Killing Lincoln - Nat Geo (Reactions)

[John E.]

When I think about Jesse's performance, three of my favorite scenes were:

1. Lighting his cigar from the torchlight.
2. Giving the "Yeah I said it, what of it?" look to the black man standing in front of the Executive Mansion.
3. Booth's death throes on the porch. Good stuff.

Johnson playing the part of Booth "over-the-top" was his interpretation and I think it was accurate and effective for the most part. I would have liked to see him come off as more obsessed and sinister in some scenes. Booth's friends and even some of the conspirators noticed a marked change in his behavior toward the end. Less smiling, less happy and more depressed and angry with the losses of the Confederacy. --> That is my personal vision of Booth and I'm no actor. I don't think you can assign wrong or right to Jesse's performance. You can tell he embraced the role and went for it. -- He didn't go through the motions and that was apparent. He believed in what he was doing and that's half the battle.