Acting opposite Josh O’Connor wasn’t terribly intimidating, says Doman: “There isn’t this whole sort of process. He is just being Josh.” Working with the Oscar-winning Chastain was another thing entirely. “I worship Jessica,” he says. “She’s one of our most versatile actresses. She is fearless.” Throughout The Savant’s eight-month shoot, he says Chastain was “incredibly graceful and kind” but also “incredibly fierce.” Chastain, he says, “wants to get to the bottom of every moment and scene in the most economical way.”
Doman stars on the series as Steve Dunicki, a cadet in Indiana who’s been indoctrinated into a hate group. The actor tried to approach his character from a place of compassion: “He’s constantly being told he’s worthless,” says Doman. “When someone gives you any bit of authority or someone tells you, ‘This is the reason why your life went this way,’ it’s very easy to latch onto that as your mission statement.” Dunicki, Doman says, is trying to use that authority “to protect his family, which is ultimately the thing he cares the most about”—adding, “He’s not doing it the right way, obviously.”
Doman was able to draw on personal experience for the part too. He shares that most of his scenes are with Orange Is the New Black’s Pablo Schreiber as an “incredibly alpha male” who comes down hard on Dunicki. “Cole Doman, who grew up as an effeminate gay boy whose masculinity was constantly being questioned—it’s very easy for me to step into that, and feel like I’m not worthy or I’m not strong enough,” Doman says. “That made the shoot really challenging for me, personally.”
Incredibly enough, this is not the first time The Savant has been delayed. “I booked this job before the strike, so I’ve now been with the show for two and a half years,” says Doman. “I’m like, ‘This is the biggest job of my career so far. I’m ready to go,’ and then the plug gets pulled.” He’s optimistic that this most recent snag will also be temporary. “I really hope it does come out and see the light of day—not only for my work, but for everyone involved,” says Doman. “Jessica worked incredibly hard. We have a big talented cast and crew shot by the great Janusz Kamiński.”
Even as he tries to put his own feelings aside, Doman keeps coming back to the idea that avoiding difficult topics, like violence and extremism, is not what the country needs at this moment. “I don’t know the reasons for Apple pushing the show. I think we can infer what we want about the timing,” he says. “We worked hard, and I’ve been with this for two and a half years, and I was really excited for it to come out.”
