kind of helps keep things balanced, I hope.”

As for working alongside Caplan, who is best known for her roles in Mean Girls, Cloverfield, Bachelorette and True Blood, he says, “Amazing. She has no filter and is so open about herself. She’s perfect for the role of Virginia Masters, and she’s great fun to work with, especially if you’re doing something as intimate as our show. To have that trust and to be that comfortable with one another, that’s really important. I honestly don’t know how we would do it if we didn’t get on with each other.”

He adds, “The audience should never feel comfortable with the relationship between Masters and Johnson because they themselves never feel comfortable. It should be a continual exploration. The same thing that draws Masters to Johnson is the same thing that makes him push her away. That’s as interesting as it can get, I think. It’s a relationship that is clearly out of control, and it’s a destructive force in both of their lives. As soon as Johnson begins to feel comfortable with Masters, he does something to jeopardise that and make her uncomfortable. In a way, he does this almost on purpose.”

In this revolutionary world, bolstered by underlying human emotions, their behaviour and the erupting drama, that insatiable hunger for research and more research remains the major propellant.

With sex a universally titillating subject, Masters of Sex has a ready made curious fan base. And the prowess of the cast is reportedly as fascinating.

 

• Masters of Sex airs on M-Net Edge (DStv channel 102) tonight at 9pm.

Related Topics: