There鈥檚 a guide the size of a metropolitan phone directory in 鈥淭he Bondsman,鈥 a new Prime Video series.
Inside, actress Jolene Purdy says, are 鈥渁ll the secrets.鈥
All the secrets of the devil, that is. Since she鈥檚 an employee, she must know the tricks of the trade and be willing to pass them along to employees聽鈥 like Kevin Bacon, who plays a bondsman hired to do the dirty work.
Jolene Purdy, right, gives Kevin Bacon assignments in "The Bondsman."聽
鈥淲hen you sign up to work for the devil, he does offer good vision and dental,鈥 Purdy offers with a smile.
When she was offered the role, the 鈥淒onnie Darko鈥 actress wondered how she could play it.
鈥淪he鈥檚 stronger than I am, so it鈥檚 actually made me stronger as a person,鈥 Purdy says. 鈥淭he 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.鈥
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Digging in, Purdy realized Midge was the strongest character she has played 鈥 鈥渆ven more than the ones in 鈥榃hite Lotus鈥 and 鈥極range is the New Black.鈥欌
Nuance, she says, is key.
That plays well with Beth Grant, who often gets scenes with Purdy. She plays Bacon鈥檚 mother, Kitty, a gun-toting defender who isn鈥檛 afraid to level the playing field.
Beth Grant plays the mother of Kevin Bacon in the new thriller, "The Bondsman."聽
鈥淚 liked killing that pastor with that sawed-off shotgun, but he wasn鈥檛 the pastor anymore,鈥 Grant says. 鈥淚 was convinced he was a demon. I tried with the cross, but it didn鈥檛 work.鈥
Like Purdy, Grant has had ample opportunity to play folks on the fringes. Both starred in 鈥淒onnie Darko,鈥 both sing the praises of Bacon.
鈥淚鈥檝e played a lot of mothers, each one different,鈥 Grant says. 鈥淐ertain actresses don鈥檛 want to play moms, but I鈥檝e loved it. Of all my sons, Kevin Bacon wins it all because his work is just extraordinary. He鈥檚 a kid from Philadelphia, but a country boy at heart.鈥
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 show鈥檚 lead 鈥 鈥淚 was seeing the level of work he was doing and the transformation. It鈥檚 an unusual role for him, so it鈥檚 very exciting.鈥
Playing his mother 鈥 who dances with the devil as well 鈥 she got to expand her repertoire with the kind of things Kitty is asked to do. 鈥淒o you see this finger?鈥 she says, flexing her trigger finger. It鈥檚 primed.
So, too, is Purdy鈥檚 guidebook. Does it include a pension? 鈥淭here is,鈥 she says, playing along. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a little bit of a pension just to draw you in.鈥
鈥淭he Bondsman鈥 now airs on Prime Video.
