NEW YORK — “Hap and Leonard” is one part buddy drama, one part caper comedy, and a rich dose of swampy film noir.

Mostly, it’s a spiky exploration of two comrades in the East Texas backwoods of the late 1980s who, each in his own way, have been battered by the 1960s’ broken promises, then get a last shot at the American Dream.

The six-episode season of this SundanceTV series, which premieres Wednesday at 10 p.m. EST, fills the title roles with two actors who have left deep impressions on the audience in past signature performances. Read the rest of this entry »

Based on the books by Joe R. Lansdale, the SundanceTV series Hap and Leonard is set in the late 1980s and is a darkly comic, swamp noir story of two best friends, Hap Collins (James Purefoy), an East Texan with a weakness for Southern women, and Leonard Pine (Michael Kenneth Williams), a gay, black Vietnam vet with a hot temper. When Hap’s seductive ex-wife Trudy (Christina Hendricks) shows up with a get-rich-quick deal that they can’t refuse, it all snowballs out of hand, very quickly.

During this exclusive interview with Collider, actor James Purefoy talked about why Hap and Leonard is probably his favorite show that he’s ever done, wanting to work with Michael Kenneth Williams again, their easy chemistry, why he relates to these characters, and what Christina Hendricks brought to the project.

Collider: How much fun are you having making this show and playing this character? Read the rest of this entry »

James attended the launch of Glenmorangie and Finlay & Co. collaboration “Beyond the Cask” in London on March 1, 2016. I’ve uploaded 11 HQ photos from this event to the gallery.

GALLERY LINK:
Public Appearances > 2016 Appearances > [2016/03/01] Glenmorangie And Finlay & Co. “Beyond the Cask” Launch

I’ve uploaded HQ photos of James promoting “Hap And Leonard” in New York City recently.

GALLERY LINK:
Public Appearances > 2016 Appearances > [2016/02/25] “Hap And Leonard” Private Premiere Party in New York City
Public Appearances > 2016 Appearances > [2016/02/25] AOL Build Speakers Series – James Purefoy, Michael K Williams, Jimmi Simpson, Jim Mickle, Nick Damici and Joe Landsdale, “Hap and Leonard”

GALLERY LINK:
Movie Productions > Beau Brummell: This Charming Man > DVD Screencaps

Actor James Purefoy (The Following) was raised in the English county of Somerset, an area which is notable, among other things, for its complete lack of alligators. So, shooting in the swamps of Louisiana for SundanceTV’s new crime drama Hap and Leonard was an at times an unsettling experience for the Brit.

“The most dangerous thing we’re going to come across [in Somerset] is a badger,” says Purefoy, whose costars on the show include Michael Kenneth Williams and Christina Hendricks. “It’s quite hairy filming in a swamp or just filming in very rural Louisiana. There are copperhead snakes, alligators. We had men with guns on the set making sure alligators didn’t nip our ankles.”

The cast and crew also had to deal with the tempestuous Louisiana climate. “We had a tornado on the first day we were shooting, which was an alarming experience,” says Purefoy. “Suddenly the sky went very dark green, and an incredible wind went up, followed by torrential torrential rain, the like of which I’ve never seen before. We were all told that we could go home, but within five minutes of that happening the sky had gone completely clear, as if somebody had turned the lights back on again, and then everything was okay. The weather changes really fast down there, really very fast. We’re not the first people to film in Louisiana, so people are very used to it. But I’m not used to extreme levels of climate. I’m used to a soft drizzle!”

Source: Entertainment Weekly

BERLIN — A bevy of British talent is set to lead the cast in Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart drama “Interlude in Prague,” including James Purefoy (“Solomon Kane,” “John Carter,” “Ironclad”), Aneurin Barnard (“The White Queen,” “The Truth About Emanuel,” “Ironclad”) and “Les Miserables” star Samantha Barks. London-based Carnaby will handle worldwide rights for the film, which will be presented to buyers at Berlin’s European Film Market.

Directed by John Stephenson (“Animal Farm,” “Five Children and It”) with a screenplay by Brian Ashby, “Interlude in Prague” is produced by Productive International’s Huw Penallt Jones (“The Man Who Knew Infinity,” “The Edge of Love,” “Cold Mountain,” “Chaos”) along with Hannah Leader (“Lucky Number Slevin,” “Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead”) with cinematography by Michael Brewster (“Five Children and It,” “Animal Farm”), production design by Oscar winner Luciana Arrighi (“Only You,” “The Man Who Knew Infinity,” “Jakob the Liar”) and Hybrid’s Charlotte Truman joins principal crew as composer and music producer.

Set in Prague in 1787, the film is “an intense and emotional narrative of love, lust and murder.” Based on true-life events, it follows the story of a few turbulent months in the short life of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart that influenced the creation of the opera “Don Giovanni.” Read the rest of this entry »

Kevin Bacon literally knows everyone — even The Boss himself, Bruce Springsteen!

Just ask Bacon’s dreamy The Following costar James Purefoy, 51, who reveals his favorite celebrity encounter to Us Weekly in a 2016 Sundance Film Festival edition of 25 Things You Don’t Know About Me.

“[We met] backstage after a gig with my friend Kevin Bacon,” the English actor tells Us Weekly’s Travis Cronin exclusively in the Us Weekly Video Lounge at Chefdance, “because [Kevin] just knows everyone!” Read the rest of this entry »

Sony Pictures Classics has picked up worldwide rights to the Wall Street drama Equity.

In the film, Anna Gunn plays a senior investment banker that finds herself entangled in a web of politics and deception after she leads a controversial tech IPO and is being investigated by an aggressive prosecutor (Alysia Reiner) from her past. James Purefoy also stars.

Equity was directed by Meera Menon from a screenplay penned by Amy Fox, while Reiner and Sarah Megan Thomas acted as producers. Read the rest of this entry »

James Purefoy, Michael Kenneth Williams and Christina Hendricks star in new drama, “Hap and Leonard,” and AccessHollywood.com has your exclusive sneak peek.

In this exclusive clip from “Hap and Leonard,” coming to SundanceTV, Hap (Purefoy) hangs out with Leonard (Williams) but is interrupted when his ex-wife, Trudy (Hendricks) stops by.

Leonard isn’t happy to see her again, but Trudy, who has been doing some jazzercise, clearly still has chemistry with her ex.

The new series premieres Wednesday, March 2 at 10 PM ET/PT on Sundance.

Source: Access Hollywood