Ryan Muprhy says he made a smart decision to cast John Travolta in his upcoming series "People v OJ Simpson: American Crime Story" as the creator feels the actor has added a sizzle to the story.
The 10-episode series, set to premiere on February 8 on Star World Premiere HD, tells the real life story of how the late lawyer Robert's client professional football player Simpson was acquitted of murder.
"I was trying to do the unexpected piece of casting,", said Murphy while talking about chasing Travolta and locking him down for his role as defense attorney Robert Shapiro in the famous murder trial.
"We never in that meeting talked that much about the project. I think he wanted to feel us out. I just talked to him about the movies I loved that he did. I remember we had a talk about my obsession with 'Perfect' and I think he thought that was funny. Then, he read the scripts and was obsessed with them. Once he said yes, creatively it was a lot about points. I gave up points to get him. I just wanted him. I think it was a smart decision because I think he adds some great piece of sizzle to it," Murphy said.
Travolta said he was so impressed with the quality on television, referring to "Mad Men", that he thought he should hear to "People v OJ Simpson" script.
"I spent so many years doing film. I admired television and its evolution. I was in love with Mad Men and a couple of other series. I thought they were doing the quality of good film, of a great feature film. I decided it was worth a gander to at least hear what Ryan Murphy and Nina Jacobson had to say about it."
He added, "The thing that sold me finally was not the sensationalism of the piece but more that it was going to be an echo of how it changed society.
