By David Martindale, Special Contributor
For Bill Paxton, the role of Sam Houston in Texas Rising was a dream job.
The actor savored the chance to work on the History Channel miniseries with director Roland Joffé. He felt a great sense of camaraderie with his co-stars, who include Ray Liotta, Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Brendan Fraser. And given that he's a Fort Worth native, the story of the Texas Revolution is dear to him.
The biggest draw for Paxton? "I'm related to Sam Houston on my father's side," he says. "We're second cousins, four times removed."
The 10-hour, five-night miniseries premieres at 8 p.m. Monday on History.
Paxton has long wanted to play Sam Houston, commander in chief of the Texas Army and victor over Mexican Gen. Santa Anna in the Battle of San Jacinto.
Paxton was disappointed when he didn't get a shot at the role in The Alamo, the 2004 feature film. (Fellow Texan Dennis Quaid played the part.) So when Texas Rising producer Leslie Greif approached Paxton, offering the role of scout Deaf Smith, the actor called an audible.
"He didn't know about my connection," Paxton says. "I said, 'Man, I'm just itching to play Sam.' "
Morgan, subsequently cast as Deaf Smith, says Paxton took his role to heart. "I remember seeing him every day with 75 pounds of schoolbooks about Sam Houston," Morgan says. "Every time he opened his mouth, it was, 'Sam Houston did this, Sam Houston said that.' "
Paxton, Morgan (who lost 40 pounds for his role), Liotta (who plays a fictional Alamo survivor), Olivier Martinez (Santa Anna) and Cynthia Addai-Robinson ("Yellow Rose" Emily West) talk about their experiences making Texas Rising.
What attracted you to this project?
Liotta: I had never done a Western. To be asked to do one with an amazing director like Roland Joffé made it a no-brainer." [Joffé is a two-time Oscar nominee for The Killing Fields and The Mission.]
Morgan: Same for me. Before even reading the script, I said, 'I want this because I want to be in a Western.' I spent five and a half months on the back of a horse in Durango, Mexico, playing cowboys and Indians on the same location where John Wayne made seven movies. What's not to love?
Martinez: As a Frenchman with Spanish roots, I grew up watching American Westerns, never believing I could actually be in one. It was trippy to become one of the most powerful men in the world, commanding my own army, even if it was all only make-believe.
How do you feel about parts of the miniseries that take liberties with the actual story? Liotta's character, for example, didn't exist. And Emily West has steamy romances with both Houston and Santa Anna, something historians agree didn't happen.
Liotta: I play a fictional character, but he drives the story forward in a lot of ways. He wakes up in a pile of dead bodies at the Alamo and goes on a killing frenzy, seeking revenge against as many Mexicans as possible. But in the final hours, he feels remorse. He's a symbol of what war does to a man's soul.
Robinson: It's more legend than fact that Emily West helped defeat the Mexican Army by having an affair with Santa Anna. But it's fascinating how the legend endures. Whether or not there's 100 percent truth behind it, it's a good story.
Paxton: You have to remember that this is entertainment first and foremost. But as far as the spine of the piece goes, in terms of the look and the feel and the battles, we went to incredible lengths to get all that. It's like the lovers in Titanic. They didn't exist in real life. But there was attention to detail in the way that Jim Cameron had that ship built and the way it hit that iceberg and everything else.
Bill and Olivier, what would you like viewers to know about your famous characters?
Paxton: Sam Houston was a man's man. He lived with the Indians. He studied the classics. He traveled everywhere. He was a bon vivant. Women adored him. He was a soldier and a statesman. He had great ethics and great integrity, and he didn't tolerate people who were nefarious in any way. He was just one of the most remarkable men who has ever lived.
Martinez: Santa Anna is not the most popular guy in Texas. He could be very ruthless. I know that the people of Texas will be very emotional when they see the things that he does. But I hope they remember, first of all, I am an actor, and second of all, I'm French. So when you see me, don't shoot!
