Robert Patrick
A Conversation with Robert Patrick
(Tommy "Bells" Bellavita)

Q: How did you become involved with BAD APPLE?
A: Anthony Bruno, back in the early '90s, wrote a series of books, including Bad Apple. My good friend Chris Noth read these books, and he wanted to produce them. He called me up and asked me to do this project. When I read the script and realized how cool it was, I really wanted to go for it. It reminded me a lot of Elmore Leonard.

Q: Were you familiar with the books?
A: I had not read any of the books, but I read Bad Apple. I used it to research my character, which was a big help to me. It answered a lot of questions I had when I read the script.

Q: Why do you think people have always been so intrigued by the interaction between the FBI and the mafia?
A: I think it goes back to the days of J. Edgar Hoover and the early days of the FBI, as well as during the Depression when we had John Dillinger and Bonnie and Clyde. There's always been this romantic notion of these guys stealing from the banks and it became a part of the pop culture. Then, J. Edgar Hoover coming in with the "G man," which is romanticized still to this day. It's intriguing to the public. Al Capone and Elliot Ness have become bigger than life, and I think this parlays that into the 21st century.

Q: What makes BAD APPLE different from other films where the FBI is tracking the mafia?
A: The major difference I think is the style of the film, as well as the whole ensemble cast and everything that Adam Bernstein brings to it. He's a very creative guy, and he brings his whole point of view to it. He has a dark sense of humor, and I think that's what makes it all work. My character is a psychotic guy who's totally lost his focus on reality and expresses himself in a very violent way, but yet he's a light-hearted guy and somewhat funny, I hope. I think that's what sets this apart from other projects like it.

Q: What does it take to make an ensemble cast work?
A: I think Adam Bernstein deserves the credit for that, as far as melding it together and making it a whole. He's the conductor of the orchestra, and we're all just instruments in his orchestra.