Tommy Lee Jones, 80, an Oscar winner and a star of the second season of The Lowdown, the noirish Tulsa crime story undercut with terrific dime-store waggery, sits flat-footed in the green room at Good Morning America, in downtown Manhattan. He has just done an on-camera interview with Ethan Hawke, who stars as the show’s protagonist. In the next dressing room are many adorable, pawing puppies being primped for a segment on National Adopt-a-Dog Month.
Jones is adorable too, in his avuncular way, his face an old-dog scowl that softens when you ask the right question, as if you’d scratched him in the right spot. On The Lowdown, he plays Hawke’s estranged father, a crusty old bastard who holds secrets. There’s a bad history between them, and Hawke’s character, an impulsive, truth-seeking investigative journalist, at first wants nothing to do with his dad, but that situation evolves.
They’re both named Lee Raybon. Jones wears a glen-plaid sport coat, a blue dress shirt, and comfortable sneakers. When the interview begins, he looks at you, ready but giving nothing until he’s asked to.
ESQUIRE: I just watched the first six episodes of this season, and man, I wasn’t ready for [REDACTED]. TOMMY LEE JONES: Oh, you watched all those episodes? The [REDACTED] scene was—I hope that was kind of shocking.
We didn’t see it coming, which I guess is a testament to you all. You didn’t see it coming. That’s the reason we did it.
The way you developed your character’s way of speaking, the way he trails off here and there, tells us that this guy knows some stuff he’s not giving away. I’m just trying to give a compliment, not really asking a question. You said to Charlie Rose in an interview a long time ago that there’s no through line that runs through the characters you play.
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