FX/Hulu’s depicts the infamous rift between writer Truman Capote and his “swans” — a handpicked collection of Manhattan socialites who ice out Capote from New York society after he publishes a short story loosely based on Babe Paley and her husband’s various infidelities. In this scene from the pilot, written by Jon Robin Baitz, the audience is treated to a meet-cute of sorts between Truman (Tom Hollander) and Babe (Naomi Watts) years before their clash that offers an idea of the deep connection between the two players. Truman Capote is an American pop culture icon, recognizable to literary fans even today.
Getting his voice and mannerisms on the page was important — and Baitz says that Hollander stuck to the script, avoiding any ad-libbing in character as Truman. “His respect for the word is based on his love of playwrights, of trying to figure out what the thing is that you’re trying to capture,” says Baitz. “I’m fighting mythology a bit,” Baitz recalls of the process of writing Truman, the character, without being bogged down by Truman, the real person.
“There is a mythology that Truman cloaks himself in, always: genius floundering in catastrophe, a slow-moving disaster.” Babe’s own self-deprecation allows Truman to lower his guard because it shatters what Baitz describes as her own public persona: “a strong American, regal, royal beauty.” Bill Paley’s infidelities are hardly a surprise to Babe, who asks Truman point blank if he saw her .