PARK CITY. We're so accustomed to politicians getting caught up in embarrassing sex scandals that it's tempting (or darned near inevitable) to compare Patrick Wilson's character in the Sundance drama “Zipper” to any of several real life kerfuffles.
Chatting with the newly minted “Fargo” star on a balcony scenically overlooking Park City's Main Street, I asked Wilson if any of those famous examples informed his character here.
“No, because I didn't want it to be 'Oh, it's the Eliot Spitzer story' or 'Oh, it's John Edwards,' because sadly, those are the few that we know about and I'm sure that there are many, many, many more,” Wilson said, though he noted that his character's Southern accent will make Edwards comparisons easier.
As he discusses in our interview, Wilson wanted his “Zipper” character to be more of a portrait of addiction, but not an obvious one.
“What I didn't want to do was sorta make him this obsessive compulsive drinker or gambler, miserable at home, all of the typical things that you would think, 'Oh right, that guy's gonna go down the rabbit hole of escorts and adultery,'” he said.
Check out the full interview above for Wilson's thoughts on his character's addictions and his own feelings on political sex scandals.
“Zipper” premiered at Sundance on Tuesday (January 27) night shortly after this interview and it's still in the hunt for distribution.
Also check out my “Fargo” chat with Wilson, in which he was a darned good sport talking in the rain: