Why Matthew Rhys Was Reticent About Returning As ‘Perry Mason’ But So Glad He Did

It’s been three years since the last series of Perry Mason, but Matthew Rhys is finally back as the titular lead character. However, he’s not taking the return of the HBO show for granted.

He described the journey as “long, drawn out and very interesting,” especially at a time in the industry when even renewed shows are being dropped, but a change of guard enabled a visionary refresh.

“Through a matter of circumstances, we lost our initial writers, we took on some new writers and showrunners, and they wanted to come at it with a different set of eyes, which was great to a degree,” the actor explained. “When you have the luxury of returning for a second season, you’re forever asking your question, ‘What do we do now? Do we do something very different or do the same thing because it worked?’ These new eyes weren’t looking to reinvent the wheel but wanted to do what they wanted to do, and that helped us.”

“I was very relieved that they came with a very interesting angle. We saw Mason at the end of season one, very accomplished and happy with himself, with the new suit and his name on the door, and I didn’t want to pick up from there. They said, ‘What if Mason is having a crisis of faith and he’s dealing with some imposter syndrome?’ I thought that was a great place to start.”

Perry Mason, the origins story of the iconic fictional defense lawyer, was initially a limited series; however, its return on Monday nights from March 6, 2023, changes that. Rhys is no stranger to returning series, but slipping back in the legal eagle’s suit had a particular appeal.

“I’ve done two long series before, The Americans and Brothers and Sisters, both of which I loved, and when they posed Perry Mason as a limited series, it was lightning in a bottle, and you throw all the grenades and get out,” he recalled. “However, several things happened with Mason, and I did fall in love with this part. I loved the person we created, and when you set something up so well, it poses possibilities.”

“On the flip side of that coin, there is also the danger of the second season not delivering so you take a bit of a punt. I was certainly reticent and wary. I will never watch it because I don’t watch myself anymore but shooting it was very interesting, and I enjoyed it.”

Filming the second season of the period show in Los Angeles, a sprawling city that, like so many others, is constantly evolving, was more of a challenge, especially when it came to finding authentic locations.

“Michael Begler and Jack Amiel, our two writers, said they wanted to open up Los Angeles, really lean into the scale and scope, and see 1950s LA, which was great,” Rhys revealed. “However, then you realize how difficult that is. As we opened the show up more, the green screens came out far more often where you had to ‘green off’ the 7-11s and so on and what have you to try and make it look like old LA.”

“It was difficult,” he continued. “You’re driving further afield to those little pockets that haven’t been touched to find those buildings and houses that remain kind of unscathed.”

While several familiar faces pop up throughout the eight-episode run, the show avoids stunt casting. That was something that the showrunners and Rhys, who also serves as one of the executive producers, wanted to get the balance right on.

Among the cast additions is character actor Paul Raci who received an Oscar nomination for his performance in Sound of Metal.

“That was the casting challenge for season two,” Rhys admitted. “How do you bring in the cast that can deliver the goods but also, you want a dusting of familiar names of people we know? The stunt casting temptation pops and pulls audiences out of the moment, but I think they did it beautifully in this one, and I think the group of players they put together was magic.”

So how far does Rhys want to go with Perry Mason, the character he was already meant to have left behind?

“Therein lies the million dollar question,” he laughed. “There’s a cliche part of me that thinks to round out and do three would be the way to bow out. They could even bring a new cast in if they wanted to advance it ten years or whatever.”

“If we got that nod, and the writers knew what they wanted to do in the third season, how would they do that? It’s the same deal as we have with the first season and now in that, you have to ask the question, ‘Do you go out on a high, or do you face the danger of puttering out on the third?'”

The actor admits those behind the show could even kill off Mason and go back in the timeline.

“They could totally do that,” Rhys agreed. “One of the hardest things in this business is reinventing the wheel or trying to make an original move that no one’s done before. That’s a great idea, and in the reimagining, you leave yourself open to broad strokes should you wish.”

Away from Perry Mason, the actor recently had a brief but popular turn as an ill-fated drug smuggler in one of the year’s most talked-about movies, Cocaine Bear. His wife, Keri Russell, is the film’s lead. Was he aware of the fan frenzy surrounding his cameo?

“I was not aware,” Rhys chuckled. “That coming together was all very fortuitous. I was in Ireland because Keri was shooting it. I read the script and asked her if this character at the beginning of the film had been cast, and she said she didn’t think so. So, Keri asked Elizabeth Banks, the director, if I could do it. That’s literally how it came about. I was on Dad duty in Ireland but thought I could do a day’s turn on it, and then I popped in and did that.”

Cocaine Bear also reunites Rhys and Russell with fellow The Americans actor Margo Martindale. Would he consider a return for that hit show?

“I can’t speak for Keri, but I’m pretty sure she would be, and I absolutely would,” the actor confirmed without hesitation. “I’ve never seen anything like it, but that story was left in such a way that is so conclusive and yet so open. To leave their children as they did, they could go back and visit them in Moscow, or there is so much else you could do and carry on at any given timeline for them.”

“We’ve all said it was so rich that we would happily pick back up.”