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Platt’s Golden turn

Oliver Platt starred in two television series that never made it past the first season.

Now, as the lecherous Russell in Showtime’s “Huff,” the portly actor can sit back and work on his scenes.

“Huff,” which stars Hank Azaria as psychitarist Craig Huffstodt, has already been guaranteed a two-season commitment.

Mr. Platt, just nominated for a Golden Globe as best supporting actor in a television drama for his work as Mr. Azaria’s confidant, says the playing field for broadcast programs is “almost inhuman.”

“Shows that work on network TV are hard to do, and I have oodles of respect for them,” Mr. Platt says. “Even if you have a great idea, the speed with which you need to get it done, it’s almost inhuman.”

Now he gets to dig his heels into Russell, a character whose oversize spirit is matched by his carnal appetites.

“I’ve never played a character who is, how shall I put it, such an unvarnished look at compulsive behavior,” says Mr. Platt, who researched similar compulsives before taking the role.

The trouble with such people, he says, is that often they’re very good at what they do.

Consider Russell a high-functioning compulsive: His lawyerly acrobatics in an early episode spared Huff a messy legal complication after the suicide of a patient.

This weekend’s “Huff,” airing at 10 p.m. Sunday on Showtime, finds the title character camping with his father and son while Russell attempts a liver detoxification program with curious results. The show repeats at 9 p.m. Wednesday nights.

Mr. Platt, a veteran of the big screen with credits including “Pieces of April,” “Flatliners” and “Bulworth,” grew up moving to and from the District as the son of a diplomat. One of his first brushes with the arts came with a tiny role in a Christmas play at the Potomac School in McLean. He portrayed an innkeeper with only one line, but he made it count.

“When I did it, the whole auditorium was up for grabs,” he says of the experience. “When you’re an 8-year old boy who’s been moving around a lot, you tend to remember something like that.”

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