That dream is what Hollywood is built on. Maybe now we’re waiting in coffee shops for the phone to ring instead of waiting at the studio gates. Show full articles without "Continue Reading" button for {0} hours. Is there another era of Hollywood you would want to see Ryan explore?Dylan McDermott: I think it’s kind of endless, which is why the show works. So, between the information I had from watching great movies from the 1940s, what was in my own imagination, and what was on the pages of the script, it all came together. She’s a brilliant actress. I have a poster of The Misfits in my house, so that movie has always been one of my favorites. I don’t think I can go by a gas station without that thought crossing my mind. I think he’s a genius. Ryan and I have been working together for 10 years now, and anytime he calls and asks me to do something, I’m there. She saw that in me many, many years ago, but I haven’t been able to exactly express myself in a way that I’m doing in Hollywood. Sometimes you have difficulty playing them, but this guy… I fell in love with him. Can you top our esteemed leaderboards next? I was able to express myself through Ernie. If it gets picked up for another season, we can explore what that might be. Dylan McDermott: I didn’t bring it up to him. I can really see that in your performance. “I think that Hollywood, funny enough, it really is the dream factory,” he exclaims. Speak up and share your huffy opinions in our famous forums where 5,000 showbiz leaders lurk every day to track latest awards buzz. Dylan McDermott tells AARP about his first role with gray hair — as failed actor turned nice-guy pimp in Hollywood, Netflix's series about 1940s showbiz — and how he's handling life in quarantine. There’s a whole constituency of “Moms Love Hollywood.” I think it really is resonating with the young and the old. I don’t know how to describe it more than just in terms of you fall in love with people that you play. I think we had dinner at the Chateau once years ago, and there was a party or something that I brought her to, so he had been aware of her. I think it was brought to his attention that she was my daughter. He has these ideas that he’s able to put on film and that’s why I love working with him.”. There are so many things to explore. for Gold Derby’s free newsletter with latest predictions. You’ve worked with Ryan for 10 years on American Horror Story and The Politician. This project is really special. I love the fact that this whole full-circle thing that you’re talking about is so great. What keeps you coming back to work with him?Dylan McDermott: Well, I always say that Ryan is the Andy Warhol of our time. I wanted him to be elegant. I’m past the nerves! I also used Clark Gable as my muse for this role. But their collaboration on the new Netflix series Hollywood, premiering May 1, might be the strangest of all—in no small part because this time, some of the wildest parts of the story are true. Dylan McDermott is back in the Emmy race for the first time in over two decades. I love Clark in that. I just fell in love with him. You hope to merge with a character if you will. Ernie talks about how he’s not doing it for the money. Sign up for Gold Derby's Newsletter. It’s not quite Babylon, but there’s something about Hollywood in mixing real people with fictitious people and have this thing which Ryan calls “faction” out there to create the world of Hollywood. Did you bring it up to Ryan? I was enamored with him in the same way that I am Ryan. I loved how the show touched on the fact that you can find love later in life and you can live out your life to the fullest extent no matter what age you are.Dylan McDermott: I think that a lot of older people are really enjoying Hollywood because of that fact. Adam Rathe is a senior editor at Town & Country, covering arts and culture and a range of other subjects. SIGN UP for Gold Derby’s free newsletter with latest predictions. Did you look back at any actors in particular of that Golden Age era?Dylan McDermott: Yes, Clark Gable was the inspiration. As the emotionally charged story progresses, a kind of alternate history of Hollywood’s golden age emerges; yes, there are real people—like Rock Hudson, Hattie McDaniel, Henry Willson, and Vivien Leigh—portrayed, but they’re mixed in with fictional (and lightly fictionalized) characters all racing to create an imaginary blockbuster, and ultimately offering a what if view of moviemaking history. There’s always a dream that each actor has of making it in Hollywood and becoming a movie star and working with great actors and directors. He had met her on American Horror Story when she was like 13 years old. I made up my character based on various muses: Scotty Bowers, Clark Gable, people I’d grown up with. I just kind of let her go through the motions and audition. In many ways, this effect that Hollywood is actually having on people is exactly why entertainment was born. There’s something so beautiful and tragic about that scene that I just absolutely adore. The role is a dramatic departure for McDermott, something the actor says has been a long time coming: “I made a decision to make a comic pivot in my career. He taught me a lot. Leslie and I together…  That’s gonna be a great show no matter what. He taught me about optimism. Dylan McDermott plays a pimp, producer and actor in the new Netflix series Hollywood. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. For me, I just had to get really comfortable, and when I met Ernie, he was the key. How did you prepare for Ernie? Make your predictions at Gold Derby now. I already told him that. It’s giving them hope. He also discussed why he’d be perfectly content with just working with Hollywood creator Ryan Murphy for the “rest of my days,” reuniting onscreen with Holland Taylor, his daughter getting a role on the show, and more. Did you notice any parallels with any of the characters that were similar to when you were first starting out?Dylan McDermott: I think that all actors’ stories are similar in some ways beginning with the dream. I was talking to my mom, Eve Ensler, and she was saying she wanted to thank Ryan because she’s been trying to get me to this place where I am in Hollywood. She and her friends would come to the set. Ryan helped that cause a great deal; he provides these incredible characters, and his imagination just never stops. He can tell you what it is, but you don’t really know until you’re in it. Dylan McDermott (‘Hollywood’) on his career ‘pivot’ and making his character ‘a showman’ [WATCH]. It started off a story about Hollywood and the sexual escapades there in the 1940s, and my character has a gas station where people can come in, say a secret password, and go off and have a sexual encounter with one of the guys who works there. The Billionaire Who Inspired Bobby Axelrod, How the Cast of Vice Compares to Real Life, The 'Hollywood' Cast vs. the People in Real Life, 5 Families That Could Have Inspired 'Succession'. I adore her. Have news, pics or video on a breaking news story? But now it’s here. Now, I think it’s 30. 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That’s why this show has legs: You could go from the 1940s to the 1980s or the 1990s—each decade has its own troubles and plenty of stories. I think Ernie, in many ways, was the catalyst. It’s a moment that I treasure because I’m finally me. And the mustache.Dylan McDermott: Yes, the mustache was key.