Notice: The next story incorporates spoilers from “Job” Season 1, Episode 4.
When Raúl Castillo first got here on board Brad Ingelsby’s “Job,” the overwhelmingly attribute he understood about his character, Cliff, was his longstanding devotion to Tom Pelphrey’s Robbie, a top quality that got here by in a element as small Cliff’s tattoos of his late canine.
“As an actor, you are taking little nuggets and also you run with them,” Castillo informed TheWrap, explaining that whereas Cliff operates as a lone wolf, the canine tattoos underscored his loyalty to Robbie, the co-worker with whom he robs the Darkish Hearts’ drug homes. “[Dogs are] loyal and so they’re true and and that’s very significant for him and and his friendship to Robbie is likely one of the solely pure and actual issues that he has.”
Cliff by no means wavers from his loyalty to Robbie, even in Episode 4, when Cliff finds himself in the course of a setup from the Darkish Hearts crew, led by Jamie McShane’s Perry and Sam Keeley’s Jayson, who threaten his life to get him to disclose his accomplices, which he, after all, by no means does.
“It’s a testomony to their devotion to at least one one other, that even to the tip, he’s devoted to his buddy and prepared to do what it takes to at the least maintain his buddy alive, if that’s all he can do.”
With Cliff holding robust on not revealing Robbie’s involvement within the robberies — and the kidnapping — he meets his finish in a “brutal” act of violence led by Jayson. Castillo breaks all of it down beneath.
TheWrap: What did you first suppose whenever you learn the Episode 4 script and discovered Cliff’s destiny?
Castillo:It’s attention-grabbing now that the sequence is out, and I’m listening to from family and friends who’re watching the present and who’re actually invested within the characters, and that’s a testomony to Brad’s writing. Individuals are on the fringe of their seats. They need to know what occurs subsequent. I’ve been getting all these attention-grabbing messages from individuals in my life and their excessive anxiousness about Cliff’s future. I knew it was coming, due to these conversations we had fairly early on, however I used to be excited to dive into that script as a result of Brad, he’s such an artist, and there’s nothing that’s sensationalistic, only for the sake of it — it’s at all times diving deeper into character and the way in which that he teases his story out and actually sucks an viewers in is fairly masterful. It was unnerving to learn, for certain, but in addition thrilling as an actor, understanding that we have been going to have this very meaty materials to work with.
Did Brad speak to you about any various storylines the place Cliff will get to stay longer?
No, I felt like that was at all times his destiny. There was at all times that fantasy of our life in Canada — I believe even quite a lot of viewers members are nonetheless holding out for that risk, however the scripts have been fairly set from the time that they got here to be. Typically in tv, issues change so much and drastically, as a result of there’s so many cooks within the kitchen, so to talk, however with “Job” and with Brad’s scripts, they have been simply so properly written. There wasn’t so much that modified from the early drafts to what we shot.
Going into the night time, is there any a part of Cliff that thought this may be the final time he noticed Robbie?
For the characters, it’s taking place so quick. They don’t have time to get sentimental. They’re simply flying by the seat of their pants. As quickly as the whole lot goes down in Episode 1, it’s simply pumping adrenaline till the very finish.
Once we see Cliff once more, he’s been beat up so badly. What was the expertise of getting these prosthetics and make-up on?
I’ve to provide a shout out to Adrienne Bearden, who was the make-up division head, and Invoice Johnson, who constructed prosthetics. I bought flown all the way down to Atlanta a pair months earlier than we shot that scene to have my head forged, which is the primary time I had ever skilled something like that. I’m fairly claustrophobic and that was fairly intense. They stored two holes in my nostrils, and that’s the place I used to be in a position to breathe, however I wasn’t in a position to talk. It was like going underwater and never with the ability to see.
Once we lastly bought to set that day, it was a four-hour course of sitting within the chair, making use of these items to my face and round my head. As soon as I had that stuff utilized, there was no solution to escape it — everybody that got here into contact with me from that time ahead was responding to the completely grotesque nature of the work that we have been depicting. As a result of filmmaking, it may be enjoyable. It might be gentle hearted. There’s alternatives at occasions to seek out pleasure and laughs, and we did that so much on this manufacturing, as a result of it was such a beautiful group of individuals to go to work with, however then there have been days that we have been coming to work to depict the darker components of humanity.
What was it like filming Cliff’s closing breaths?
It was brutal, however you possibly can solely depict essentially the most brutal components of humanity, if you’re going to work with individuals who you may have utmost belief with, and I felt with Sam [Kelley] and Salli [Richardson-Whitfield] — the three of us actually hunkered down as a result of that scene was fairly technical — there was plastic wrap, there was spit, there was these technical facets of the scene that have been fairly tough, and we nonetheless needed to remain targeted and stay loyal to the tone. You discover out in these moments what your scene companions are fabricated from and I’ve to provide it as much as Sam — we actually met one another midway, and I really feel actually grateful to him that we have been in a position to talk in these moments, to have the ability to shoot these scenes in an environment friendly manner and maintain it secure, maintain everybody taken care of, after which inform the story finally.
The reverence that was taken, and the true care that was taken to choreograph that scene and finally shoot it was extremely significant for me. Typically you may have these moments whenever you’re filming the place everybody is aware of that you just’re filming one thing very particular. That was definitely a kind of scenes.
Do you suppose Cliff ends his life with any regrets on the state of affairs, particularly about taking Sam?
Cliff is coping with the repercussions of their actions and emotionally and psychologically from the second the shootout occurs in Episode 1, so he’s making an attempt his finest to make amends and get out with as little harm as he might do transferring ahead. As soon as they encounter Sam, he and Robbie know that there’s no manner that they’ll stroll away from this in any clear vogue, in the event that they ever had, for a second, aspirations of it.
What hopes does he have for Robbie?
He’s hoping that Robbie could make it out. I believe Cliff understands what Billy was to Robbie and the way significant that brotherhood was of their love of household and their dedication to at least one one other, and that’s why he’s so devoted to Robbie. It’s Robbie’s personal dedication to Billy and he understands that better mission, and his dedication to Maeve and Robbie’s dedication to Maeve and his personal kids. I believe Cliff understands that, and so he needs the perfect for Robbie in the long run, and he’s hoping that he can at the least assist save his buddy.
This interview has been edited for size and readability.
New episodes of “Job” premiere on HBO and HBO Max Sunday nights at 6 p.m. PT/9 p.m. ET.
