Amazon Studios' upcoming series The Sticky is a ridiculous show loosely based on an even more ridiculous real-life heist.
In 2012, it was discovered that 9,571 barrels of maple syrup (valued at roughly $18.7 million) had been stealthily stolen over several months.
Now, The Sticky is here to spin a Hollywood take on those events in television format. The story is led by Guillaume Cyr (Remy Bouchard), Mago Martindale (Ruth Clarke), and Chris Diamantopoulos (Mike Byrne).
The Direct's Russ Milheim was able to sit down with The Sticky actor Diamantoploulos himself, where he boasted about his new ridiculous show and how well everything came together.
Chris Diamantopoulos on How 'Ridiculous' the Show and Its True Story Angle
"That's F*cking Awesome That Someone Was Audacious Enough to Try and Do That."
- The Direct: "The Sticky isn't a true story, per se, and it's inspired by an actual heist. How familiar were you with that incident, or was it complete news?"
Chris Diamantopoulos: It's so funny that we say it that way, right? I mean, it's like, back in the 80s, every movie [was] based on a true story, and everyone's like, 'Oh, wow, yeah, that really happened.' No, it didn't. It's f-cking Hollywood's version of the story. That's what this is.
This is based on a true story. It's just the, you know, we've got a lot more lawyers in 2024 than they used to have back then. The story is ridiculous.
The show is ridiculous. Some people looked at a warehouse that wasn't being guarded, that housed the global supply of maple syrup in oil drums valued at 1000s of dollars per drum, stacked upon you know each other in the 1000s, and thought, I'm going to steal that and sell it on the black market. That's f-cking awesome that someone was audacious enough to try and do that and did it, yeah.
Chris Diamantopoulos' Mike Isn't A Great Guy In The Sticky
"My Goal Is to Be the Character, Warts and All"
- The Direct: "Now I'm gonna give it to you straight: Mike is not a good dude. When it came to your performance, how did you work to try to make him at least a little likable so that viewers could get on board with him?"
Chris Diamantopoulos: I don't try to make anyone likable. My goal is to be the character, warts and all. And when you're given an opportunity to play someone like Mike, it's a great freedom to really not give a f-ck if somebody likes you or not.
Now, Mike cares desperately if people like him. Mike wants people to be paying attention. He wants to be important. But for me, it was great to be able to let the character shine through and find the little embers of humanity that still are puffing up a little bit of smoke...
...And they come out mostly by virtue of Ruth Landry, Margo Martindale's character, because what she's doing really is in service of her farm and of her husband. There is an altruistic and benevolent essence to her larceny, whereas Mike's really comes from a point of revenge, redemption, and greed.
But yeah, I think it's super fun to play a guy that, on the surface, is one thing, and as you scratch that surface just a little bit, It just crumbles.
The Direct: "What would you say would be the most unique moment you experienced while working on, you know, this series compared to everything else you've done in the past?
The character got to undergo a massive de-evolution over the course of six short episodes, you know, starting at sort of what he thought was his like version of, you know, slick James Bond and really ending with this broken, desperate, really, on his last legs guy.
So that was really, that was fun for me as an actor, to be able to, in a short span of time, deconstruct a character in a way that allowed for an audience to follow along and sort of cringe with me. That was great fun to use all of those different levels of of personality and Mike's and my skill set.
Chris Diamantopoulos on How There Is No Competition for The Sticky
"There's No Competition. There Really Isn't."
- The Direct: "There's a lot of competition out there in the streaming space. What would you say is the most unique element of The Sticky compared to all the other options out there?"
Chris Diamantoploulos: There's no competition. There really isn't. There are some great shows out there. But how many can say that they're a half-hour format, six episodes that involve insane comedy but heartfelt drama and emotionality, a heist with arguably two of the greatest female actresses in history, Margo Martindale, Jamie Lee Curtis, a show that shows the criminal underbelly of northern Canada. Have you ever heard that before, dealing with maple syrup...
I think our show has elements of a show like 'The Bear,' which is to say that it's a half-hour non-comedy, comedy that also happens to be funny, and it's sort if the Coen Brothers decided to make a half-hour show, they'd make something like this.
The Sticky Star on Working With Margo Martindale and Guillaume Cyr
"It Was Like Vanilla, Chocolate, and Caramel..."
- The Direct: "You, Margo Martindale, and Guillaume Cyr looked like you were having a blast on set despite hating each other onscreen consistently. How did your dynamics evolve over the course of the show?"
Chris Diamantopoulos: We had so much fun, man. Look, three very, very different actors, different performance styles, different backgrounds. And it was just like, this perfect. It was like vanilla, chocolate, and caramel, just a really lovely little blending. And, oh, we adore each other.
I've worked with Margo Martindale, this was my third project I've worked with her on, and I just think the absolute world of her.
Guillaume was a surprise. But I remember when I read with him for his audition, I was texting the writers as we were doing it. This is the guy. There's no question. From the first four seconds on screen, he has such an earnestness, such an open face. He's such a beautiful guy.
And listen, they're both pros and so I respect actors that come to set prepared, knowing their lines, knowing what the scene is, knowing what we're doing so that then all that can be thrown away and we can find great little, wonderful moments.
Working With the Legendary Jamie Lee Curtis on The Sticky
"That's F*cking Awesome That Someone Was Audacious Enough to Try and Do That."
- The Direct: "You also got to spend some time with the legendary Jamie Lee Curtis. I can only imagine that was also a blast. What were some of your favorite moments there?"
Chris Diamantopoulos: I mean, 'A Fish Called Wanda' is one of my all-time favorite movies. I can quote it from beginning to end. So I was star-struck. Man. I was truly starstruck.
She is a powerhouse, physically, and from a performance standpoint, she came ready to play, and she just elevated all of us. Her energy is infectious, [and so is] her commitment to the character and to what's happening in the scene.
And listen, man, she had me exhausted. Her physical prowess. You know, someone might say, oh, for her age, f-ck that. For a f-cking 30-year-old's age, she is just––she's got it, man. It was such a dream to be able to meet her and then realize that everything I hoped that she would be, she's that and that much more.
Chris Diamantopoulos on How What He's Most Proud of About The Sticky
"There's a Sort of Almost a Syrup-Like Wash Over the Show..."
- The Direct: "What are you most proud of without how it all shaped up?"
Chris Diamantopoulos: I think the writers had a specific vision for how the world would pan out. Everything from the music being these popular songs done in a French format... There's a sort of almost a syrup-like wash over the show that's an almost syrupy sepia look to it.
I just feel like what was set out to be accomplished was to create a world that we haven't seen before, to create elements of like a mob character that when you scratch the surface and realize the level of insecurity, It's not something we've necessarily seen before.
We haven't seen Quebecois characters portrayed like that in a meaningful way. I think that I'm proud of the fact that the show hits in the center of the target of what it set out to accomplish.
The full interview can be seen here:
The Sticky premieres on December 6, 2024, only on Amazon Studios' Prime Video.
