Matt Bomer discusses ‘The Last Tycoon’ and how he explains his racy roles to his kids

— -- Award-winning actor Matt Bomer is back in a new series, returning to the small screen as the lead in Amazon's “The Last Tycoon.”

While the show may be new, Bomer fans will remember his stints as a con artist in USA Network's “White Collar" and his Golden Globe-winning performance in the HBO television film “The Normal Heart.” Now Bomer is starring as a 1930s filmmaking production head, Monroe Star, opposite Kelsey Grammer. The character comes from a book written by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Bomer talked about the new series on ABC News’ “Popcorn With Peter Travers.”

“It is the Golden Age of Hollywood. You’re getting to see the machinations behind-the-scenes of the studio system,” Bomer, 39, told Travers. “And at the same time, it’s 1936. We’re at the height of the Great Depression. Germany, Italy, Japan are all on the move. The Spanish Civil War is going on. So around the world it’s just a very tumultuous time. And here, everybody in America at the height of the depression, everybody goes right to the movies. That’s what they want to do. So you get to see a lot of that, the whole holistic view of the world at the time.”

Travers pointed out that Bomer has somewhat of a Monroe Star lifestyle, living and working in Hollywood and raising three sons, a 12-year-old and 9-year-old twins. He asked if Bomer tries to keep things normal at home while his work life is so much in the spotlight -- especially for roles like that of a stripper in the movie “Magic Mike XXL.”

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“For better or for worse, there were billboards on the way to their school. You know how insidious the marketing for any project, if you’re lucky, is in Los Angeles, so they definitely noticed,” Bomer said. “And we had a lot of conversations that were hopefully age appropriate. And they [his sons] like to mock my positions on billboards and things like that. We always try to take a picture next to one.”

Bomer added, “I guess there’s one for 'The Last Tycoon' up on Sunset in L.A., so they just sent me a picture of them in front of that. Thankfully I’m clothed. And it’s a pose I don’t mind them emulating,” he joked.

“The Last Tycoon” can be seen on Amazon.