Tracy Letts has long been one of American film and theater’s most compelling character actors. A Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright and an actor whose performances in works like “Ford v Ferrari,” “The Post,” and “Lady Bird” reveal an uncommon blend of intelligence and emotional weight. It is not surprising that Letts has moved so fluidly between acting and writing. He was raised by parents who embodied both forms, and he now shares his creative life with his wife, Carrie Coon (“White Lotus”, “The Gilded Age”), whose work similarly prioritizes depth over ornament.
That grounding feels central to “The Lowdown,” Sterlin Harjo’s Tulsa-set detective drama anchored in the textures, humor, history, and contradictions of Oklahoma life. The eight-episode series, starring Ethan Hawke as a world-weary investigator alongside Letts and a strong ensemble of Oklahoma talent, is streaming on FX/Hulu. For Letts, who was born in Tulsa and later raised in southeastern Oklahoma, the project arrived as more than just another role. It was an opportunity to contribute to a creative ecosystem rooted in his home state, one that Harjo has been steadily nurturing through projects like “Reservation Dogs.”
Letts explains that he actively reached out to Harjo when he heard the show was being developed. He offered to help in any capacity, whether or not there was a part for him. It wasn’t about career strategy. It was about respect for the world Harjo is building in Tulsa, one that treats Oklahoma as a real and complex place rather than a flattened idea of one. As Letts puts it, “I did something I’ve never done. I got my agents to get me on a call with Sterlin and I said, I’ll do anything. I’ll help in any way I can. If you don’t have a part for me, I’ll come to Oklahoma and get a food truck for the cast and crew. I just wanted to be a part of what he’s building.”
In “The Lowdown,” Letts plays Frank Martin, one of several roles inhabited by native Oklahomans across the series. The show’s attention to detail is unmistakable to anyone who has spent time in Tulsa. The neighborhoods, the music, the way people speak, the humor and melancholy, even the late-night local television references, all contribute to an authentic portrait of Oklahoma.
In speaking to Awards Focus, Letts speaks about the responsibility of representation, the importance of place, and the gift of collaboration without ego. He recognizes the ways Oklahoma is often reduced to tragedy or stereotype in film and television, and he values Harjo’s approach to depicting it as a landscape of real people, varying politics, quiet resilience, and complicated stories.
Awards Focus: “The Lowdown” is a really fun show. I’m curious, at this stage of your career and with the different projects that come your way, how much did the show being set in Oklahoma factor into your wanting to be a part of it?
Tracy Letts: Well, it’s huge, but that’s in combination with Sterlin. I mean, if it were just in Oklahoma, that wouldn’t be enough to entice me. But I loved “Reservation Dogs” so much. Were I not from Oklahoma, I still think I would have loved it, but because I am from Oklahoma, I really thought it was a great and important show.
I did something I’ve never done. When I heard that Sterlin was making this show, that he was making a detective show set in Tulsa with Ethan, I got my agents to get me on a call with him, just like this. And I said, I’ll do anything. I’ll help in any way I can. I just offered my services. If you don’t have a part for me, I’m going to come to Oklahoma and get a food truck for the cast and crew. I was going to help somehow because I so believe in Sterlin’s aesthetic, the kind of work he’s creating, the way he’s going about it, and the community he’s creating in Oklahoma and in Tulsa. The filmmaking community he’s building there is a beautiful thing, and I wanted to be a part of it.
AF: You mentioned the food truck. Your offer had no strings in terms of being cast?
Letts: In any way. And in fact, he said, “Great,” and sent me the script. He asked what I wanted to play, and I said, “No, you tell me. I’m here to service your vision. You tell me how I can help.” And so he gave me the role of Frank Martin, and I was delighted to have it.
AF: That’s interesting. Now having watched the show, are there any other characters that you think you’d have loved to play?
Letts: We’ve watched up through what’s aired so far. We haven’t watched ahead. But it’s so well cast. They’re all so great. Kyle [MacLachlan] and Tim [Blake Nelson], well, everyone in the show, but those are the guys in basically my demo that I might have played. They’re so great in their roles. It’s so beautifully cast, and I’m excited to have the role I have.
AF: I’ve talked to some of the production team, and one of the things that stands out is the devotion to authenticity, shooting on location and using existing buildings. When you’re there, what memories does it bring back for you, having grown up in and around that area?
Letts: It is authentic. When I watch the show, everything about it looks and feels like Tulsa, very specifically Tulsa. Not just the people Sterlin’s using, but the texture of it all. I’m not the only Okie in the show. Tim Blake Nelson, Jeanne Tripplehorn, Paul Sparks, there are a lot of Okies. It not only looks like Tulsa, it feels like Tulsa. There’s a vibe. It’s in the music, the shot selection, the production design. It’s really shot through.
I can’t remember if it was episode two or three, but there’s a character watching TV, and we see just a brief cut of what they’re watching. It’s a late-night local horror show. Every city had their own, and in Tulsa we had a guy named Gailard Sartain who hosted “The Uncanny Film Festival and Camp Meeting,” as [Dr.] Mazeppa [Pompazoidi]. Gary Busey was a regular character on that show. She’s watching an old Mazeppa episode, and I thought, “Sterlin, nobody in the world knows what this is. It’s such a deep cut.” You’ve got to be a really hardcore Tulsan to know what that is. He said, “I know. The rest of the country’s going, ‘What the fuck is that?’” But I was delighted to see it there. Every detail of the show is filled with attention to Oklahoma history and detail. That’s one of the things that makes it really special.
AF: The premise of this dusty noir is fun on its own, but as I started watching, I thought of how most recent depictions of Tulsa aren’t exactly favorable. They’re often centered around the massacre or tragedy. How deliberate do you think it is for Sterlin and the writing team to produce a show where all the characters are multi-dimensional?
Letts: No place is any one thing. No people are any one thing. Nothing is monolithic. It doesn’t work like that.
I remember when I first wrote “August: Osage County,” the idea that the play was dealing with academics in Oklahoma was a bit of a record scratch for some people. They were so accustomed to seeing people from rural communities depicted a certain way. The idea that people from those communities might be well-read, educated, articulate, they were unaccustomed to seeing that reflected in their culture.
So I think what Sterlin is doing is valuable. He’s showing a real panorama of that local culture, and it’s not any one thing. I was born in Tulsa, and when I was five or six, my parents moved to a small town in southeastern Oklahoma where I grew up. After we kids left home, my parents moved back to Tulsa, so that became the place where I’d visit after I left home.
They were good Democrats in a state that was becoming more and more right-wing. Oklahoma’s roots were progressive and Democratic, the home of Will Rogers, Woody Guthrie, and a lot of good progressive voices. But over the years, it became evangelized and more red. I’d tell my folks, “You should leave. It’s a lost cause.” And they’d say, “It may seem like that to you, but if Oklahoma’s population is three million, that means there’s a million people here who think like we do. It’s not enough to win an election, but it’s a large part of the population.”
I don’t think Sterlin’s goal is to address the political divide directly, but I do think he’s showing there’s a breadth of experience and ideology in a place like Tulsa. It’s not one thing. It’s a complicated place, and he’s reflecting some of that complication.
AF: You talked about your history as a writer and of course, you have a Pulitzer on your shelf. When you come onto a show, how involved do you get in crafting your own character and is it tempting to want to be in the writer’s room?
Letts: I definitely stay out of the writer’s room. I hope I take on my job like any engaged actor. Anytime you’re dealing with new writing, whether it’s theater, film, or TV, you’re actively involved in a process of interrogation. You’re trying to figure out why you’re saying what you’re saying and what it’s all about.
Believe me, the last thing anybody wants is for me to come on set and start looking over their shoulder going, “Did you ever think about…” Nobody wants to hear that from me, and I’m not interested in doing it. In fact, one of the advantages of being an actor is I’m not responsible for the whole thing. I get to just show up and do my part, stay in my lane.
As a writer, I appreciate when actors ask hard questions or contribute ideas, when they participate in the process. So I hope I’m participating in that way, not in an overbearing way.
AF: The TV and film landscape has changed so much in the last decade. As you continue to think about projects, how are you making those choices now? What types of projects are most attractive to you?
Letts: I’ll be totally transparent. The first question my wife and I ask is, “When and where does it shoot?” Don’t even tell us anything else. We have little kids, so the practical considerations are always first.
Beyond that, it’s all about the script, and in rare instances, the creator behind it. This was one of those instances. I hadn’t read anything Sterlin had written for this when I said I wanted to be a part of it, just because I knew his writing standard. When Kathryn Bigelow calls and says she’s interested in me for a role, I say yes. I’m confident that Kathryn Bigelow is working on something good and interesting.
For the most part, though, it comes back to the script. It’s not even about the role or the character. To some extent, it’s about how I can help tell the story. What is the story you’re telling, and how can I help?
Carrie and I have found that it serves us both well not to worry about career cosmetics. We don’t say, “Oh, this will be good for my career.” We don’t traffic in that. We just stick to asking, is it worth it? Taking a job is hard. It takes time away from the kids, it takes time away from family, it puts a burden on your partner. So we always ask, is it worth it? In the case of Sterlin, it was a no-brainer. I was going to Tulsa to do this, and we’d figure out a way to make it work.
AF: I appreciate the time. I look back to “Ford v Ferrari,” and I think your scene in the car is one I always remember from that film. I’m always looking forward to a Tracy Letts appearance in a show or a film. Thank you for the time today, and congrats on a wonderful show and performance.
Letts: Thanks very much, Ben. Appreciate it.