How Kirston Leigh Mann Turned Ted Danson Into a Suit-Wearing Spy for ‘A Man on the Inside’ Season 2

Few cats are as cool as Charles Nieuwendyk. The architect-turned-professor-turned-private investigator is a man of style. an inside man With impeccable taste, this is the Nieuwendyk way.

Costume designer, in season two of the comedy series Hardik Kirsten Leigh Mann Shows his progress as a private investigator. Charles plays things up a bit more cloak and dagger with more swagger. This is a delight for any fan of Awesome Suits, who ted danson Wears exceptionally well.

The mind is a major voice of the creator michael schurHave worked with him in the world of comedy parks and Recreation, brooklyn nine nineAnd nice place“Michael gives me a lot of freedom,” Mann told What’s on Netflix, “and when someone does that, you have a chance to be a lot more creative than when people are indecisive or really want to push something that may not work out in the end, He’s a great boss,”

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Charles looks fantastic in this show. He is an architect, how does this affect Charles’s outfits? How well he’s working together really shows his work ethic.

Correct? He is very bright. We wanted to make it so that it was very special and did everything in a special way. Even the way he cuts articles, he does everything the right way, and I feel like his costumes reflect that. She is very agile, and has her own kind of uniform, which grows as the season progresses. In season two, we tried to make him a little more James Bond. We tried to get him. He’s leaning a little more towards the detective, so he wears a lot more suits and a lot less cardigans, tweedy things.

I think you set it up very well with the opening scene of her in the bar. You made him gentle. How does Ted Danson wear such a good suit?

He looks great in so many suits. I mean, it’s fun. we did nice place Same with Ted. I know him very well and that looks good on him. He is very fond of water – and I say this because of being very close to my wife. He looks good in everything, so it’s hard not to dress Ted well. You would have to make a huge effort to fail on that front. I don’t want to take too much credit for grooming a tall, handsome man.

But yes, we bring a lot of suits for him. He looks good in a Ted Baker suit, and he keeps it very casual. Although we make a lot of suits for him from scratch, we do so because he is unique. He knows what looks good on him. He’s been on camera for decades, and so we have a great tailor, and he makes a lot of suits for us. At any time in our lives, one shoulder may be slightly higher than the other, and so we are manipulating it to give perfect symmetry, and I hope we succeed.

Yeah you do. Even given her height and thinness, having “a tall glass of water” would help.

I mean, it’s like a model. We call them hangers. I’m sure you’ve heard that expression before. It just means that everything looks good on the hanger, but not everything looks good on me, Kirsten. But Ted is a hanger-on. Things actually look better on it than they did on the hanger, which is a rare feat. And yes, it does make it easier. This is the truth. We’re all working around our body types, and when you’re tall and the suit size is just right – that would be the sample size the designer had in mind – it becomes a lot easier.

When recreating those suits, you’re often thinking about what color or fabric to wear for Charles?

Making him more James Bond, we were leaning a little darker and towards blues and grays. I generally don’t like to use too much black on camera because I feel like it looks like a little hole in the scene. But Ted looks good at everything. He looks good in green, blue and brown, so that’s easy. I think we were really trying to focus on how he would look most like a detective, even though he works on a university campus.

What about his pocket square and shoes?

Pocket squares are fun. nice place There was a kind of pocket square, and inside Man have another. We just fold them all in advance and kind of sew them up and put them in his pocket, so it’s not too much of a hassle. Ted’s dresser, Wes Albrecht, is the best. He works on the set. I don’t know how much time you spent on the set.

a little.

We have set people up. So there are people who are shopping the show, and I’m designing the show, and then we have people on set who are working directly during the shooting. While one person is shopping, another person is working with the actor on the set. I feel like I’ve known Wes for 22 years. He keeps an eye on Ted and makes sure everything is perfect, and he is incredibly obsessive about how the pocket square is and how the tie is tied.

What happens when Charles goes to spy on art class? His trenchcoat is absolutely film noir, which again suits Charles’ tastes.

That was the source. We often need doubles, so we’re sourcing and trying to grab what we can, and that one wasn’t made, I remember. I think he falls into the fountain in that trenchcoat. There’s always a bit of a scramble to try to get multiple. He doesn’t fall in one go, because there’s a stunt double, and we always need multiples because these things are happening.

Which Bond influenced Charles in season two? Connery or Moore?

Well, this is a lot of fun. I think that’s a very good question. I’d say Roger Moore, but I wonder if Ted would agree. Of those two, it’s not new, but I think it’s Roger Moore.

Since you and Ted Danson have worked together for so long, what do you two typically discuss when you start collaborating on fittings?

we spent many years together nice placeSo we definitely meet his children and grandchildren. And Mary has worked with us this season, so it’s very familiar, I would say. But speaking of the character, we wanted to tease him apart from Michael nice placeAnd that was our biggest goal, because they both wear suits, Where do we draw that line? And they both had similar elements, so we were just trying to differentiate those two characters, And I think we just talked about—obviously, that’s more human, He is human, Not to be a spoiler alert nice place,

Have you heard theories about this? nice place And inside ManAbout Michael and Charles?

Yes. What have you heard? However, I don’t tell. I know some things, but what have you heard, or what are people saying?

According to Reddit – a very reliable source – Charles is one of Michael’s itineraries on Earth.

And have you somehow solved the puzzle, or not?

My brain doesn’t play 3D chess.

This is ridiculous, I wonder who caught it. I’m always waiting for someone to catch it, but I haven’t been able to catch it yet. You are the first one to mention this which is outside our scope.

So would you say, without confirming or refuting, that this is a solid theory?

I think it’s an interesting theory. I would say, if you see an Easter egg, don’t ignore it.

Ok. Everything matters.

Everything matters. If you’re a big fan of Mike Schur, you’ll see the connection in a lot of things.

I really appreciate how his mind works as a storyteller.

I’m sure he would love that Reddit line. He’s waiting for something fun to happen. Whether it’s accurate or not, there are little things in it if you’re a very astute viewer. It’s funny, someone sent me a DM. I barely go on Instagram, but someone asked about that connection the other day and it was a first. So I lied – a woman from Spain asked if there was an affair. This is the only time anyone has asked me.

In addition to Ted Danson, you’ve also worked with Amy Poehler and Maya Rudolph a lot in your career.

I am very lucky. I think I’m the luckiest guy in the whole business.

It seems rare for a costume designer to have that kind of long-lasting relationship with collaborators, creating characters again and again.

This is true. Maya and I have done at least seven projects together, and I’m sure I’ve done that many with Amy. I did his films. I mean, especially Maya and Amy, they’re my friends. After so many years they became friends. We were born kids together, teens together, and LA Fire together. Amy and I lived across the street from each other in New York.

Apart from those long relationships, my crew has always been there for me. A lot of them started out as PAs, and they’re all costume supervisors. [Costume supervisor] Alexis Jack has been with me for, I don’t know, maybe 14 years. Everyone has been with me for more than 10 years. A kind of madness. Beckett McMahon started as a PA and is now an assistant costume designer.

There’s really a consistency to the work you all do.

I would say that Mike Schur and Morgan Sackett, who are our executive producers, have created such a family.