HBO’s new drama series, John From Cincinnati, is set against the surfing community of Imperial Beach, California. Sounds normal enough until one dives under the surface and sees the lead character, Mitch Yost, with his feet some inches off the ground, levitating. The reason behind Mitch’s extraordinary skill is still unclear, and even actor Bruce Greenwood, who portrays the aging professional surfer, remains in the dark.
“You have to make up theories in your mind, but chances are my guesses are not going to [match] what [John From Cincinnati creator] David Milch comes up with,” Greenwood told TV Guide.
He also said that asking about how Mitch is able to levitate is not the type of question Milch would respond to with a straight answer.
“He would say something like, ‘Because gravity ceases to work against you,’” Bruce Greenwood explained. “It would become some sort of Socratic afternoon. I know that there are forces at work that we don’t understand, and they will be revealed.
However, the 50-year-old actor did let on that although his character may feel that his skill is coming from John Monad, that way of thinking is only “a small take on its origin.”
“It’s bigger than John,” Greenwood said.
John Monad (Austin Nichols) is the mysterious stranger who arrives in the small town and quickly becomes friends with the Yosts, the dysfunctional surfer family. He seems to be mentally challenged, often repeating what he has already heard or what others are thinking. He does have, however, the ability to manifest requested objects through his pockets, and is also capable of performing astral projection.
Mitch and John are not the only characters in John From Cincinnati that possess special powers. Zippy, the magical parrot, has miraculous self-healing powers, even coming back from the dead on the show’s premiere episode.
However, fans should not expect to see Greenwood’s character associating with the mysterious animal. The actor told TV Guide that he does not, and will not, share scenes with the parrot, as stipulated in his contract.
“I’ve worked so much with four-legged animals that I had to draw the line at the parrot,” Greenwood said. “I shared a scene with a chicken once, and I realized that no actor in the world can steal focus from a chicken. So no parrots. You got to really dig your heels in.”
-Lisa Claustro, BuddyTV Staff Columnist
Source: TV Guide
(Image Courtesy of HBO)
Staff Columnist, BuddyTV
