Danny Huston’s acting career didn’t take off until he was nearly 40, but it was inevitable he’d get around to it sooner or later. After all, he comes from Hollywood royalty: His father, John, grand-father, Walter, and half-sister, Anjelica, are all Oscar-winners and legends. (He has, however, been directing films and TV since he was in his twenties.) Having stolen scenes in “Birth,” “The Constant Gardener” and “The Proposition,” he can now be seen as fearsome gangster Ben “The Butcher” Diamond on the 1950s Miami show “Magic City,” which just began its second season on Starz.

What attracted you to your character?
There’s a fallen emperor quality about Ben Diamond, where he’s sort of biding his time — languishing around a pool, fulfilling his sexual depravity. But there’s also a shrewd businessman there, someone who wants to get things going. There’s a certain honesty to Ben Diamond, believe it or not. He is who he is. He’s not ashamed.

You’ve played villains before, but Ben seems to be the most villainous. Only your character in “The Proposition” is worse.
The key to playing a villain — and this might be obvious — is to find the humanity in them. Nobody regards themselves as villainous or all that bad. In the case of Ben Diamond, I thought I would give that up. [Laughs.] I would play him for the badass that he is. Somehow I find that endearing. In “The Proposition,” Arthur Burns has a similar quality, where in a way violence is almost like his mistress.

This is one of your only steady TV gigs. What made you want to work on television?
I worked with Tom Hooper on “John Adams,” as Samuel Adams. That’s when I realized there’s a real scope here, that you can actually tell your story. It’s not necessarily that three acts are limiting. There’s plenty of films made with the three act structure. But there’s this room [in television] to tell a story that you can’t otherwise, possibly. Then I did [“Kevorkian”] with Al Pacino, and I realized there was this whole built-in audience. And to release something about Kevorkian theatrically, it would just be impossible.

TV acting is very different from film acting. What are some of the challenges to adjusting to it?
I very find it very daunting, I feel like I’m losing control. I don’t quite know how to pace my performance — if I’m revealing too much or too little. It makes me unsteady. But I know that I’m in good hands. I know that I’m working with someone [showrunner Mitch Glazer] I respect. I’d hate to be in a different situation. The only thing I found tricky was changing directors. We’re all the same, but suddenly there’s one guy who’s the new guy.

Glazer is a longtime friend of yours. What is it like working with a pal?
I come from a family where we encourage nepotism. [Laughs.] So there’s nobody better to be working with family or friends. As long as you respect them, as long as you want to serve their vision, then it’s all good.

The post ‘Magic City”s Danny Huston on playing bad appeared first on Metro.us.

The NCAA men’s basketball tournament field of 68 was announced Sunday and, for once, much of the snub controversy seemed subdued.

The four No. 1 seeds are Louisville (29-5), Kansas (29-5), Gonzaga (31-2) and Indiana (27-6). The Cardinals are the top overall seed and landed in the Midwest region (Indianapolis), meaning they get to play the first few rounds in their own backyard. No. 4 Saint Louis (27-6, champions of Atlantic-10), and No. 3 Michigan State (25-8), appear to pose the biggest challenge to Louisville making a return trip to the Final Four.

The top opening game during the tourney’s first two days could very well be No. 8 Colorado State vs. No. 9 Missouri, two teams that dominate on the glass. Higher seeds on upset alert should be No. 5 Oklahoma State, which faces No. 12 Oregon (who won the Pac-12 tournament) and No. 7 Creighton, which opposes No. 10 Cincinnati. Creighton junior forward Doug McDermott (23.1 ppg, 7.5 rebs) might be the best player in the country and could have landed the Wooden Award if his team didn’t have a tailspin late in the regular season.

Gonzaga has a nice path to the Sweet 16 in the West region (Los Angeles), starting in Salt Lake City, although a matchup with No. 5 Wisconsin looms and the Badgers are always a tough out. No. 2 Ohio State and No. 3 New Mexico also appear on a collision course.

Once again, an 8-9 game provides a great matchup with Pittsburgh taking on Wichita State – two under-the-radar but very solid teams. No. 10 Iowa State has a great chance to beat No. 7 Notre Dame and maybe this is the year that No. 11 Belmont finally gets a win (they’ll meet No. 6 Arizona).

The Jayhawks were rewarded with arguably the toughest region (South), in terms of the other high seeds. Kansas begins in Kansas City and No. 2 Georgetown, No. 3 Florida, No. 4 Michigan and even No. 5 VCU all have the capability to reach the Final Four.
Michigan vs. South Dakota State should be highly entertaining as Big Blue sophomore guard Trey Burke (19.2 ppg, 6.7 asts), the likely Wooden Award winner, takes on senior guard Nate Wolters (22.7 ppg, 5.8 asts, 5.6 rebs).

The Hoosiers looked like the top team for much of the season but they kept losing whenever they were ranked No. 1. They are in the East region (Washington D.C.) and will start things off in Dayton. Other than No. 2 Miami, which had a legitimate case for a No. 1 seed, the rest of the East looks pretty weak. It is definitely Indiana’s to lose but there could be plenty of juicy upsets. No. 11 Bucknell meets No. 6 Butler, No. 14 Davidson could scare No. 3 Marquette and No. 10 Colorado is basically a pick ’em against No. 7 Illinois.

The post Metro’s NCAA tourney bracket breakdown appeared first on Metro.us.

Can’t find a date for Valentine’s Day?

You can bid on one at WhatsYourPrice.com – and you wouldn’t be alone: New Yorkers have been bidding the most to get a date for Thursday.

“Put your money where your mouth is and bid on a chance to fall in love with smart, sexy people, today!” the site promises.

The dating website, where users can bid on dates, reported today that nearly 28,000 New Yorkers have paid women to get a first date for Valentine’s Day in the four weeks before the holiday.

Those New Yorkers spent an average of $143.53, a spokesman for the site said.

New York topped the people looking for the most dates, followed by Los Angeles and Miami.

Follow Alison Bowen on Twitter: @reporteralison

Follow Metro New York on Twitter: @MetroNewYork

The post New York men pay women for Valentine’s Day dates on whatsyourprice.com appeared first on Metro.us.