[archive] from iFMagazine
ANATOMY OF A CHARACTER:
NATHAN FORD (The Mastermind)
LEVERAGE’S Nathan Ford (played by Academy Award Winner Timothy Hutton) is an ex-Insurance Agent, “functioning alcoholic”, and leader of a band of thieves. Is he a Black King? White Knight? Does it even matter? Nathan Ford is made up of so much awesome and so much angst that you just have to love him.
Nate’s whole world came crashing down around him after the death of his only son, Sam. His wife left him, he was broke, sleeping in his car, and he started turning to the bottle for any kind of small comfort. Alcohol is one of this man’s biggest vices, probably stemming from his need for control. He was a big shot at work, and then he was nothing. Had nothing, had no one, except for something he knew that would never leave him: his own addiction.
Like most alcoholics, Nate, for a long time, did not feel like he had a problem. As long as he had a place to sleep, things to eat, looked presentable, and did his job, then everything was fine. But like most addicts, those priorities seem to diminish slowly over time. He would show up to work looking less than his best, let it control his emotions, and sometimes have it compromise a job. Granted, yes, him and his team have always gotten the bad guy - drunk or not - but that was more a combination of luck and talented co-workers at some times rather than him being a highly functioning alcoholic who can still get the job done. Because quite frankly, if left to his own devices in that state, he most likely could not.
A lot of addicts are big about recovery on their time, and unless Nate has a reason to stop… he won’t. No matter how much Sophie gets on to him, no matter how pissed off Eliot gets, and no matter how many small looks he gets from both Hardison and Parker; unless he is ready to change than nothing can stop it. That’s one thing Sophie in particular never seemed to understand about him, and what leads to most of the angst in their personal (or arguably romantic) relationship.
While “The 12 Step Job” was a journey of Nate realizing, but yet still not accepting, his addiction, the two part season finale was a stepping stone for his road to recovery. His boss that denied the claim for his son’s cancer treatment a couple years back is the target, and in beating him it made him have one less excuse for screwing up his own life. His wife Maggie is also present in that episode, showing how much he still cares for her and how much he is still truly devastated about losing her. But it was an episode primarily to show that Nate can move forward in his life, thus bringing a hope for a change in the forthcoming Season Two.
But then again, while he might stop drinking, people with addictive personalities like Nate tend to put their focus on something else. Maybe it might be less destructive than the previous one, but still could end up becoming another focus that will consume his life. According to him, his grandfather was an addict and his father was an addict. Though there is no solid proof that addictive behaviors can be passed down from parent to child, one could see where that might end up being a challenge for Nate as he continues to struggle with his own problems.
Nate blames himself for his son’s death, and while he did take down one man who was partially responsible for it, the guilt he has most likely will not diminish. That’s probably one of the main reasons he’s compelled with the need to do so much good in the world with the rest of the team - for redemption. But redemption is never an easy road; it’s one of those things that no matter how hard you try, it still never seems enough, especially when you continue to blame yourself for something that in reality, is not your fault at all. But when it’s his own child that dies, it’s understandable how he feels like he failed at protecting him, at saving him, and that can cause horrible emotional whiplash.
Being the only “good guy” in a band of thieves also leads to some trust issues that he has with the people he’s working with. Throughout the first season, he shows that he still does not consider himself one of them, even though they are really all he knows now. He still finds himself better than them, which causes bumps in the road while he tries to lead his team. No one likes being looked down on, and Sophie finally voiced that out loud during the first part of the season finale. Whether Nate will ever truly see himself as equals with them is all up for debate, no matter how long they work together. He might finally start to see his coworkers as actual people rather than thieves, or he might still try to continue to blow up his own self worth by convincing himself that he is the better one out of the five of them.
His relationship with one of the team members, Sophie Devereaux, is also what has been suffering due to his thoughts of grandeur and pure arrogance. What they had in the past has never been clarified, and while Sophie did say, “You never cheated on [Maggie], Nate,” the obvious attraction between the two has made it next to impossible for either of them to deny. Sophie however, seems more interested it in taking it to the next level than he is, but that might have been due to all the large roadblocks in his life during the duration of time since they’ve been reunited. Nate wasn’t ready for change, and being romantically involved with Sophie would be a big change in his life. He might be ready for it once he reaches sobriety and takes control back over his own life, but whether Sophie will stick around and wait for that to happen will probably end up being the real question on that matter.
Nate is distant though, to everyone on the team. While Sophie seems to be the closest person to him, she’s still nowhere close to scratching the surface. In one episode Parker pointed out to him that he never touches anyone on the team, and she thought it was due to “the hole in [his] heart”: he’s afraid to get close to people. And while yes, the trust issues with the fact that the entire team is made of up world-class thieves could be part of it; another part is clearly due to him losing his son and his wife. Somewhere in his head he has probably convinced himself that getting close to people just isn’t worth it anymore, because they all leave you eventually, and all it does is hurt.
But Nate is the man with the plan: the connecting piece that brings the rest of the team together. Grifter, hitter, hacker, thief… and the one good guy to make sure they all stay on target. He knows all of their skills, thus being the one who usually comes up with plans A, B, and C… and even sometimes plan M, though Hardison himself wasn’t too fond of that one in the pilot. Without him they could all survive, yes, they have been doing it for years. But being with him, being with each other because of him, they tend to get bigger and better things done when combining all of their skills, rather than just relying on their own. Because of him they’ve all felt how it feels to help other people, and were all surprised on how good it felt. Nate is the conscience of the group, the glue in which without they would all fall apart.
But Nate is also a very cocky man. He can’t seem to resist rubbing it in the bad guys face that they lost, sticking it to them just a little bit further, just a little bit deeper. Just hurting them never satisfies him, he needs them to know who hurt them. Which, in the long run, isn’t a very smart idea on his own part because that could one day come back to haunt him. People hold grudges, and criminals do it ten times as good. After all, revenge is a dish best served cold, right? I have a feeling Nathan Ford will be feeling the effects of that mistake in the coming seasons.
Nathan Ford is just one of many complex characters on LEVERAGE, but he’s the one that’s front and center. He’s the one a lot of people can relate to, being the “good guy”, but yet also is so distant and withdrawn that it’s hard to even see who he really is. Hutton’s brilliant portrayal of this character really brings him to life on the screen, making you laugh when he laughs, and cry when he cries. You feel the need to encourage him when he’s on to something, yell at him when he’s wrong, and sympathize with him when he’s going through something that’s personally difficult for him.
NATHAN FORD (The Mastermind)
LEVERAGE’S Nathan Ford (played by Academy Award Winner Timothy Hutton) is an ex-Insurance Agent, “functioning alcoholic”, and leader of a band of thieves. Is he a Black King? White Knight? Does it even matter? Nathan Ford is made up of so much awesome and so much angst that you just have to love him.
Nate’s whole world came crashing down around him after the death of his only son, Sam. His wife left him, he was broke, sleeping in his car, and he started turning to the bottle for any kind of small comfort. Alcohol is one of this man’s biggest vices, probably stemming from his need for control. He was a big shot at work, and then he was nothing. Had nothing, had no one, except for something he knew that would never leave him: his own addiction.
Like most alcoholics, Nate, for a long time, did not feel like he had a problem. As long as he had a place to sleep, things to eat, looked presentable, and did his job, then everything was fine. But like most addicts, those priorities seem to diminish slowly over time. He would show up to work looking less than his best, let it control his emotions, and sometimes have it compromise a job. Granted, yes, him and his team have always gotten the bad guy - drunk or not - but that was more a combination of luck and talented co-workers at some times rather than him being a highly functioning alcoholic who can still get the job done. Because quite frankly, if left to his own devices in that state, he most likely could not.
A lot of addicts are big about recovery on their time, and unless Nate has a reason to stop… he won’t. No matter how much Sophie gets on to him, no matter how pissed off Eliot gets, and no matter how many small looks he gets from both Hardison and Parker; unless he is ready to change than nothing can stop it. That’s one thing Sophie in particular never seemed to understand about him, and what leads to most of the angst in their personal (or arguably romantic) relationship.
While “The 12 Step Job” was a journey of Nate realizing, but yet still not accepting, his addiction, the two part season finale was a stepping stone for his road to recovery. His boss that denied the claim for his son’s cancer treatment a couple years back is the target, and in beating him it made him have one less excuse for screwing up his own life. His wife Maggie is also present in that episode, showing how much he still cares for her and how much he is still truly devastated about losing her. But it was an episode primarily to show that Nate can move forward in his life, thus bringing a hope for a change in the forthcoming Season Two.
But then again, while he might stop drinking, people with addictive personalities like Nate tend to put their focus on something else. Maybe it might be less destructive than the previous one, but still could end up becoming another focus that will consume his life. According to him, his grandfather was an addict and his father was an addict. Though there is no solid proof that addictive behaviors can be passed down from parent to child, one could see where that might end up being a challenge for Nate as he continues to struggle with his own problems.
Nate blames himself for his son’s death, and while he did take down one man who was partially responsible for it, the guilt he has most likely will not diminish. That’s probably one of the main reasons he’s compelled with the need to do so much good in the world with the rest of the team - for redemption. But redemption is never an easy road; it’s one of those things that no matter how hard you try, it still never seems enough, especially when you continue to blame yourself for something that in reality, is not your fault at all. But when it’s his own child that dies, it’s understandable how he feels like he failed at protecting him, at saving him, and that can cause horrible emotional whiplash.
Being the only “good guy” in a band of thieves also leads to some trust issues that he has with the people he’s working with. Throughout the first season, he shows that he still does not consider himself one of them, even though they are really all he knows now. He still finds himself better than them, which causes bumps in the road while he tries to lead his team. No one likes being looked down on, and Sophie finally voiced that out loud during the first part of the season finale. Whether Nate will ever truly see himself as equals with them is all up for debate, no matter how long they work together. He might finally start to see his coworkers as actual people rather than thieves, or he might still try to continue to blow up his own self worth by convincing himself that he is the better one out of the five of them.
His relationship with one of the team members, Sophie Devereaux, is also what has been suffering due to his thoughts of grandeur and pure arrogance. What they had in the past has never been clarified, and while Sophie did say, “You never cheated on [Maggie], Nate,” the obvious attraction between the two has made it next to impossible for either of them to deny. Sophie however, seems more interested it in taking it to the next level than he is, but that might have been due to all the large roadblocks in his life during the duration of time since they’ve been reunited. Nate wasn’t ready for change, and being romantically involved with Sophie would be a big change in his life. He might be ready for it once he reaches sobriety and takes control back over his own life, but whether Sophie will stick around and wait for that to happen will probably end up being the real question on that matter.
Nate is distant though, to everyone on the team. While Sophie seems to be the closest person to him, she’s still nowhere close to scratching the surface. In one episode Parker pointed out to him that he never touches anyone on the team, and she thought it was due to “the hole in [his] heart”: he’s afraid to get close to people. And while yes, the trust issues with the fact that the entire team is made of up world-class thieves could be part of it; another part is clearly due to him losing his son and his wife. Somewhere in his head he has probably convinced himself that getting close to people just isn’t worth it anymore, because they all leave you eventually, and all it does is hurt.
But Nate is the man with the plan: the connecting piece that brings the rest of the team together. Grifter, hitter, hacker, thief… and the one good guy to make sure they all stay on target. He knows all of their skills, thus being the one who usually comes up with plans A, B, and C… and even sometimes plan M, though Hardison himself wasn’t too fond of that one in the pilot. Without him they could all survive, yes, they have been doing it for years. But being with him, being with each other because of him, they tend to get bigger and better things done when combining all of their skills, rather than just relying on their own. Because of him they’ve all felt how it feels to help other people, and were all surprised on how good it felt. Nate is the conscience of the group, the glue in which without they would all fall apart.
But Nate is also a very cocky man. He can’t seem to resist rubbing it in the bad guys face that they lost, sticking it to them just a little bit further, just a little bit deeper. Just hurting them never satisfies him, he needs them to know who hurt them. Which, in the long run, isn’t a very smart idea on his own part because that could one day come back to haunt him. People hold grudges, and criminals do it ten times as good. After all, revenge is a dish best served cold, right? I have a feeling Nathan Ford will be feeling the effects of that mistake in the coming seasons.
Nathan Ford is just one of many complex characters on LEVERAGE, but he’s the one that’s front and center. He’s the one a lot of people can relate to, being the “good guy”, but yet also is so distant and withdrawn that it’s hard to even see who he really is. Hutton’s brilliant portrayal of this character really brings him to life on the screen, making you laugh when he laughs, and cry when he cries. You feel the need to encourage him when he’s on to something, yell at him when he’s wrong, and sympathize with him when he’s going through something that’s personally difficult for him.