Mayor of Kingstown is one show whose popularity has been growing steeply. The dedication put in by Jeremy Renner, Hugh Dillon, and all those involved in the making of the show is noticed throughout. A lot had gone into the series and research was the biggest aspect. As is in any show, without proper research or understanding, there is always room for error no matter what.
In such a scenario, it comes to understanding just how the mind works when coming up with some of the most fascinating ideas there are. As creators, names have more meanings than just simple puns or iterations of their personalities. Names are personal just as much as they are powerful. Research goes into naming characters.
At the same time, names can be respectful to real-life people. They can hold great emotions as well. The case was the same for Dillon and his character in the show; Ian.
The Mayor of Kingstown Pays Homage to Hugh Dillon’s Friend
In an interview with Screen Rant, Hugh Dillon opened his heart about the importance of his character in the Mayor of Kingstown. As an actor and a creator, there were certain liberties he could enjoy. One such freedom came with the choice of his own character. Naming him Ian wasn’t a call made on a whim but one that had a lot of thought put into it.
“I named that character after a friend of mine who had passed away years ago. He had a killer sense of humor, and he was just funny. I love the show for so many reasons, but that especially: you’ve got to find the humor in it. Ian used to always say, ‘Go big or stay at home.’ It was such a stupid, funny thing.”
Making characters as pawns of a project is different from seeing them as humans. To make the characters connect even more with the audience, Ian became a person who Dillon had known for years. An old friend who passed away, someone with a great sense of humor.
In an otherwise thrilling show, there is a balance of humor. This balance comes in the memory of his old friend.
Hugh Dillon Wanted to See the Character Be Real
No character feels real without the possibility of their traits having human connections as well. A character is best made to feel anything but fictional because of the inclusion of realistic aspects and attributes. Hugh Dillon understood this concept too.
“You find yourself taking things from real characters and putting them in. And that’s why the show has that authentic feel; we’ve taken the good and the bad from people we’ve known, and we’ve made them real characters.”
To take realistic traits from people who have personal connections to Dillon, he created characters who feel just as real. This helped in establishing connections between the audiences and the fictional people.
Dillon took the best and worst of the people he knew and made them into characters he truly cherished.
