Comedian Denis Leary’s lifelong study of a famous military figure paid off when it came to his latest role.
“I’m a huge history buff and my favorite military figure of all time is George Patton, and the character was sort of developed with Patton as a touchstone,” Leary told Fox News Digital of his role in “Going Dutch.”
In the new comedy on FOX, Leary stars as U.S. Army Colonel Patrick Quinn, who is reassigned to a base in The Netherlands. He goes from combat command to a base staffed with misfits who he is tasked with bringing up to snuff, aided by his estranged daughter, played by Taylor Misiak, and right-hand officer, Executive Officer Major Abraham Shah, played by “Community” star Danny Pudi.
“I said, ‘Listen, If I’m thinking about playing this guy, I’m going to lean on George Patton and his characteristics because they match the colonel, and I know a lot about him.’ So being able to play the comedy version of that guy, that sort of vanity and that ego and that sort of self-importance was basically what I used as my reference point,” Leary recalled telling series creator Joel Church-Cooper.
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He continued, “I’ve read every book on George Patton, seen every documentary you could see on him. I guess I had pretty much been preparing my whole life to play this guy.”
Leary has been a longtime supporter of the military, in addition to his work with firefighters. His charity, the Leary Firefighters Foundation, was founded in 2000 after the deaths of his cousin and childhood friend as well as four other firefighters.
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He also turned his advocacy for firefighters into the critically acclaimed drama “Rescue Me” on FX, where he played a New York firefighter dealing with the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks.
“It’s the same sacrificial approach to their job, which is they’re putting their lives in place to protect others or to save others,” Leary said of the similarity between playing a firefighter and a member of the military onscreen. “So that kind of that aspect of it matches up completely. There’s also sort of the same camaraderie in terms of the crew that matches up a lot.”
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Of course, playing a fictional soldier is a far cry from the real deal, something Leary and his co-stars witnessed firsthand while filming on a base in Ireland.
“The Irish army let us use one of their bases. They were really great. They let us shoot pretty much everything we wanted and they lent us some of their equipment,” Leary said. “But, you know, they’re training on the base as we’re like, over here shooting a scene, they’re a short distance away, actually going through drill.”
Misiak said it was “so surreal” to watch the soldiers at work.
“We’re getting touched up with makeup, and they’re like, throwing smoke bombs, and they have shields, and they’re fighting each other, and we’re like, ‘Sorry, excuse me!’” she said with a laugh.
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Pudi added, “Just the scale of the equipment too. I mean, we have full tanks, we have like…these tow trucks that are designed to tow these tanks. Just the scale and it just feels so real and so lived in. And then also working with real soldiers and, I mean, what a gift. And it’s so interesting doing these bits where we’re walking on the base doing this show about these regular people, on this base, having these disputes, these family disputes, and meanwhile, the real soldiers are walking by. And I have one soldier come by and be like, ‘Hey, I’m a big fan.’ And I’m like, this is so weird! You guys are doing real work here!”
Misiak noted consultants were also on set to teach them “how to salute properly and a lot of just general etiquette between different ranks in the Army. So that was, that was really fun because it was fun to learn all the proper [protocols].”
“Going Dutch” marks Leary’s first sitcom in five years, after starring in “The Moodys” in 2019. It is also part of his overall larger return to TV, which also includes this year’s limited series “No Good Deed” on Netflix.
However, the 67-year-old does not consider it a comeback.
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“I don’t think of it that way. I think of it like trying to do justice to the scripts,” he said. “Whenever you do a series, it’s, at least for me anyways, it’s like a game to me, like a hockey game or, you know, any sporting event that you’re involved with, you get a little, you get butterflies, like you want to do a good job.”
WATCH: DENIS LEARY AND HIS ‘GOING DUTCH’ CO-STARS RECALL ‘SURREAL’ EXPERIENCE OF FILMING ON LIVE MILITARY BASE
He continued, “And especially in something like this, where there’s going to be some improvisation and the other actors are capable. I was more nervous about like making sure I could keep [up], especially with the first day of shooting.”
The Emmy-nominee praised his co-stars, saying he was a fan of Pudi from his work on “Community” and was wowed by Misiak in an early scene.
“When I looked across the table at her before we started this big argument scene, I’m like, ‘F—, she’s locked in!’” he said of Misiak.
“I will say for Denis, he is so present always in our scenes. And so, you create that environment where we know everything is just so alive and ready for anything,” Pudi said. “So, a lot of that started with Denis just being on set and always being ready to go wherever and if something fun happened, he’d be like, ‘Yes, let’s do that again’ or ‘Let’s go, let’s, let’s try this.’ So, it created a really fun atmosphere inside.”
Leary said, “To me, it’s like doing a live show in the theater or stand up or whatever concert, you know, you get the butterflies in and then like, yeah, especially in a team sport like this, you look at the other person, you go like, man, they’re ready. I love that feeling. That’s why and especially when you’re improvising and they’re both good at it, man. It’s just that’s why you do it.”
“Going Dutch” premieres Jan. 2 on FOX.
