Dylan McDermott opens up about playing Ernie West, why his ‘Hollywood’ role means so much to him, and more.
Since Hollywood’s debut on Netflix, viewers have fallen in love with the one and only Ernie West. Dylan McDermott is terrific as the dynamic owner of Golden Tip Gas and the man who has a connection to everyone in Tinseltown. Ernie is a crucial figure in the world of Hollywood. Without Ernie, Jack Castello would have never crossed paths with Avis Amberg, which leads to Jack’s breakout role in Meg. Ernie West lends a helping hand to so many in their quests to make their Hollywood dreams come true.
HollywoodLife talked with Dylan McDermott about taking on the role of Ernie West. For Dylan, this wasn’t just a role. Playing Ernie allowed the veteran actor to truly express himself in his work. He also discussed why he’d be perfectly content with just working with Hollywood creator Ryan Murphy for the “rest of my days,” reuniting onscreen with Holland Taylor, his daughter getting a role on the show, and more.
It seemed like you had so much fun embracing this role. What did you love about playing Ernie West? Dylan McDermott: It’s funny, my acting teacher says it takes 20 years to become a great actor. Now, I think it’s 30. It just takes a long time. For me, I just had to get really comfortable, and when I met Ernie, he was the key. He gave me the key. He was like, okay, go have some fun now. And I said hell yes to that. It was really just an exercise in character and digging deep and freedom. Everything that you ever want as an actor when you first start out, which is so hard to come by, arrived in the face of Ernie. I’m very grateful to him. He taught me a lot. These characters sometimes will teach you things, and Ernie really taught me a great deal. He taught me about optimism. In the face of being sick, he was still optimistic, so I really appreciate that. I just fell in love with him. I don’t know how to describe it more than just in terms of you fall in love with people that you play. Sometimes you have difficulty playing them, but this guy… I fell in love with him.
He was larger than life. One of the things that I really noticed about Ernie was that he really the touchstone of this show. He was catalyst for everything. The show ends where it really begins — with Ernie and the gas station. How did you feel about that full circle aspect? Dylan McDermott: I’ve been working with Ryan for over 10 years now, so I know whatever he brings me is pretty special. This is right up there with the most special because there’s something about this whole show that is really resonating. It resonated with me, too. I love the fact that this whole full-circle thing that you’re talking about is so great. You never know what the character is going to be. He can tell you what it is, but you don’t really know until you’re in it. It’s always surprising. He likes to keep people on their toes when they’re filming. It’s always surprising working for Ryan, and this was just a great experience.
I know that the character is loosely inspired by Scotty Bowers. How did you prepare for Ernie? Did you look back at any actors in particular of that Golden Age era? Dylan McDermott: Yes, Clark Gable was the inspiration. I would say Scotty Bowers and Clark Gable. I always say that Ernie is the love child. I have a poster of The Misfits in my house, so that movie has always been one of my favorites.
