When it comes to choosing movie and TV projects, Titus Welliver isn鈥檛 a 鈥渟ize does matter鈥� kind of guy.
True, the prolific actor with a face more recognizable than his unusual name is in two of 2012鈥檚 big Hollywood releases. He played Jon Bates in Argo, Ben Affleck鈥檚 Iran hostage drama, and he鈥檒l soon be seen in Gus Van Sant鈥檚 Promised Land as a rural gun and guitar-shop owner enlisted by Matt Damon鈥檚 character, a corporate salesman seeking to purchase local drilling rights.
Welliver, 51, has also amassed screen credits in movies such as The Doors, Assault on Precinct 13, Man on a Ledge and two other Affleck films 鈥� Gone Baby Gone and The Town. His TV roles include 鈥渢he Man in Black鈥� on ABC鈥檚 Lost, Silas Adams in HBO鈥檚 Deadwood, prosecutor Glenn Childs in CBS鈥檚 The Good Wife and Irish thug Jimmy O鈥橮helan in FX鈥檚 Sons of Anarchy.
Yet the busy Hollywood actor is just as content shooting the small-scale crime thriller Poker Night in Victoria.
Director Greg Francis鈥檚 interesting script, non-linear story structure and distinct characters unburdened by clich茅s was 鈥渏ust part of it,鈥� Welliver says. He plays Floyd Maxwell, one of five seasoned cops who mentor a rookie (Beau Mirchoff) targeted by a serial killer. Giancarlo Esposito, Ron Perlman, Ron Eldard and Victoria-born producer Corey Large play his comrades-in-blue.
鈥淚 think it鈥檚 important, certainly when you have some clout or name value, to support smaller projects that come across your table,鈥� says Welliver, wearing a checked shirt, a thin peacock-green cardigan, tan slacks and polished brown dress shoes in his trailer near a Prospect Lake home where the film鈥檚 stars are shooting the title sequence. 鈥淚t鈥檚 very hard to get films made, so when an opportunity like this comes up, you take it. And a big budget doesn鈥檛 always necessarily mean a better movie.鈥�
Despite a slick ad campaign and A-list cast headlined by Damon, Frances McDormand, John Krasinski and Hal Holbrook, Promised Land was made on what, by studio standards, is actually considered a smaller budget, Welliver said.
鈥淲hat happens is people realize you have to mine these kinds of jobs because studios aren鈥檛 doing as many simple stories as they used to,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 feel the independent film industry, for lack of a better word, really needs to be nurtured.鈥�
No matter what he does, Welliver loves to provide creative input. When asked about the beard he has sprouted, he says 鈥渋t was a choice I made鈥� for his Poker Night character. 鈥淎nd I just felt like having a beard,鈥� he adds, laughing.
He also contributed creatively to Deadwood. When creator David Milch was naming his character, the smart but lethal 鈥渂agman from Yangton,鈥� Welliver suggested he be named Silas after his brother, who died two years earlier.
鈥淚t brought me back to my childhood,鈥� he recalled. 鈥淚t was a great way to pay tribute to my brother, who I love dearly.鈥�
The conversation returns to Promised Land, 鈥渁 poignant, important film鈥� Welliver has just seen and is pleased with. Although it centres on what he terms 鈥渁 really dangerous crime against nature鈥� 鈥� the resource extraction process known as hydraulic fracturing, or hydrofracking 鈥� he said it鈥檚 really a story about people and personal growth once the truth unfolds and a grassroots campaign divides the community.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a serious issue and we鈥檙e seeing it happen more and more all over the world,鈥� says Welliver. 鈥淗ydrofracking is not the answer to reducing our dependency on foreign oil. I think it鈥檚 an absolute travesty and people trying to sell this as a safe, viable option should be really ashamed of themselves.鈥�
Welliver says his character in Promised Land 鈥� 鈥渁 very affable, open and regular guy鈥� 鈥� was a nice departure from playing the 鈥渉ard-hitting characters鈥� that have created the impression he鈥檚 an intense, formidable dude in person.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a common perception,鈥� he says, laughing. 鈥淚 am a knock-around guy, though. I鈥檝e had a checkered past and my share of ridiculous behaviour, but some of my characters are very heavy-duty, intense and certainly, at times, violent.鈥�
While he says he鈥檚 approachable and grateful for fan feedback, he admits he finds it amusing when some who stop him on the street seem hesitant at first.
鈥淏ecause of some characters I play, they wonder if I鈥檓 going to be brooding and intense,鈥� he says, admitting he does have intense moments. 鈥淢y father once said to me I was the only person he knew who carried around their own weather system.鈥�
Although Welliver has played dozens of characters, including trauma surgeons (NYPD Blue), high-powered CEOs (CSI) and space commanders (Star Trek: Voyager), the actor who once played Al Capone is the go-to guy for directors seeking villains.
鈥淚 get offered my share of roles I won鈥檛 do now because I feel you need to kind of reinvent the wheel to a certain degree and it鈥檚 very easy to get pigeonholed,鈥� he says. 鈥淭he reason I became an actor is because I love wearing all the different hats.鈥�
It鈥檚 no coincidence Welliver has done three films with Affleck, who cast him as Lionel McCready, the mustachioed Bostonian whose four-year-old niece was abducted in Gone Baby Gone and as obsessive FBI agent Dino Campa in The Town. He loves working with Affleck and his crews so much, he couldn鈥檛 resist playing Jon Bates in Argo, even though it was a smaller role.
鈥淔or my money, pound for pound, I think Ben鈥檚 one of the finest directors out there 鈥� period,鈥� Welliver says. 鈥淲hen you work with someone like Ben, you know it鈥檚 going to be the highest quality and enjoyable. You might even learn something.鈥�
