Perry Mason's Paul Raci Didn't Know Lydell Was Going To Be Such A Horrid Character [EXCLUSIVE]
This post contains spoilers for season 2 of "Perry Mason."
Season 2 of HBO's gritty reboot of "Perry Mason" wrapped up with the titular lawyer (Matthew Rhys) behind bars after one of his two clients is set free. It wasn't exactly the perfect ending, but then that's the whole point of this show — to peer beneath the glamorous veneer of 1930s Los Angeles to reveal its imperfect underbelly.
And in the show's view of depression-era Los Angeles, everyone's got something to hide, whether it's Juliet Rylance's closeted lesbian Della Street or Chris Chalk's Paul Drake, whose emotional season 2 arc saw him commit all sorts of morally questionable acts in pursuit of the truth. What's more, the whole reason Rhys' Mason ends up in jail is that he's literally hiding something — the gun used to kill Brooks McCutcheon (Tommy Dewey).
It's this murder that's at the heart of season 2's mystery. Did the accused Gallardo brothers actually kill the son of a wealthy oil magnate or is there more to the story? Well, we now know there absolutely is more to the story, and it involves a lot of rich people hiding their indiscretions.
And while the conniving oil baroness Camilla Nygaard (Hope Davis) is revealed to be the orchestrator of Brooks' death, that doesn't mean his father, Lydell McCutcheon, is entirely innocent. Played by veteran actor Paul Raci, Lydell is, in fact, a pretty terrible person whose violent tendencies and illicit oil smuggling operation are laid bare as the season goes on. And for Raci, it came as quite a surprise to learn just how ruthless his character was.
The nastiness of Lydell McCutcheon
Paul Raci has been acting since the '80s but gained widespread attention in 2021 when he was nominated for the Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his excellent performance in "Sound of Metal." Since then, the 75-year-old has been cropping up in all manner of projects, showcasing his unique talents and character acting ability. And when it came to "Perry Mason," Raci deftly portrayed Lydell McCutcheon's cruelty, demonstrating a real viciousness in the third episode when he uses an active oil derrick to burn the cheek off a former employee of Brooks.
Raci spoke to /Film about being cast in "Perry Mason," and specifically highlighted his character's mean streak, explaining how he auditioned for Lydell and "didn't know it was for the bad guy." He added:
"So they asked me to add something to see if I could be nasty. I was like, 'Okay.' So we did that and then I was called back again and we did it again. So I got the role, but I didn't really realize that he was as nasty as he was going to be."
Still, the actor seemed to enjoy playing the role, saying that being cast as the bad guy "was in [his] favor," and that he "just loved doing Lydell McCutcheon. It's just a great role. He has a great suit, great hat." Many of the best scenes featuring Raci were actually shot at the last minute, with the actor revealing that major scenes between Lydell and Brooks were added midway through shooting. But the cruelty? That was there from the beginning, and Raci seemed to handle it all with ease.
The end of the road for Lydell?
When "Perry Mason" season 2 wrapped up, Lydell McCutcheon was forced to abscond to Japan where he remained trapped as the authorities became aware of his oil smuggling scheme. This means that when the show potentially returns for a third season, we might see more of Lydell, who proved a worthy adversary for Perry Mason and his crew. With Camilla Nygaard under investigation and promising that Mason and co. haven't seen the last of her, there's definitely more story to be told when it comes to the ramifications of her and Lydell's machinations.
In the meantime, we'll have to wait to hear news about whether "Perry Mason" will return for a third season. New showrunners Michael Begler and Jack Amiel managed to improve on the series' first season with the second, somehow making "Perry Mason" a lighter affair without skimping on the violence and grittiness. And it seems the show's producers are already thinking about a season 3. With any luck, we'll get more of Mason in the near future and if he does return, let's hope Paul Raci and his ruthless antagonist come with him.