COURTESY OFNORBERT LEO BUTZ

the camera . Now I am doing so much television that I recently did a staged reading of a play and I was very nervous . It is all about which muscles are toned at the time .”

Under contract to both shows , Butz had no immediate plans to return to Broadway . But after Netflix announced in September that it was cancelling Bloodline after the third season , the New Group announced that ithad cast Butz in the off- Broadway show The Whirligig , starring Zosia Mamet and Maura Tierney . “ I play the father of ayoung woman struggling with heroin addiction . It ' s fundamentally a story of a family , and a community , affected by addiction . It sounds very heavy , but the play actually has a lot of heart and humor . Ultimately , it ' s a play that offers hope .” The play opens in May .

Life is busy for Norbert Leo Butz . His older two daughters , from his first marriage , are now teenagers ; the oldest started college this year and the other is a junior in high school . “ I have basically been bouncing between these two sets , so Imay be returning to Richmond , Virginia where we shoot Mercy Street ,” he says .“ Bloodline has been a great gift . I have loved every minute of it and I will miss this amazing place , The Florida Keys .”

Butz describes Bloodline as “ a serialized drama about adysfunctional family , and how lies and secrets and abuse and addiction is generational , and maybe it ’ s a fatalistic story about how it ’ s never really going to be okay with these people .” Butz ’ s portrayal of Kevin Rayburn ’ s catastrophic descent into a world of violence , deceit , and addiction has garnered him excellent reviews .

Butz admits to being initially disappointed

when he learned just how low Kevin would fall during the second season . “ I cried . I didn ’ t want it and Idisagreed with it . In retrospect , I thought it was really fitting for the show they are trying to create …. To have mycharacter doamoral turnaround and take the high road , which is what I was hoping , selfishly , is not the story they are telling . The storytellers do a really great job . I was shocked and I knew what was going to happen !” It took Butz along time to get around to watching the show . He says he decided not to watch the first season “ because most actors become self-critical and you can ’ t enjoy it .” Then one day Butz walked into his living room where his wife was watching television .“ I said , ‘ What are you watching ?’ and she said , ‘ Bloodline .’ I didn ’ t know one character , I didn ’ t know it was my show … they give me what Ineed to play Kevin Rayburn . They don ’ t want me interested in what is happening all around because Kevin doesn ’ t know what is happening all around . I think that ’ s smart .”

So how does Butz relate to Kevin and his troubled , complex character ? “ I had to work very hard not to judge Kevin , and find what is vulnerable in him and what is charming and even sweet in him . He is so ill-equipped to deal with life as an adult , especially in this scenario .” Raised as one of eleven children himself , Butz found the family dynamic in the show rang true . “ Something deeply resonated in me , the way your siblings are your best friends , and at times your greatest adversaries . These characters have been handed an almost impossible deck of cards , an awful childhood by anybody ’ sstandards , and unfortunately they have maladaptive ways of

AKEY SCENE Norbert Leo Butz on set of Bloodline in the Florida Keys

dealing with trauma and grief .”

Playing Kevin is emotionally draining , and Butz takes advantage of the beach life in the Keys on his days off , where he swims , snorkels , boats and fishes . “ If I have a long weekend , I will always fly home ,” which meant nineteen round trips last season . Butz ’ s daughters visit on their breaks and he goes home on holidays .

When back at home , Butz spends his time walking his dogs in the reservation , and playing tennis in Millburn or Maplewood . “ I have several friends I play tennis with who still live in the city , and they come out here . They can ’ t get over the fact you can just walk onto a court ! They just put new lights and anew top on the court in Memorial Park in Maplewood , and the courts are beautiful here in Millburn .” Butz and his family also love to dine out in the area . “ In Maplewood we are at Arturo ’ s , obviously , all the time . I also really love Abril Cocina , it ’ s beautiful . In Millburn we have been trying to get into Common Lot and haven ’ t been able to yet !” ■