You've done such a great job
on this Perry Mason series,
it is so absorbing,
 seeing Perry in this world
 of Los Angeles in 1931.
I was living out
this incredible fantasy.
 Getting into the car,
 throwing the cigarette,
 tipping the hat.
Trying not to impersonate
Bogart.
(LAUGHS)
♪ (UPBEAT MUSIC PLAYS) ♪
I'm Robert Downey Jr.,
I'm one of
the executive producers
of Perry Mason, and I'm
gonna have
an in-depth discussion
with the star,
 Perry himself, Matthew Rhys.
"In-depth" terrifies me,
but it's a pleasure.
ROBERT DOWNEY JR: How is
 this Perry story different
from what people might expect?
The sequence of events
as to how I came to this project
was there's a message
from my agent saying,
"I need to talk to you about
the remake of Perry Mason."
And I was like, "The remake
of Perry Mason.
I don't know if that's
a good idea."
I went to meet the writers,
and the first thing
out of their mouths was,
"Well, we're interested
in the origin story."
 And it stopped me dead
 in my tracks. And I went,
"Oh, yeah,
that would be interesting."
It's not just him at law school
going, "This is really hard."
It's an incredibly interesting
origin story.
HERMAN BAGGERLY: And you're
 a detective, Mr. Mason?
That's a fancy word
for a busy-body, but yes.
Been working together since,
just after the war.
DOWNEY JR: This character,
 as he's being reinvented,
is a new archetype.
 But because we get to do it
 in episodes that are all just
 based around one case,
there isn't the rush
of the movie,
but there's the anticipation
of the season.
And, it's really transcendent
for me.
MATTHEW RHYS: The one thing
 I loved about it is,
 when you find him,
 he's pretty lost.
E.B. JONATHAN: At some point
you gotta admit
this isn't working out.
Don't you have some windows
to go peek in?
RHYS:
He's a First World War veteran,
 who's endured this injustice.
And he's making a living
day to day doing something
 morally questionable.
You need to decide what kind of
person you wanna be.
RHYS: E.B. is the lawyer with
 this enormous case,
 that Mason just knows,
 isn't right.
And he has to do something
about it.
This one's really got
it's hooks in me.
Me too.
RHYS: In a world that has
done him the greatest injustice,
it's the only thing he can do
to rectify something
in his life.
DOWNEY JR:
 It's really interesting,
'cause just when you think
a trope is played out,
you spin it in a new way,
 with an investment
 in a bunch of characters,
 and it really pays off.
DOWNEY JR: I'm going to say
 the actual name,
the character name,
and I'd like you
to tell me the first three
descriptive words or things
that come to mind.
 Juliet Rylance
 as Della Street.
Smoky, sassy, foxy.
You're a bad liar
and a lousy tail.
I'm working the case,
I'm doing my job.
Chris Chalk as Paul Drake.
Magnetic, intense,
and intense.
(LAUGHS)
Can I ask you a couple
of questions?
PAUL DRAKE: I've seen
 more than one chalky fellow
in a cheap-ass suit
lying in the gutter
with his throat cut.
Tatiana Maslany as
Sister Alice.
Ethereal, will of the wisp.
Blessed be the hangman,
who will snap this devils neck!
 DOWNEY JR:
 John Lithgow as E.B. Jonathan.
Humorous, tragic, father.
This is a live one,
wear your good suit.
This is my good suit.
DOWNEY JR: You signed up
to do this, it's a lot of work,
 it's a long time.
Why do you believe that this
wound up being
 a good piece of entertainment?
RHYS: Just the size and beauty
 of this production,
is worth taking it on.
But as a story, it's everything
you want.
 For those who wanna watch
 a crime thriller,
and try and figure it out,
they will have that.
And for those who ultimately
think it's about
people having relationships
with people,
this one flies.
I'm so proud that I'm part
of having brought this together.
And it's been so satisfying
for me to see you
 take on this iconic character
 and reinvent it
 and with such honesty
 and integrity
in a way that could captivate
us.
And you have done exactly that,
Mr. Rhys, and I thank you.
Well, incredibly glad to have
the invite on this journey.
♪ (MUSIC CONCLUDES) ♪
Do you feel like you should just
hang up the jersey now,
in case season two might not
hold up?
(LAUGHS)
