It’s not often that three major cable networks get together to simulcast a TV event the likes of which A&E, History Channel, and Lifetime are about to unveil on Sunday with their two-night, three-network event Bonnie & Clyde. The good news is, however, that Bonnie & Clyde is worth the hype. Starring Holliday Grainger and Emile Hirsch in the titular roles, this Bonnie & Clyde is very different from Arthur Penn’s 1967 classic film, but handles the story of Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow with poise. It’s a tension-filled drama that showcases both the extreme darkness and bright light within these two troubled characters. Parade sat down with Lane Garrison, who plays Buck Barrow, to discuss the movie, what it was like growing up in Bonnie and Clyde’s backyard, and working with Kristen Stewart on his next film.

When did you first hear that A&E, History, and Lifetime were all coming together to make this massive movie event?

At first I thought it was just History Channel doing it because of the success they’d had with Hatfields & McCoys. It really wasn’t until we were on set shooting that Craig Zadan and Neil Meron, the executive producers, said, “Hey, these guys have been seeing the dailies and this mini-trailer we cut, and all three networks are now involved.” That was about three weeks into it. So that was kind of a shock to us. I think it’s a really cool thing and I’m so blessed to be a part of this project because they’re going to make sure that everyone in America sees it.

Lane Garrison as 'Buck Barrow' in Bonnie & Clyde (Courtesy of A+E Networks)

You’re from Bonnie and Clyde’s home state, right?

Yeah, I’m originally from Dallas, Texas, where Bonnie and Clyde were from, so when I was a little kid, my grandfather used to drive me past the Barrow Filling Station. At my elementary school, there was a barn outside that they used to say was a Bonnie and Clyde hangout. So this is a story that I’ve known since I was six years old and something that I’ve been fascinated with for a long time. It’s just how fate would come to work in my life that I got the opportunity to play Buck Barrow. I’m so happy to be a part of it.

So you’d obviously seen Arthur Penn’s version of the story.

I had seen Arthur Penn’s version because I was already a fan and I knew the story. I’ve stood in places where the real characters had stood. That was a really cool thing for me.

How did you approach making Buck Barrow your own while still honoring Gene Hackman’s performance?

Gene Hackman is one of the great American actors of all time. He’s just a phenomenal talent, so to step in those shoes was beyond scary and big, but I think what differentiated us is the fact that the scripts are so different. The [Warren] Beatty film of ’67 was kind of lighthearted and a little bit campy for the time. This film is so much darker and these characters are so much richer, I feel like there was a lot for me to delve into. Where I kind of honored Hackman’s portrayal was where he had this amazing energy and was so upbeat in that film. He brought so much life force to it, so I tried to keep a piece of that because this film can get really dark at times. They’re definitely two different films.

Emile Hirsch & Holliday Grainger in Bonnie & Clyde (Courtesy of A+E Networks)

This one seems to come down pretty firmly on the side of Bonnie really being the driving force behind most of the crimes.

Oh, yeah. Bonnie is a true sociopath. Holliday Grainger is fantastic. She’s a Brit who’s playing a southern girl from the 1930s and she just hit a homerun. She couldn’t be a kinder person. When you read the books and do the research, you understand that these people, before anything else, were drawn by their family. So with Emile [Hirsch] and me, a lot of the preparation was just us hanging out two weeks before we even started shooting. Almost day and night, we hung out. He knew everything about my life and I knew everything about his. We really bonded as friends, so I think that portrayal of brotherhood and friendship between Buck and Clyde is there.

And then you get to fight him and roll down a hill together.

Yeah, and I’m totally going to bust Emile on this. I’m a Texas guy. You hand me a BAR [Browning Automatic Rifle] or a Tommy gun, I know exactly what to do with it. Shooting to me is second nature. Fighting, I want to do all my own stunts. Emile looked at that cliff, when we got up there to fight, and he’s like, “Yeah, you’re going to tackle my stunt guy here.” [Laughs] I was determined that no one was going to do my stunts for me, so I told him I was going to do it. Emile says to me, “Look, sometimes things can go wrong.” It was muddy that day. So, of course, I did it and I tackled the stunt guy, drove him off the fifteen-foot embankment, and screwed up my shoulder a little bit. Emile comes in for the last roll of a close-up and says, “See, I told you.” [Laughs] I loved it.

Emile Hirsch, Sarah Hyland & Lane Garrison in Bonnie & Clyde (Courtesy of A+E Networks)

Sarah Hyland (Modern Family) is great in the film as well.

Most people know her for her comedic timing and being a comedy actress, which she’s phenomenal at, and this role was a bit darker for her. I don’t think people were expecting it. Sarah was great to work with because she’d have different ideas and she’s just an easy-going, really loving person. Also, she’s drop-dead gorgeous, so it’s not hard to love the girl. You’re looking at those big eyes and she’s just a beautiful girl.

What can you tell us about your role in Camp X-Ray?

Peter Sattler wrote this phenomenal script about Guantanamo Bay. I finally get to put on the other shoes. On Prison Break, I played the convict. I’ve played the convict a lot and, unfortunately, life has imitated art. I’ve seen the inside of those walls and know them too well, so the interesting thing about this character for me was to get to put on the prison guard’s shoes and walk around the fence-line. I got to see what it was like to play a man who worked inside the prison but got to leave.

What was it like working with Kristen Stewart?

Working with Kristen was phenomenal. I have nothing but great things to say about her. She’s a total tomboy and she loves sports. We were playing basketball or throwing the football every day in the prison. We set up a driving range there. She’s a great golfer too, so we had an immediate connection with sports. She just loves acting. It doesn’t matter if it’s a small film or a big budget film. She loves acting, as do I. This story is going to be really, really powerful. I think it’s going to cause some controversy that might make people ask the question, “What should we do with Guantanamo?”

Lane Garrison & Sarah Hyland in Bonnie & Clyde (Courtesy of A+E Networks)

Do you think there could ever be a modern-day Bonnie and Clyde?

I don’t think there could be because they would be caught too soon. I think that’s why people are so fascinated by the story still. You’ve got this crazy love story where these two people are willing to kill for each other. I think people are intrigued by that because it’s hard to believe that it could exist today.

I’m not sure that the amount of sympathy these two received could ever happen today, for any killer.

Yeah, the press would destroy them. You have to remember that this was back in the Depression era. There wasn’t a lot going on. These people were hurting and angry at the government. They were starving. Bonnie and Clyde were almost like a modern-day Robin Hood, stealing “the government’s money.” I think that’s a bit of why they were glorified.

It was like their TV or their entertainment.

That was it. They didn’t have any Breaking Bad. This was their Breaking Bad.

The two-night event Bonnie & Clyde airs on A&E, Lifetime, and History Channel on Sunday, December 8 and Monday, December 9 at 9PM.

http://youtu.be/Rdu8hOL3tOo