Norbert Leo Butz is one of the finest actors, singers and Broadway performers. The two-time Tony Award winner is currently portraying former New England Patriots Coach Bill Belichick in the FX series American Sports Story: Aaron Hernandez,
The 10-part series charts the rise and fall of NFL superstar Aaron Hernandez and explores his identity, his family, his football career, his murder conviction and eventual suicide in prison.
Norbert Leo Butz joined SportsJam with Doug Doyle to talk about playing the iconic coach as well his amazing Broadway career which includes being "Fiyero" in the original cast of the smash-hit Wicked.
Norbert admits he didn't really know anything about Bill Belichick when he was approached about the FX series.
"My first response, am I'm ashamed to say this, but it was like remind me who Bill Belichick is? I'm a big baseball fan. I've never really followed the NFL closely. I've watched the Super Bowl and the playoffs at times but I surely did not follow the Patriots. So, my work was cut out for me. But I think my lack of insider football knowledge kind of helped me. The guy is such an enormous icon and huge figure that I think if I he loomed large in my imagination, I would have been too intimidated frankly to play him. But I was able to approach him just like any other character and found him to be absolutely fascinating."
Norbert Leo Butz did his research and says he learned a great deal about Belichick.
"Without a doubt. I went to the NFL Boot Camp. A friend of mine works at ESPN and we started from positions, scouting and what special teams are. I had a lot to learn. I'm smart enough to know what I don't know. There was no way I was going to be able to make an indentation on Bill Belichick's knowledge of the sport. I do think he's a genius. I think he's almost a savant."
How did Butz look to capture the real Bill Belichick? The actor says he dove into common family roots. Born in St. Louis, Missouri, Norbert was named after his late father. Belichick was also greatly influenced his dad.
"The guy is the son of Steve Belichick who was the coach at Navy and wrote the first real manual on how to scout football players in the 1940's and 50's. Bill grew up with his father being the biggest influence on his life. Not just in football, but just as a man. His dad was the son of Czech immigrants. My dad was the son of German immigrants. I worshipped my dad. He was just foundational for me. I think our dads raised us in similar ways. So I started with his childhood and family background."
That research worked for Butz. He does a wonderful job of portraying of one of the most liked, disliked, misunderstood or mysterious coaches that will eventually be in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
With the FX series focusing on the complicated of life of the late Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez, Butz says he took a balanced approach on set with cast members.
"It's very heavy subject matter. It's an American tragedy. This kid (Aaron Hernandez had so much promise and was such a gifted athlete but his childhood and parenting was really toxic. Very few people would be able to escape the environment he was in. But I found when youre doing super heavy stuff, a lot of times what helps is to keep the set light. So we actually had a lot of fun. We all spent a lot of time in that hair and makeup trailer. Josh Rivera who plays Aaron was in that trailer four to five hours a day getting all that tattoo work done. They had to gruff my face up. They had to put this comb over on my head. I needed to have 30 more pounds on me. It helps to keep it light, which we did But having said that, they were really long work days."
Hard work is nothing new for Norbert Leo Butz. He's only of only eight people to win Best Leading Actor in two Broadway shows (Dirty Rotten Scoundrels and Catch Me If You Can). He's also famous for his role as Elphaba's love interest "Fiyero" in the Broadway spectacular Wicked, being part of the 2003 original cast that included Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth. Wicked the Movie will come in November. Norbert is looking forward to seeing the film.
"It's mostly out of your control whether a film, TV show or Broadway show is successful. You do the best you can, but when something does get legs and last for 20-25 years it's a real feeling of pride. I was part of something that's lasting, there's a legacy here and of course, that means a ton."
You can SEE the entire SportsJam interview with Bill Belichick here.
