Many of the show’s actors remained blissfully unaware for some time that their roles had been sourced from real figures. It was months before Williams, for example, realized that a real Landsman existed. Simon preferred that the doppelgängers not meet their inspirations. “They were going to be who they were going to be and it can sometimes fuck an actor up,” Simon explained. “They start embracing things that you’re not writing. Better to have them be rock solid in who they think that character should be and chase that.”
