Shelf Life

The Dead Presidents Society with Actor Dylan Baker

February 12, 2024 Grand Journal Season 3 Episode 2
The Dead Presidents Society with Actor Dylan Baker
Shelf Life
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Shelf Life
The Dead Presidents Society with Actor Dylan Baker
Feb 12, 2024 Season 3 Episode 2
Grand Journal

When did you first encounter Dylan Baker? Perhaps it was as the brazen wife killer Colin Sweeney in the long-running CBS show, The Good Wife. Or maybe it was the FBI bully-in-chief, J. Edgar Hoover in Ava DuVernay’s civil rights-era movie, Selma. Or was it much longer ago as the monster with the human face, Bill Maplewood in Todd Solendz’s 1998 movie Happiness.  He says, “I went into the business because I really enjoyed exploring dark places in human beings, it was always how I searched out roles.” But if his screen portrayals often show men abusing their power; his book choices for this episode of Shelf Life - Gore Vidal's Lincoln, and Robert Caro's The Path to Power -  show men who manipulated power for positive change, some bumps notwithstanding. 


Show Notes

When did you first encounter Dylan Baker? Perhaps it was as the brazen wife killer Colin Sweeney in the long-running CBS show, The Good Wife. Or maybe it was the FBI bully-in-chief, J. Edgar Hoover in Ava DuVernay’s civil rights-era movie, Selma. Or was it much longer ago as the monster with the human face, Bill Maplewood in Todd Solendz’s 1998 movie Happiness.  He says, “I went into the business because I really enjoyed exploring dark places in human beings, it was always how I searched out roles.” But if his screen portrayals often show men abusing their power; his book choices for this episode of Shelf Life - Gore Vidal's Lincoln, and Robert Caro's The Path to Power -  show men who manipulated power for positive change, some bumps notwithstanding.