Los Angeles, Aug 9 (IANS): Actor Paul Dano met real-life convict David Sweat to prepare for his role in "Escape At Dannemora", and says he was amazed to see his sense of humour.

"Escape At Dannemora" chronicles a real-life 2015 prison break and explores the dynamics between convicts Richard Matt (Benicio del Toro) and David Sweat (Dano) and prison worker Joyce 'Tilly' Mitchell (Patricia Arquette), who helped them escape.

"We met David Sweat who has been in solitary since the escape. It is hard to look at somebody behind bars and see that they have a sense of humour," Dano said.

"He had the mind of an engineer and you will see in the show these are not things that an average person can navigate," added the actor, who earned an Emmy nomination in the Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Movie category for the series.

In total, "Escape At Dannemora", streamed on Hotstar Premium, has got 12 Emmy nominations this year. Created by Brett Johnson and Michael Tolkin, the show has been directed by Ben Stiller. It also stars Bonnie Hunt, Eric Lange and David Morse.