Liev Schreiber forced to look at his dad 'mistakes' through Nocturne role
Liev Schreiber stars as homicide detective Jonah Lynn in Apple TV series Nocturne, in which Stephen Graham plays terrifying serial killer role Jurek Walter, with Zazie Beatz playing Jonah’s young detective partner and goddaughter Saga Bauer.
Liev Schreiber says his new serial killer TV drama made him think about the “mistakes” he’s made as a father of three.
The actor stars as homicide detective Jonah Lynn in Apple TV series Nocturne, in which Stephen Graham plays terrifying serial killer role Jurek Walter, with Zazie Beatz playing Jonah’s young detective partner and goddaughter Saga Bauer.
Trying to track down Graham’s killer’s latest victim means that Jonah has to effectively put Saga in danger, which made him think about his own paternal instincts as a dad of three.
Liev, who has two children with ex Naomi Watts and a daughter with wife Taylor Neisen, told the Latin Times: “This definitely asked me to think about how I am as a father and maybe some of the mistakes I make.”
The screen star also pondered how he brought some of his own character into his portrayal of Jonah.
He mused: “I think every character we portray is some extension of ourselves or of our own imaginations.”
In Nocturne, Jonah is torn between two positions - wanting Saga to get information about of Jurek while also worrying about her as her godfather and almost surrogate father.
He wondered: “Is he actually exploiting his own goddaughter to a degree to get information? That was a really interesting and murky area of the story that I wish I'd had more time to think about."
Liev also said that if Nocturne was to return for a second series, he would like the opportunity to delve further into the relationship between Jonah and Saga.
He said: “There was a very interesting gray area with the two of us that, you know, if we ever do this again, I want to go deeper into.”
Stephen previously opened up about how his wife Hannah had helped him prep for playing a serial killer on screen, as he said that she’s “obsessed with serial killers, true life documentaries and crime dramas”.
He told the Radio Times: “So we sat on the couch for about two weeks, and she kept going, 'Right, you've got to watch this one. This one's brilliant. This one's fantastic. Wait till you see this one’.
“It was nice to sit with Hannah and watch all these serial killers. She's probably written a letter to one or two of them fellas, I reckon on a sly, if I'm honest!"
“All of those things just go into your subconscious without even noticing it. When you're building the character, you're influenced by all these different things.
“Be that art, paintings, literature, music, whatever. You're influenced by all of these things.”
