Character Breakdown: DAYS OF WINE AND ROSES Cast Unpacks Their Roles

Who needs dry land? Who wants wet sand

Oh, Iowa is you! I mean, Joe Clay is just a regular guy who's coming out of the Korean conflict

and, you know, starting his career in New York City in the late 50s

He's got a lot of potential, he's got a lot of personality and wit and charm

and he's also an alcoholic and he's got an addiction and he falls madly in love with Kirsten Arneson, played by Kelly

and the story really is a story about the two of them coming together

and finding the love they have for each other and also the hardship they endure by trying to tackle their addictions

and so that's essentially what it's about, the ups and downs and the complexities, as you say

of how addiction can have a real effect on people's lives, it's devastating

I always feel compelled to say that I'm play acting, I'm doing a show, telling a story

and this is a very real, real thing for so many people so I'm very aware of that and I just hope that what we're doing honors the real heroic

and Herculean struggles that people who deal with, whether it's firsthand or on the periphery

I hope we honor them. Kirsten is a combination of many people

She's a combination of myself and she's a combination of our writers

and all the mothers and aunts and grandmothers that we know because of the era

and I adore her and I feel for her and I feel like she represents

not the villainous idea we have about someone who has a problem that takes her away from her family

but a human being who is really struggling and I put all sorts of future in her story for myself

in order to play her and all sorts of past and she's just one of the richest characters I've ever played

I love that she is kind of the adult in the family and she gets to mature so much

and I love the character. I love that Lila has a very good relationship, well sort of a fine relationship with her parents

and she takes over the family when her parents are like drunk and stuff

and I like taking over sometimes. Yes, I'm Mrs. Nolan in the show and she's the neighbor and she's aware of everything I'll say

without giving it away and she's very sort of sympathetic because a child is involved

and she's just really, really solid. She's a solid woman. I play Jim Hungerford and I am the AA sponsor who helps Joe, the main character, to get over his alcoholism

and so for me, I'm the guy that has to come in and do the hard work and I said last night on Instagram, it makes me feel a little bit like Superman

so that's the best part for me. Well, I cover Brian Darcy James, the venerable, incredible Brian Darcy James

which is in itself just a huge cross to bear. Hopefully, I won't ever need to but we'll see

and I play a number of different roles in the show including my favorite character, Mr. Shaw, the toy store owner

There are no small parts and I think he makes a big impression so I'm very happy

Such a poignant scene. I think that's wonderful. Covering Brian, so you've got his whole role, that journey you're going to have to take, right

Yeah, got to get it into my brain. It's amazing to watch him, to watch somebody at the top of our field in Kellyanne, Brian

It's just amazing to watch them every night, to see the humor and the levity and the positivity

that just permeates throughout this whole building whenever they're in the room with us

It's just amazing. It's an honor. I play Betty. She's a high class escort and I absolutely love playing this part

My costume is so beautiful. And then I get to play all these other little parts that I've also named Betty

They all just have different last names and it's so fun. It's so fun to get to embody a bunch of different people

It's just a great time and I'm lucky to cover her which is also huge, huge shoes to fill

but it's a wonderful challenge and it's something that I feel like all of my skills are sort of combining for this moment

Wow, so you cover for her. So you know her role too

I do, I do. It's quite a lot of material to have in my brain at one time

But she's someone that I've just admired my whole career and so it's such a privilege to watch what she does and to learn from her

So it's a privilege to be here