Boston Common - Niche Media - A side of Boston that's anything but common.
Issue link: http://digital.greengale.com/i/715599
As scenes from A mArriAge go, it's hard to top the opening moments of Billions for sheer eye-popping intensity. We don't know it at first, but the man bound and gagged on the floor in the Showtime series premiere is actually wedded to the leather-bound dominatrix snuffing out a cigarette on his chest. The relationship only heats up from there. Paul Giamatti, 49, plays the guy with the burn hole, who also happens to be United States Attorney Chuck Rhoades. His wife, Wendy, por- trayed in thigh-high footwear by Maggie Siff, 42, is more than just his partner in blowing off steam. She's the in-house shrink and perfor- mance coach at Axe Capital, a massive hedge fund that pays her eight times more than her husband makes. Needless to say, Chuck cannot wait to expose Axe and its rakish billionaire CEO, played by Damian Lewis, as corrupt. What a relief that both Giamatti (Sideways, Downton Abbey) and Siff (Sons of Anarchy, Mad Men) are vastly more likeable in person than their deliciously despicable characters. The actors recently sat down with Boston Common to talk about the show and the juicy themes it evokes: money, power, sex, greed, and, these days, how to dominate the not-so- small screen in Hollywood. Billions is being acclaimed as one of the best new shows on television, but Chuck and Wendy aren't exactly easy to take. How do you explain their attraction? Paul Giamatti: They're two incredibly smart people who are almost too well matched in some weird way. They both love power, they play off each other's intensity, and they both hunger for success. We've dropped into their relationship near the end of something rather than the beginning, though I do think it was loving at one point. It's a portrait of people hitting a bad spot in a marriage. How they're going to work it out, I don't know. But it is certainly a helluva lot of fun to play. Maggie Siff: They're tough on each other but they're also very honest. They can be their full selves in a way that's completely uncensored and unguarded. People like to comment on the sexual element of their relationship as something very dark. But I see it as a testament to their connection. Somewhere along the line, it came up in conversation and they allowed it into the marriage. Behind the scenes, we talk about it being something that Chuck needs in his life, and that Wendy is like, Okay, I can do that. Don't knock open, honest communication, right? In last season's finale, Chuck breaks into Wendy's computer, visits another dominatrix behind her back, and accuses Wendy of being an immoral criminal. Where are things when Billions returns for its second season? Siff: Season two picks up soon after we left off and you see them regrouping. Wendy's not at Axe Capital anymore, which makes things complicated for her and Chuck personally and profession- ally. They're trying to figure out what to do with themselves. It's interesting playing a character this conflicted. Something I struggle with occasionally is wanting my characters to be maybe more heroic than they are. I don't know if every actor struggles with that. I love Wendy and love that she's so interested in helping people thrive and succeed. My question is always, why not help different kinds of people beyond the hedge fund guys? Can she examine her conscience and ask, "Why only help the super-rich?" Money is practically its own character on Billions —the $60 million beach house, the live-in chefs, the private helicopters. How has inhabiting this world altered your view of the 0.0001 percent? Giamatti: It freaks me out. I'm not going to condemn it, but I do find this level of extreme wealth to be strange and alienating. I've got no problem with living well, but you get to a place where enough is enough. In certain circles, though, more is more is more and it never ends. Money makes your "I'M LUCKY AS HELL THAT I MAKE A DECENT LIVING, BUT I THINK I'M EVEN LUCKIER THAT I DON'T HAVE A TASTE FOR SPEEDBOATS AND TAILORED SUITS AND MANSIONS IN THE HAMPTONS." —paul giamatti bostoncommon-magazine.com 97