Eddie Marsan has disclosed the unlikely source of Bernie Monke’s distinctive silver mullet in The Power.
Eddie plays mob boss Bernie, whose daughter Roxy is one of many adolescent females who discover they can electrocute others with their naked hands.
As a result of the uprising, women are granted the opportunity to rule the globe.
Eddie had always ruled out portraying a “gangster,” but was drawn in by Bernie and The Power, based on Naomi Alderman’s book.
Bernie is ferocious and ruthless, and his bond with his younger daughter Roxy is complex.
Eddie had some expertise as he prepared for the part and considered how to handle playing Bernie.
‘I went through the pandemic with a 16-year-old daughter,’ he said.
‘That was one of the main inspirations.’
‘I think Naomi Alderman had said the relationship between Bernie and Roxy was inspired by her relationship with her father. And also she gave me a great tip that that it was inspired by the relationship between Henry VIII and Elizabeth I.’
However, for Bernie’s physicality, he went to an unlikely source of influence.
‘I knew I was playing a character that was an expression of toxic masculinity in a world where women were gaining power,’ he explained.
‘And so I base the physicality of Bernie on a silverback gorilla. That’s why he’s got the silver mullet stuff. He was like a silverback gorilla who was losing control of his tribe, as it were.’
The Power started filming before the pandemic, but was compelled to halt production for a year before everyone could resume.
From the moment the cameras began rolling to its ultimate broadcast on Amazon Prime Video, it has only grown in importance.
‘Especially because post the overturning of Roe v. Wade,’ said Eddie.
‘I remember when I was driving and hearing the news of that, and thinking, “Wow, I mean, we’re in the middle of making a series about women having autonomy over their bodies, and in the real world, that autonomy has been taken away from them.’
The Power is available to stream on Amazon Prime Video now.