October 30, 2024
‘9-1-1: Lone Star’ First Look at Henry Ian Cusick: T.K.’s Stepfather Meets Carlos (PHOTOS)
We’ve heard quite a bit about Enzo, T.K.’s (Ronen Rubinstein) stepfather, over the years, and in 9-1-1: Lone Star‘s final season, we’re going to meet him!
TV Insider can exclusively reveal that Lost‘s Henry Ian Cusick will recur as Enzo, first appearing in the November 11 episode. Enzo is described as “impossibly handsome, cosmopolitan, cultured, wealthy, and suave.” He shows up for T.K.’s birthday “much to the consternation of Owen (Rob Lowe).” Check out our exclusive photos of Cusick as Enzo with T.K. and Owen as well as meeting his stepson’s husband, Carlos (Rafael Silva), below.
Kevin Estrada/FOX
In his first appearance, the November 11 episode titled “Kiddos,” T.K. gets a huge surprise on his 30th birthday when Enzo arrives in Austin along with his half-brother Jonah. Owen’s resentment of Enzo turns physical. Also in this episode, Tommy (Gina Torres) is determined to push through her latest crisis, Wyatt (Jackson Pace) attempts to talk down a suicidal caller, and a man is impaled in a tree.
Kevin Estrada/FOX
“Landing Henry Ian Cusick to play Enzo was easily one of the greatest casting ‘gets’ in Lone Star history,” says showrunner Rashad Raisani. “His charm and soul make him the perfect step-father to T.K. And his star power and vicious comedic timing make him the perfect foil for Owen Strand. My only regret is that we don’t have more seasons to watch this incredible actor explore this game-changing character.”
When TV Insider spoke with Rubinstein for our aftershow, First Response, for Episode 5, “Thunderstruck,” he raved about the casting of Enzo. “The person that’s playing Enzo is absolutely perfect, Ian Cusick from Lost, I can’t believe we got him,” he shared. “I literally used to watch Lost religiously as a kid. And the fact that he’s playing my stepdad is just the coolest thing ever.”
Rubinstein, like fans, had been waiting to see Enzo onscreen. “Going into Season 1, I quickly learned that Enzo was actually T.K.’s father figure for most of his young life, and that dynamic compared to him and Owen is very different. And I think it makes for an incredible love-hate triangle that we’re going to see between Enzo, Owen, and T.K.,” he explained.
Kevin Estrada/FOX
9-1-1: Lone Star Season 5 hasn’t actually had many Owen and T.K. scenes, and, according to Rubinstein, the fact that father and son have been going through things on their own “collides because of Enzo and Jonah coming to town. I think it’s a perfect way to unite us. It definitely add a little bit of a rift to Owen and T.K., but it’s for great reason. I think the makeup of those two is one of the most special things that we do this season and it’s all for a good cause, and it brings up some very difficult conversations that needed to be had between T.K. and Owen as well that we’ve sort of just brushed to the side since T.K. was a kid. So it definitely brings up some stuff that I feel like T.K. finally gets to get off his shoulders and really let Owen know how he feels about things and I’m so excited for that.”
Raisani pointed out to us that Enzo “kind of took Owen’s place in T.K.’s life after Owen sort of backed off as a dad because of 9/11. Enzo really did have a giant hand in raising T.K. and he fathered Jonah, T.K.’s little brother. So we wanted to, as we’re sort of looking at this series to wrap it up and talk about family, get back to who is T.K. going to be as a son and as a brother and also as a father going forward as this series comes to a close. Jonah, that little boy, and Enzo, his stepfather, seemed like the perfect characters that we could kind of tell that story through.”
He continued, “Also, it’s gonna force Owen to acknowledge, kind of going back to his past as T.K.’s father and the years that he was absent, that some damage was done to T.K. and that Enzo had a lot to say about what kind of person T.K. would become. So there’s a lot of reckoning about the past that’s gonna come through with his character. Also, he’s just a whole lot of fun.”
9-1-1: Lone Star, Mondays, 8/7c, Fox
‘9-1-1: Lone Star’ Casts a ‘Lost’ Star as T.K.’s Stepfather Enzo
The man who raised TK has been brought up several times throughout 9-1-1: Lone Star‘s five seasons, but viewers will meet him in the flesh in the final season. TV Insider reveals that Henry Ian Cusick (Lost, The 100, Scandal) has been cast as Enzo, TK’s stepfather. Ian Cusick is set to debut in Episode 7, airing on November 11. The character is described as “impossibly handsome, cosmopolitan, cultured, wealthy, and suave.” He visits TK on his 30th birthday and catches Owen by surprise for several reasons, but who’s willing to bet it’s the handsome part? The outlet unveiled first-look images that show Enzo accompanied by Jonah, TK’s stepbrother, and the two guests meeting TK’s husband, Carlos.
This visit has a deeper meaning and is not just a birthday celebration as it might initially present. The season’s description teased that “on his 30th birthday, T.K. gets a surprise visit from someone from his past that could change his and Carlos’ lives forever.” The logline for 9-1-1: Lone Star Season 5, Episode 7 “Kiddos” teases this surprise and other arcs for the episode.
TK gets a huge surprise on his 30th birthday when his stepdad Enzo (guest star Henry Ian Cusick) arrives in Austin along with TK’s young half-brother Jonah; Owen’s resentment of Enzo turns physical; Tommy is determined to push through her latest crisis; Wyatt attempts to talk-down a suicidal caller and the 126 must perform a dangerous surgery in the field after a man is impaled in a tree in.
Showrunner Rashid Raisani talked about casting Ian Cusick for the role. “Landing Henry Ian Cusick to play Enzo was easily one of the greatest casting ‘gets’ in Lone Star history. His charm and soul make him the perfect stepfather to TK, and his star power and vicious comedic timing make him the perfect foil for Owen Strand. My only regret is that we don’t have more seasons to watch this incredible actor explore this game-changing character,” he said.
Enzo’s visit unearths some things from the past and will force Owen to confront his behavior after 9/11 and how it affected TK. “It’s gonna force Owen to acknowledge, kind of going back to his past as T.K.’s father and the years that he was absent, that some damage was done to T.K. and that Enzo had a lot to say about what kind of person T.K. would become. So there’s a lot of reckoning about the past that’s gonna come through with his character,” Raisani teased.
Guest stars for the episode include Ian Cusick as Enzo, Theodore & Vincent Simard as Jonah, Eugene Byrd as Will, Serenity Grace Russell as Rory, Hina Khan as Isla, Christine Weatherup as Dr. Dawn Collins and Iris Liu as Sofia.
Watch “Kiddos” on Fox on Monday, November 11, at 8 p.m. Catch up on Hulu.
