Following in Fargo's footsteps: Get Shorty heads to the small screen

Ray Romano and Chris O'Dowd star in Get Shorty, which premieres on Sky Soho in August.

The unanticipated awesomeness of the Fargo series has forever changed expectations for television shows adapted from beloved movies. Coming from the same studio, and taking much creative inspiration from the Fargo series, is the new SoHo show Get Shorty, adapted from the Elmore Leonard novel that inspired the 1995 movie of the same name, starring John Travolta and Danny DeVito.

Even more so than with Fargo, the Get Shorty series is very different to the Get Shorty movie, and features none of the same characters. Not that Irish actor Chris O'Dowd (Bridesmaids) had any idea when he was first offered the lead role.

"I hadn't seen the film," the actor tells TimeOut during an exclusive chat in Los Angeles. "Which was nice in a certain way because I had no other expectations that the material in front of me, the script. But the subject matter and the material in the book is so strong that is kind of worth having a go at it from a different angle."

Chris O'Dowd stars in Get Shorty.

For those unfamiliar with the book or the film, that subject matter essentially boils down to what happens when gangsters go to Hollywood.

O'Dowd's character, Miles Davy, is a mid-level enforcer for a scuzzy Nevada crime family based in a crappy little town outside Las Vegas. Desperate to win back his estranged wife and daughter, Davy attempts to go legit by leveraging himself into the entertainment business after a "collection" in Los Angeles results in him getting his hands on a decent screenplay.

"I definitely feel like I can relate to a guy coming from out of town into Hollywood to try and make it," says O'Dowd, who first came to prominence on the beloved BBC comedy series The IT Crowd. "That's familiar to me. And also recognising that being forthright is a commodity in a town where bullshit is on every menu."

Chris O'Dowd first found fame in the British comedy The IT Crowd.

O'Dowd eventually got around to watching the 1995 film after he'd finished filming the first season.

"I had decided not to watch it because I didn't think it would be creatively that useful for me, but then I was always curious and I knew I'd get asked about it. I loved the movie. It's a really different kind of a thing. But obviously a very similar premise. And it's slicker, it's a lot of people who are sharp and it's very 90s. I've said this before, but our show is kind of like visiting the same bar at a different time of the week."

Indeed, where John Travolta epitomised 90s gangster cool as the debonair Chili Palmer in the movie, Davy is a bit further down the criminal ladder. His eventual Hollywood producing partner, Rick Moreweather (Ray Romano), is also something of a B-lister.

Although Get Shorty isn't without a sense of humour, it's darker and more violent than the light comedy that both O'Dowd and Romano (Everybody Loves Raymond) are best known for. But O'Dowd says the pair weren't exactly egging each other on to be funnier on set.

"Oddly, neither of us are huge extroverts. I work with comedy people all the time who'll really try and one-up themselves with jokes all the time, and neither of us are kind of that guy. We both were just kind of searching for honesty in these kinds of roles that we weren't familiar with most of the time."

John Travolta and Rene Russo starred in the original 90s film version of Get Shorty.

O'Dowd isn't the first actor that comes to mind when you think "gangster".

"What really felt different about this was the physicality of it. To play a guy who can kick the shit out of people was something that I would generally not be drawn to, but I loved the challenge of it. To play a hard man was kind of fascinating because it's not really me and it's not anything I've done."

However unlikely the casting, O'Dowd is a very convincing shit-kicker.

"I did loads of boxing before I took it on, so I could just get the general feel of the posture of it and not being intimidated. I used to get into fights when I was younger and I remember that the difference between people who have been hit and people who haven't is apparent. Once you've been hit, you're not afraid of being hit anymore."

LOWDOWN:
Who: Chris O'Dowd
What: Get Shorty
When: Tuesdays, 9.30pm
Where: Sky Soho