Steve Zahn on Treme and the Joys of 'Magic Time' in New Orleans

Perhaps the only endeavor more difficult than saving post-Katrina New Orleans was creating a television series that intimately captured the perspective of the disaster-torn city. But that is exactly what Steve Zahn and the ensemble cast of HBO's freshman series Treme have done under the guidance of The Wire's David Simon and Eric Overmyer. Zahn portrays a passionate disc jockey and musician whose frustration with the Big Easy's snail-like rebuilding pace leads to brilliant anti-administration country songs and random displays of passive-aggressive rage. As the series nears the end of its freshman season, Zahn phoned Movieline yesterday from his Kentucky farm to discuss his transition into television, his hope that Treme will cover the BP oil spill and the one biopic he'd love to headline.

Treme is your first commitment to a television series. Was it everything you expected?

Well, I don't know if you can categorize it as -- I think it falls under its own category, right?

That's a good point.

If I had gone and done another show, I don't think it would be anything like this. [Treme's] story is so unique and the show is so unconventional. It's different than any of the other jobs I have done. It's really of its own, I think.

Had you been looking to try something outside of film?

I never really differentiated in my mind. I was just looking for good material. That's the ultimate goal. Before this, I considered television to be a commitment time-wise -- and logistically, it's kind of impossible for me because I'm a dad, I live on a farm and have responsibilities. So it just did not seem like a viable option. But when I read [the pilot], I was just floored. It was one of the best scripts I think I had ever read. And obviously, the shooting is in New Orleans, which is good for me because it is close to home. And with cable it's not as long of a [shooting] commitment, so it worked out great.

Let's talk about your character: Davis is based on a real New Orleans musician and DJ, Davis Rogan. Did you spend a lot of time with the real Davis before shooting?

Quite a bit. I am playing someone that is loosely based on this guy, and a lot of the stories on the show actually happened to him. But I am playing him loosely. It's not like I'm playing Patton -- I didn't have to get his speech patterns down or anything. Davis is a classic New Orleans eccentric, visionary, artist, and a passionate guy who is driven by his music and his love for the city and it's culture. He is really a voice for the jazz scene down there, and not only the jazz scene but the music scene in general. He was fired from WWOZ for playing rap music on a New Orleans music show because he said, "We want to play the best music coming out right now, and some of it is rap." But they fired him because it was a jazz station. So he is really a fascinating guy.

Had you been a fan of New Orleans music before the show?

No, not really, I had some of it in my vast collection of iTunes tunes. I actually have the albums that my character makes fun of on the show. I have, like, The Mardi Gras Collection and Hits From New Orleans -- that kind of deal.

Your character gives piano lessons on the show and in one episode, he said that the mark of a real piano player is whether or not they can play Tipitina. Can you play that?

[Laughs] No, that is done with a little editing magic! [The real] Davis is actually an amazing pianist and we talked about that before we started shooting. I already played guitar and was taking hours and hours of piano lessons and not even getting close to where I would feel comfortable. The piano is somewhat of a difficult instrument to play so we decided to have me just playing a guitar with the band. But my character does give lessons on the show. And then I will get a lesson from Davis on what looks good. I'll just learn a riff or something like that.

Who wrote Shame, Shame, Shame?

Well, David Simon and Davis Rogan -- I think they all kind of put that together.

You are a musician and you have played a few musical characters -- in That Thing You Do! and Saving Silverman specifically. Would you ever consider playing a rock icon in a big biopic?

Oh, yeah.

Is there one artist or musician in particular --

See, I just immediately started thinking about who I would fit best. If I could play anyone, I think I'd like to be, you know, in The Life and Times of Steve Earle -- someone like that.

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