Tom Hollander on becoming Truman Capote in 'Feud: Capote vs. the Swans' ahead of dramatic finale

ByAlicia Vitarelli OTRC logo
Wednesday, March 13, 2024
Tom Hollander on becoming Truman Capote in 'Feud: Capote vs. the Swans' ahead of dramatic finale
Tom Hollander is almost unrecognizable as the one and only Truman Capote in 'Feud: Capote vs. the Swans'

It's all about to come to a dramatic end on "Feud: Capote Vs. the Swans." The show's finale airs Wednesday, March 13.

Award winning actor Tom Hollander is almost unrecognizable as the one and only Truman Capote. He describes what it took to truly embody the famed writer and socialite.

"He's quite an extreme character, Truman," Hollander says. "You go, 'Oh well, here it goes!'"

Hollander says to become Truman Capote, he became a student of the author's idiosyncrasies.

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"You need to get the voice and the mannerisms, but you've also got to be able to be relatable as a human being," he says.

Capote was the best friend and confidant of Manhattan's female elite. He called them "the Swans."

Hollander says if this show looks like fun, it was.

"I just loved walking down the streets, clipping in my loafers with Central Park in the background. It was it was brilliant," he says.

He says that the star-studded cast made the experience even more surreal.

"What an incredible array," Hollander says.

From Demi Moore to Diane Lane, to Molly Ringwald and Calista Flockhart - the ensemble is packed with star power.

"I would say: Oh, my goodness. This is Chloe Sevigny. And now I'm acting with Jessica Lange, and now I'm rolling around on a chaise lounge with Naomi Watts and we're best friends!"

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Hollander says playing Capote was a lesson in unapologetic confidence and swagger.

"There was a kind of machismo to Truman's gayness, because he did it with such a kind of attitude," Hollander says. "There's something to be learned there the defiant courage of be yourself, just be yourself."

But Capote's lows, he says, were low.

The writer's demise came when he dished out the Swans' dark, dirty secrets in Esquire.

"It's a cautionary tale, isn't it?" he says. "There was a gaping void inside him, which he was filling with the wrong stuff, whether it was alcohol or high society, or namedropping, or gossip or lying. When actually, maybe he should have been working, because he was so brilliant!"

The finale of "Feud: Capote vs. the Swans" airs Wednesday at 10 p.m. on FX and the season is also streaming on Hulu.

Disney is the parent company of FX and this station.