We talk to the star of the summer TV hit about how music influenced the creation of Junior, a character who slowly descends into madness after being enclosed in an invisible bubble.
Alexander Koch is currently setting the standard for crazy people on network TV. A star of CBSs summer miniseries Under the Dome, based on Stephen Kings novel about a small town that gets sealed off by a giant bubble, Koch plays Junior Rennie, a kid who snaps when the chaos begins. After just two episodes, hes kidnapped his girlfriend Angie (Britt Robertson), chained her up in a bomb shelter, and tried to kill a guy that he thought wanted Angie for himself.
So how does Koch (pronounced "coke"), who attended the Theatre School at DePaul University, prepare himself to play a crazy person? I wondered if his process involved the media, so I called last week to discuss his screen habits. Turns out, theres a lot of Roy Orbison involved.
Tribeca: First things first: Does the media impact your work as an actor? Do you listen to music to get psyched up? Do you watch a sad old movie to learn how to play a tragic scene?
Alexander Koch: When Im working, I like to work with a lot of music. The more I can think of what a character would listen to, the more I feel like I have a place to create from.
Tribeca: Did you do that with Junior? Definitely. To me, Stephen Kings work has this 1950s, Eisenhower-era feeling. That classic, American nuclear family thing. So I was listening to a lot of Roy Orbison. I had this Roy Orbison record I was listening to over and over.
Tribeca: Do you remember the particular song?
AK: Let me look it up. I have a whole Under the Dome playlist that has like a hundred songs.
[searches his computer]
It was a best of Roy Orbison record, and I started listening to these songs about heartbreak. These old-fashioned songs youd hear on an old radio or something. I was rehearsing and thinking of things about Junior that seemed like they were on that record.
Tribeca: Like what?
AK: A lot of it comes from that ideal of what love is supposed to be. I was trying to develop a character relationship between Britts character, Angie, and Junior. I get the feeling that in Juniors mind, theres a running loop of 50s love songs, and hes looking at her singing, I dont know, "I Only Have Eyes for You" by the Flamingos.
Tribeca: Interesting! So youre using songs to give you insights into his character and not just to get you into an emotional space.
AK: Right!
Tribeca: And if Im getting you, these vintage love songs tell you how Junior wants to see the world, even though hes got his girlfriend chained up underground.
AK: When hes with Angie, he has this very distinct ideal of what its supposed to be. Even when shes acting out, he knows its going to be all rainbows and butterflies somehow. Shes misbehaving right now, but shes gonna come around, and were meant to be together. Were gonna have kids and run away together.
Tribeca: What else is on your Under the Dome playlist? Anything contemporary?
AK: Theres an Alt-J song called "Breezeblocks." I like the chorus of it: "Please dont go, please dont go. I love you so, I love you so." That makes sense for this character.
[Note: The video is also a primer on how to terrorize a loved one.]
Tribeca: How do you listen to music? Are you using a vintage stereo for Roy Orbison?
AK: I have a record player at home that I usually listen to, but since Ive been in Wilmington [North Carolina, where the series is filming], I couldnt bring it with me. When Im on set, Im listening through headphones on my computer, just trying to zone in and focus. Britt always makes fun of me about how Im always in my chair listening to music.
Tribeca: And what about movies or TV? Any inspirations there?
AK: It was great coming to Wilmington where Blue Velvet was shot because Im obsessed with that movie. I really love Badlands because I love the stylized feel of it. Its sparse, but its so rich. Theres minimal dialogue, but the images strike a chord. You feel something. To me, Terrence Malick writes from a point where images take precedence over dialogue.
Tribeca: As an actor, can you use that imagistic approach?
AK: When Im working, I find images and kind of attach to them. At school, when we were studying Shakespeare, wed have to create these huge booklets of images attached to the dialogue. It just makes the dialogue so much stronger if you have a distinct image in your mind. Before we go, Id love to know what else has excited you recently.
Tribeca: Anything youve seen or heard or read that stick with you?
AK: The book I started reading during my audition process for this show was John Fowles The Collector, because there were a lot of parallels with that and the Angie/Junior situation. That book freaked me out a little bit, and it was great to have that in my mind before starting this thing.
Previously in Screen Habits: The Shondes on Buffy & Star Wars
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We talk to the star of the summer TV hit about how music influenced the creation of Junior, a character who slowly descends into madness after being enclosed in an invisible bubble. 
