‘True Detective’ Star Taylor Kitsch Talks Inspiration By Matthew McConaughey And His Character’s Big Secret

As True Detective enters its second season, one of the more interesting new characters is Paul Woodrugh, played by Taylor Kitsch, who prior to Detective, was best known as Tim Riggins on Friday Night Lights. Whether it’s popping Viagra pills or trying to conceal his gay longings, Woodrugh is certainly one complicated individual. In a recent interview, Kitsch talked about what it’s like playing Woodrugh, some of his inspirations in the acting world, and his character’s biggest kept secret.

“I wanted to be a part of True Detective in whatever manner possible,” Kitsch revealed to The Daily Beast, adding “Luckily, Nic had a guy in Paul who was such a rich character to dive into, which is such a treat as an actor.”

Meanwhile, Kitsch also revealed how a chance encounter with Matthew McConaughey, who starred in Season 1 of the show, led to some amazing insight.

“It’s so funny. I’d never talked to him until we sat next to one another by chance on a flight from Austin to New York… We talked the entire three-and-a-quarter hours. I don’t think there was any advice. He just discussed his experience and how much he enjoyed working with Pizzolatto. He was interested to see what I was going to do, and he said he’d stop by the set—which he did, which was awesome. We were just picking each other’s brains and discussing what he had coming up. The guy’s just doing amazing work.”

With regard to his character on the True Detective, Kitsch credits Nic Pizzolatto for creating such a deep and diverse character. “It’s really a credit to Nic. In the first episode, hopefully I gave you a taste of what this guy is… It’s great because the writing is so good that it challenges you on how deeply you want to go as an actor.”

At the same time, Kitsch discussed how his character struggles with trying to hide his gay feelings throughout the season, and how this leads his character to a tragic and shameful existence.

“I think that’s something that’s just in himself. Who we are comes from our past—our upbringing (or lack thereof), and fatherhood, and what it is to be a man,” he explained. “With Paul, you really do see how much shame he carries, and it slowly unfolds throughout. I will say that in Episodes 4 and 5, you really see this guy fall. And the deeper we get into the season, the more desperate Paul gets for having to hold that secret and hide who he really is.”

Catch season 2 of True Detective Sunday nights on HBO.

[Image Courtesy: HBO]