'John Turturro Is Brilliant And Someone I Find Really Inspiring': Morgan Spector On HBO's 'Plot Against America'

(CBS Local)-- History has the tendency to repeat itself and that's why HBO new series "The Plot Against America" is a fascinating show to watch in 2020.

The series was created by David Simon, the executive producer of "The Wire," and it tells the story of an alternate American history during World War II as Charles Lindbergh becomes president and America lives under a facist government. The series is told through the perspective of a Jewish family living in New Jersey and actor Morgan Spector plays insurance agent Herman Levin. While the series boasts big names like Winona Ryder and John Turturro, Spector wanted to be on the show because of the time period it lives in and the Philip Roth book it was adapted from.

"For some people, we've done something that is too obviously direct towards the current administration," said Spector in an interview with CBS Local's DJ Sixsmith. "That was already there [in the book]. I loved the chance to be in Philip Roth's world. I read all these books and to getting to embody this character was really exciting."

FULL INTERVIEW:

"The Plot Against America" is based off a book with the same title from Roth. While Spector has worked with many talented actors in his career, he enjoyed learning from one of the best in the business in John Turturro. The Emmy Award winner plays Rabbi Lionel Bengelsdorf and Spector loved sharing the set with him because of his range as an actor.

"In the last episode, there's a scene with me and John Turturro and we're just across the table arguing about the Lindbergh administration," said Spector. "That guy is so brilliant and someone I find really inspiring as an actor. He has the absolute funniest stories and the entire crew will sit and laugh. That was pretty fun. The thing I really take away from this project is my collaboration with Zoe Kazan. We had a really open, collaborative dialogue about who these people were and how to make these scenes work."

Watch all of DJ Sixsmith's interviews from "The Sit-Down" series here.