Brendan Fraser and ‘Trust’ Cast Discuss the Changing Truths of the Getty Kidnapping

In 1973, one of the richest teenagers in the world, John Paul Getty III, was kidnapped in Italy. For the rest of the world, the Getty kidnapping seemed like an easy problem to solve. John Paul Getty had more than enough money to cover the kidnappers’ ransom, and it wasn’t a close friend who was kidnapped but his own grandson. Surely he was important enough to warrant a check from Getty. However, as FX’s latest 10-part miniseries explores, the story around the Getty kidnapping has always been more complicated than just opening a checkbook.

Earlier this week, Decider attended a panel for Trust ahead of its premiere later this month. “What attracted me to the story was that there’s this central puzzle that we have 10 hours to unlock, which is almost unfathomable,” Trust and Slumdog Millionaire writer Simon Beaufoy said of the miniseries. “It’s why the richest man in the world wouldn’t play what is peanuts for the release of his grandson, and the more I dove into it and the more I wrote, the more I discovered that everyone does have their own truth.”

One of the most difficult versions of that truth comes from Michael Esper’s John Paul Getty, Jr. The father of the kidnapped son, Trust‘s version of John Paul Getty, Jr. is far from the idyllic supportive father. Instead of embracing his son’s new role as heir to the Getty empire, John Paul Getty, Jr. allows his jealousy and resentment to blind him to the detriment of himself, his son, and everyone around him. “I think he’s arrested somehow, you know?” Esper said.

“There are so many things that he does that seem hard to justify,” the actor added. “I found that he just really wants his father to love him.”

On the other side of the coin is Donald Sutherland as the imposing and pragmatic-to-a-fault John Paul Getty. During the panel, the legendary actor opened up about how he prepared for the role. “I had his obituary from the New York Times, which really if you want to do any research about Paul Getty, look at that,” Sutherland said. “I read the books that Getty wrote, which were not completely and utterly true, but he made a jab at it. And I read Simon’s script, which was completely, utterly, and profoundly true.”

While Esper and Sutherland battle over their pride, it’s Brendan Fraser‘s James Fletcher Chase who actually investigates the kidnapping. “He’s Getty’s man sometimes,” Fraser said. After Sutherland made a disapproving noise, Fraser corrected himself. “That’s not true. I’m more of a punching bag.”

Fraser stands as the audience’s guide through this whirlwind of egos, Italy, and hidden money. “I think you needed a narrator or someone who can jump in and out of the scene to explain this vast subject matter that we have 10 episodes on,” the actor said. Most of Fraser’s most memorable scenes take place in Italy as he tries to track down what happened to his employer’s grandson.

“[Chase] is the brassy American who is waving stars and stripes, declaring himself here waving cash,” Fraser said. “But nobody … will talk to this guy and tell him what happened to this kid. He really wants to know where did this kid go. This is serious. It’s not a joke. He could be in serious jeopardy. And as you all learn and know — you know the story of the Getty son — he was in trouble. ”

And then at the center of all of this drama is Harris Dickinson‘s John Paul Getty III. “He says early in the series, he’s one of the richest 16 year old in the world but he doesn’t actually have anything,” Dickinson said of his character. “He’s a very intricate, free guy.”

“He battles with feelings disingenuous and being who he is versus who he things he wants to be,” he said. “That was something that became quite clear. He’s this walking juxtaposition, he has this paradox inside him. I think it was in his make-up.”

With 10 episodes that are extravagantly linked and between 70 and 80 characters, Trust stands as one of director Danny Boyle‘s most ambitious projects to date. During the panel, Boyle spent much of his time praising the dedication of the miniseries’ actors. “You often ask what do you do as a director. I mean, do you direct actors? You can see from this panel what actors do — this is the best, this is priceless,” he said. “They take a character, they investigate that character. Building the world is somebody else’s job — that’s Simon’s job, that’s my job.”

Trust premieres on FX Sunday, March 25 at 10 p.m. ET.

Stream Trust on FXNOW and FX+ on March 25