Emmy Contenders: Andre Holland on the gore and greatness of ‘The Knick’

Andre Holland from Steven Soderbergh’s acclaimed medical drama “The Knick” dropped by the Los Angeles Times’ television studio recently to talk about the show, its gory operating room scenes and his complex character, surgeon Algernon Edwards.

Holland shared the unusual way he made an audition tape for the role (if you were the honeymooners who helped him, please get in touch), the show’s incredibly fast shooting pace and how his Alabama upbringing informed the way he played Algernon’s outbursts of anger.

“That’s something that Alabama taught me,” Holland said. “Growing up black and in the South, there’s a rage I think that can happen to a person and I think that comes from being overlooked, from not being heard, not feeling seen and it comes out in one way or another.”

The 35-year-old actor also talked about playing Andrew Young in “Selma,” a movie that, again, given his background, resonated deeply with him.

“Those two things back to back are like ... I couldn’t have written a better script,” Holland said.

After all the drama with Dr. Edwards in the first season, Holland teased that the next batch of episodes might find him in a better place -- but not that much better.

“It wouldn’t be ‘The Knick’ if it was too happy,” he joked.

Watch the full interview above.

Twitter: @glennwhipp