How To Get Away With Murder star’s ‘Doucheface’ audition

MATT McGorry was in two minds about How To Get Away With Murder — especially when he was told the name of the character he was auditioning for.

THE LAST WORD …

WITH MATT McGORRY, HOW TO GET AWAY WITH MURDER’S ASHER MILLSTONE

“FRANK (played by Charlie Webber) calls me (McGorry’s character, Asher Millstone) ‘doucheface’ in the show.

That was actually the name written in the script for the role when I went to audition.

In the whole script of the pilot, it had the character’s name, and then the dialogue. My part read: ‘Doucheface’, and then the dialogue.

I remember looking at my agent and saying: ‘Really? Do we really want to go an audition for a ‘Doucheface’?’

And she said ‘go in, make them love you and make them want to write more for you’.

And I went in and tried to give it as much life and humanity and humour as I possibly could and it turns out I’ve been in every episode since. Turns out Doucheface was a role worth auditioning for.

Worth it ... McGorry as Asher Millstone. Picture: Supplied

Coming from my last show, Orange Is The New Black (he played hunky prison guard John Bennett on the hit show), Asher Millstone is very different.

I think I do well with a weird character that isn’t what he appears on the page.

Asher is part of the Keating five, but he doesn’t do the dirty work of the murder.

It’s the four murderers who have it harder than I do (in terms of acting from and end point and not knowing what led up to the killing of Viola’s husband.

I haven’t had to deal with a lot of the time jumps and filling in the blanks.

Asher has his own personal challenges throughout the season, but the case that involves his father is a bit of a turning point.

Asher has grown up in a life of privilege, and I think in some ways grown up in a way some of the other characters may have as well, but Asher really revels in it. He doesn’t see it as a thing to hide.

His lineage is a source of pride. His father is a very powerful judge and I think when he realises what sacrifices were made in order for him to have those privileges, it does affect him.

“Terrible people”: The cast of How To Get Away with Murder. Picture: Supplied

Asher can put you off initially, but as everything sort of shakes out, it turns out that he’s the one with perhaps the greatest system of morals, the one who doesn’t lie and doesn’t cheat and doesn’t steal.

He’s upfront with the things that make him a douchebag and his beliefs, but he really wants to get ahead based on merit.

He doesn’t want to steal the trophy. He wants to earn it and deserve it and he wants to be the best.

I think there’s something about that that I can see would make the audience sympathise with him, because it’s probably easy as the show unfolds to sit back and think ‘oh my God these are all terrible people’.

People ask when you’re out in public a lot where the show is at, what happens, who did it. I’m amused that they think I would actually tell them.”

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