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“Lucky” star William Fichtner has no problem turning down a role if it crosses his boundaries.
During a recent interview with Fox News Digital, the 69-year-old actor shared that he has “never” regretted saying no to a project, even if it turned out to be a big success.
“I’ve been a bit pickier and choosier at moments in my life where I probably didn’t have a right to be,” he said. “But if I didn’t believe it, if I didn’t think that I could do something with it, and there are certain lines that I just don’t cross. But, if I don’t have a belief in it, then I have a little bit of a fear that I don’t want to be bad, and I just won’t take the journey.”
He explained that he doesn’t “hold it as a badge of honor,” that he has said no to a few “jobs that were really good money,” and described knowing immediately that “this isn’t happening” when reading something he doesn’t like.
Fichtner shared that he’s never regretted turning down a role, even if it ended up being successful. (Brianna Bryson/FilmMagic)
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“Then my wife looks at me and goes, ‘You like it, right?’ And I’m like, ‘Actually, it’s in the garbage, honey. Sorry. Are we going to the store now? We’ve got to go to Costco, right?'” he said.
Fichtner plays Wayne Whittaker in the Apple TV miniseries, which aired its series finale, titled “All Good Things,” on Wednesday, Aug. 19.
WATCH: William Fichtner has never regretted turning down a role
The show stars Anya Taylor-Joy as Luciana “Lucky” Armstrong, a reformed criminal who is forced to engage in unlawful activities one last time, in order to secure her freedom and permanently leave behind her former life of crime.
In the finale, Fichtner and Taylor-Joy’s characters have a showdown, with the actor praising “The Queen’s Gambit” star, noting “she plays it perfectly,” as he recalled what it was like to film the scene.
Fichtner detailed what it was like filming the climactic scene with Anya Taylor-Joy in the finale. (Michael Buckner/Variety via Getty Images)
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“I remember it was five days in this like high desert. Oil rigs north of LA which is an incredible location. But I gotta tell you something, man, it was hot. And I just remember that it just it fed into all of this intensity,” he said. “She plays it perfectly. It’s written perfectly. She is not backing down. She’s going to throw some things at me and there’s a curveball in there that is like, okay, all right, I gotta give this woman her due. This is really good.”
Fichtner in a scene for his new show, “Lucky.” (Apple TV )
When it came time to filming the chaotic scene, Fichtner joked that when he arrived on set and saw “this very beautiful, petite woman standing there with these incredible eyes that look right through you,” he thought, “We’re in the middle of all of this like havoc and this did that,” referring to Taylor-Joy.
WATCH: William Fichtner described working with Anya Taylor-Joy on the final episode of ‘Lucky’
Fichtner started his acting career in the 1990s, going on to become one of the most recognizable supporting actors of the 2000s. His most recognizable role is FBI Special Agent Alexander Mahone in “Prison Break,” which he starred in from 2006 to 2009.
Fichtner’s most recognizable role was in “Prison Break.” (Everett Collection)
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Having worked on both a miniseries and a series with multi-season arcs, he was able to compare how he prepared for each.
Fichtner compared working on a miniseries to working on a regular show. (Bryan Bedder/Getty Images for Entertainment Weekly and AMC)
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“Working on ‘Prison Break.’ You could be finishing up season two, episode 10. Your last shooting day is on a Wednesday and Wednesday afternoon you get episode 11 and you start tomorrow,” he said. “You’re putting the pieces together, but you know your character, you just don’t know what road he’s gonna walk down in the next episode.”
WATCH: William Fichtner compares working on a limited series to a multi-season show
He added: “It’s different with a limited series. You do have the scripts, you do see the arc of the character.”
