Manhunt Deadly Games star Cameron Britton on Richard Jewell

Cameron Britton plays Richard Jewell in Manhunt Deadly Games.

Manhunt Deadly Games is now on CBS and bringing renewed attention to one of the most infamous crime stories in American history: the 1996 Olympic Park bombing that made Richard Jewell the ultimate scapegoat.

Cameron Britton portrays Jewell in the TV crime drama and spoke with Precinct TV about taking on the role, and showing more of who Richard Jewell really was and what he went through while being wrongfully accused of the attack.

Plus, how did this true-crime adaptation compare to his role as Ed Kemper in Mindhunter? Learn more in our interview before watching the next episode of Manhunt Deadly Games tonight at 10 on CBS.

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Precinct TV: What interested you in taking on the role of Richard Jewell? It’s a complicated part.

Cameron Britton: I found the story to be very complex, and I thought that Richard Jewell’s arc was very complex as well. He starts out as someone who is pretty self-conscious, has pretty low self-esteem. And surprisingly enough, through this horrible [media] trial by fire that he went through, he found a lot of backbone and confidence in himself. He grew as a person through the whole world hating him, which is a pretty impressive thing to do.

That’s sort of the selfish actor reasons. I found that interesting to play, but on a more practical level, his story deserves to be told. He should be exonerated even in death. When I took the role, I would tell people I’m playing Richard Jewell, and they still thought he was the bomber. They didn’t realize he was exonerated. So it’s definitely an important story to tell.

PTV: Manhunt Deadly Games is essentially the opposite of Mindhunter. You portrayed a real person who was guilty and terrifying, and now a real person who was innocent and just wanted to do something good. How was that contrast for you to play?

CB: It was nice to play the good guy. (laughs) Strangely enough, playing Ed brings a lot of confidence. It’s very relaxing since he’s so calm.

Jewell was trickier, because he’s in a lot of pain and even his own mother isn’t sure that he’s innocent. He was stuck in his house for three straight months. He didn’t really leave. That would be incredibly hard with the media outside the window and everything.

So playing Jewell, a lot of my focus was building his doubts and fears, whereas most characters I would build their strength and belief and focus on those. Doing the inverse of that certainly caused it to be a heavy shoot. But it felt like the right move.

PTV: Do you have a different process for playing real people as opposed to entirely fictional characters?

CB: It’s always tricky playing the real person, because you need to sort of have an instinct for how much you’re going to take from their personality. You kind of just have to trust yourself on leaving some parts to who they were and then knowing when to include other parts.

For Jewell, I actually only took a little bit, the general essence. It felt like I could bring something more interesting to the character that was coming out of me rather than him, if that makes sense. So I think it’s different for each real person you do.

As far as fictional characters, I always find a real person to base them off anyway. It just grounds them and makes them more believable for me. There’s more to pull off that way.

PTV: What were the most rewarding or challenging moments for you in the role?

CB: The interrogation scene in Episode 2 was really why I took the project in the first place. I auditioned with that scene. It’s a moment for Jewell where he learns that his heroes are trying to put him behind bars. He, all in one instance, realizes that he’s considered the villain and not the hero and that he might even get the electric chair.

And on top of that, he’s heartbroken because all of his love and respect and admiration for law enforcement goes out the window. That was the scene that I enjoyed building, and I loved what we ended up with on the day.

PTV: That’s an important piece of Manhunt Deadly Games. You showcase everything Richard Jewell went through emotionally and mentally, without it getting lost in the procedural stuff, even to the very end. How did you pull that off?

CB: When it came to the arc, there were really a lot of conscious conversations with the writing team. Andrew Sodroski, the creator, is so collaborative. He told me on day one that if I had any line changes, anything that I felt would tell the story better, he’s all for them. And we got to really piece this together as it went along, because of that collaboration.

For me, this was never a procedural. It was never a criminal show to me. I just focused on telling the most honest version from Richard’s side, which would be mostly heavily emotional. Any documentation says that he was really emotional during all of this. The procedure part, I let that take care of itself.

PTV: You mentioned earlier that there’s still some confusion about Richard Jewell in the public consciousness. Is there anything you’re hoping that TV viewers take away from your portrayal of him?

CB: I think the Richard Jewell story is important, because Richard didn’t have a great jaw line and he wasn’t particularly clever or quippy, but he was a hero nonetheless. Often we start associating heroes with good looks and all that kind of stuff. I think it’s important to remember that being a hero just means that you’re heading towards adversity—whether or not you’re afraid, you’re fighting it. And I think that’s exemplified in Richard.

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Manhunt Deadly Games airs Mondays at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT on CBS.

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