Tag Archive for: Henry Ian Cusick

By Paulette Cohn

Henry Ian Cusick Talks About His Mini Lost Reunion With Jorge Garcia Happening on MacGyver Tonight 

(Mark Hill/CBS)

Henry Ian Cusick will reunite with his Lost co-star Jorge Garcia on tonight’s episode of MacGyverbut with an interesting twist. Cusick, of course, stars on the CBS series as Russ Taylor, the new owner of the Phoenix Foundation, but when Garcia joins the cast, it will be as his Hawaii Five-0 character Jerry Ortega. And why not? All his years working with Five-0 didn’t cure Jerry of his conspiracy theory beliefs, so he is a great ally when it comes to taking on a case that involves the nefarious Codex.

“When we first meet Jerry, we bring him in because we don’t believe who he is first of all,” Cusick tells Parade.com in this exclusive interview. “When we bring him in, we check him out and, then, it’s a slow realization of, ‘He’s actually pretty good for a conspiracy theories type of guy,’ and we warm to him.”

“When I saw him doing his Five-0 character, which is quite different from Hurley, I was like, ‘Oh, OK, that’s a cool character,’” Cusick says. “And he hadn’t seen me in MacGyver, so he was, ‘Oh, so that’s what you’re doing. You’re not playing Desmond in a Scottish accent.’ So, we were just filling each other in on what the characters were. But when I heard he was coming to the show, I thought, ‘The Lost fans will be excited.’”

Jerry’s time on MacGyver was so successful that the door was left open for Garcia to return to the series if he is interested, but for now, his alter ego Jerry Ortega is moving on because he has other conspiracies to follow up on.

Following is more of the conversation with Cusick about his character Russ Taylor and why he thinks his girlfriend Sofia Walker (Camilla Arfwedson) stole treasure documents from his house.

Russ came in as a bad guy turned altruistic. How successfully do you feel he has been at integrating himself with the team?

I think he’s kind of forced himself on the team in many ways because he bought the company and saved it financially. I think he’s basically just trying to play James Bond. He’s got more money than he knows what to do with. A part of him is altruistic, but is it completely? I think he enjoys the action side of it, the thinking he’s doing good. I don’t think he really wants to run the company. That’s why Matty (Meredith Eaton) runs it. She’s, obviously, much more efficient at running it and I don’t think he has any interest in doing that side of it, but I think he liked the idea of being this James Bond, super-spy kind of guy.

You once described Russ as “buffoonish.” How so?

I’ve never really played comedy before, and I’m trying to figure it out because there are moments that Russ is quite funny. There is something buffoonish in the sense that when he makes mistakes, he’s funniest. He obviously doesn’t think it’s funny, but other people find it funny. I was trying to figure out this comedy thing because there’s something quite clown-like about Russ in that his comedy comes from his sense of thinking he’s cool, but he does things and they’re just so not cool.

I think that’s where his humor comes from. Justin is funny; he’s a comedian. Russ is not particularly funny, but when he makes mistakes, when he makes a lot of them and he’s not aware of them, and then people point them out, I realized, “Oh, that’s funny.”

I’m trying to figure out what is the funny side of Russ, and I think it’s when he thinks he’s being cool, but he’s not really being cool. And that’s what I mean by buffoonish. He’s trying to be James Bond, but he’s not at all.

Photo: Guy D'Alema/CBS

(Photo: Guy D’Alema/CBS)

In his bad guy days, Russ was a weapons dealer and that’s how he made a lot of his money. How does he make his money now?

I think he’s invested wisely. I think he’s made a lot of money from his wheeling and dealings. What you don’t probably see on screen, he still has a lot of wheeling and dealing going on, which you may touch on later. He’s obsessed with money and making money, and he’s still quite tight. So, I think he’s got other things going on in his life, in terms of money-making ventures.

Maybe we saw in that the “Quarantine” episode, where he was trying to track down lost treasure, and then Sofia walks in and sees the room, and then she steals the documentation that he had. Was it a setup? 

That’s good. I’m glad your interest is peaked with that storyline. We’re actually shooting that. Because of COVID, our schedules got messed up, so I don’t know when the episodes are going to air. Camilla is here in Atlanta at the moment. So, we’re touching on that episode now.

Was it a crime of convenience that she just happened to see it? Or was it a big set-up? I could give you spoilers, but this next episode that we’re shooting answers that. He, obviously, has grown to care about her over the quarantine period. Does she feel the same about him, or was she just into his money? Or getting this treasure? That will be answered very, very soon.

It was interesting that it was his grandfather who first told him the story about Spain invading Peru, and to see a little of Russ’ background.

Hopefully, what we will discover about Russ is just because he says something about himself, it doesn’t make it so. He is still a bit of a fibber. His default is that he will tell a story before the truth, especially when it comes to his feelings. So, anything that he says, I would take with a pinch of salt until you find documentation.

So, is the stuff about his grandfather raising him and his attending Oxford on a scholarship true?

I’m sure most of his life comes from a grain of truth. One of the things that I spoke to the writers about is, I said, “Just because he says stuff, he still hasn’t changed his spots completely.” He still has a side of him that is untruthful. He’s not 100 percent truthful.

There’s a lot of science that goes on, on the set. Have you learned anything?

Have I learned anything? I’m sure I have because I’m on-set and I pick things up. The one that stood out was making a satellite dish out of a dustbin lid. I’m thinking, “Huh? Could that really work?” I guess because we have so many people who watch it purely for the science, they go, “Oh, yes. That could work. That would actually do it.”

MacGyver airs Friday nights at 9 p.m. ET/PT on CBS.

*Photo of Jorge and Ian tweeted by Ian with the caption:

Reunited and it feels so good… ⁦@MacGyverCBS⁩ ⁦@jorgegarcia

@hicusick

MacGyver/CBS

Ian announced on his Twitter and his IG yesterday that he has joined the Cameo family and fans couldn’t be happier!

In addition to fans being able to purchase his Cameo videos for themselves or as a gift for someone else, all proceeds he makes from the videos will be donated to food banks in Atlanta, where he shoots MacGyver and in Hawaii where he lives when not working.

Anyone who knows Ian, knows he has a huge generous heart and here’s another wonderful opportunity where it shows!

So if you’re looking for something special to buy for an HIC fan you know…..or you just want to treat yourself, consider a Cameo video from Ian today.

You’ll receive something very special all the while helping those in need too.

HenryIanCusick/Cameo.com

From Writer Holly Sereni and Director Gerard Elmore……Red House makes it’s world premiere on November 5th, 2020 at Hawaii International Film Festival and will stream online until November 29. The film stars Bronson Varde and also starring Pashyn Santos and Hayden Jackson.

Both Henry Ian Cusick and his wife, Annie Cusick are thrilled and proud to be a part of Red House, serving as a producer and an executive producer.

“A man running from his past ends up coming face to face with it.”

Visit the official site for Red House to view the trailer and learn more:

RedHouseFilm

Tickets for Red House may be purchased online at HIFF/RedHouse

BTS phtos with producer Henry Ian Cusick

“The Constant” has been considered one of the best episodes from LOST, for some it’s THE best. It’s also been ranked as one of the greatest TV episodes ever.

The Hatch adds……”Some have called “The Constant” the greatest TV episode of the millennium.”

Henry Ian Cusick (Desmond) and Sonya Walger (Penny) join The Hatch hosts Sammy Roth and Rosalie Murphy to discuss the episode in detail, from how the phone call was filmed to what made their characters’ love so enduring.

Relive The Constant, as Ian and Sonya share their thoughts and relay their memories from shooting this truly unforgettable episode!

Thank you to The Hatch for inviting them both!

*The Hatch theme music by Andy G. Cohen and cover art by Danny Roth.*

The Hatch: A LOST Podcast is on @ApplePodcasts, @Stitcher, @Spotify, @PlayerFM & @iHeartRadio.

When Ian is home on hiatus from work, he drums for a local band on Oahu, Chan Chan Yaki.

It’s yet another one of Ian’s many talents!

Recently on June 18th, the band held a fundraiser concert to help raise money for the local Windward chapter of Boys and Girls Club of Hawaii.

HIC fans enjoyed really for the first time, Ian performing several songs and needless to say it was a true treat!

Following the concert Ian and Tom Carroll give some background information on the club along with a tour of the clubhouse.

Both the concert and tour can be viewed below:

Chan Chan Yaki:

Tom Carroll – Vocalist

Chris Borden – Guitar, Vocals

John Buras – Guitar

Toru Funastu – Bass Guitar, Vocals

Henry Ian Cusick – Drums

Spencer Lathrop – Drums

Set List:

Hate to Say I Told You So (The Hives)

Hush (Deep Purple)

Song 2 (Blur)

I Can’t Explain (The Who)

Hard to Handle (The Black Crowes)

Just What I Needed (The Cars)

Paradise (Green Day)

She Sells Santuary (The Cult)

Fire (Jimi Hendrix)

Your Time Has Come (Audioslave)

The Gospel of John is a movie worth seeing any time of the year but as Easter Sunday is almost upon us, it seems most appropriate to mention it now.

The movie is unique in that it is a word for word re-telling of John’s gospel, beautifully narrated by Christopher Plummer.

Directed by Philip Saville and filmed in 2003…….Ian gives a very moving and inspirational performance as Jesus Christ.

If you haven’t seen the Gospel of John, there’s no better time than this upcoming Easter weekend.

WATCH THE GOSPEL OF JOHN

Read and view more of the film, including a BTS interview with Ian, under the links below at Ian’s official fansite, CusickGallery.net

We thank them for their support of this film and all of Ian’s work!

‘Palm Sunday, Holy Week and The Gospel of John’

‘Henry Ian Cusick: BTS Interview from The Gospel of John (2003)

‘Maundy Thursday & The Last Supper (Gospel of John clips)

‘The Gospel of John, The Music: Interview with Composer Jeff Danna’

Thank you to Parade.com for this in depth interview with Ian!

Henry Ian Cusick

 Henry Ian Cusick (Photo: Mark Hill/CBS)

Season four of MacGyver began with the introduction of former MI6 agent Russ Taylor (Henry Ian Cusick), who recruited the former Phoenix operatives to hunt down a bio weapon that he was responsible for putting in the hands of some seriously bad guys, forcing him to have a come-to-Jesus moment when he realized he needed the team to right his wrong.

Henry Ian Cusick as Russ Taylor Photo: CBS

Henry Ian Cusick as Russ Taylor (Photo: CBS)

“He was tapping into the eternal conflict that people have,” Cusick exclusively tells Parade.com. “He was thinking, ‘I’ll make some money out of it,’ but when he realized that a lot of innocent people were going to die, that’s when he had his epiphany and decided he was on the side of doing something wrong. Then once he starts helping MacGyver (Lucas Till), he realizes that he enjoys doing good.”

Russ went one step further then and used his ill-gotten gains to purchase the former Phoenix property and he is currently working on resurrecting the company to its former glory – at least for now. Cusick hints that Russ is a man who gets bored quickly, so who’s to say that he may well change his mind again, and go off and do something else.

That said, on tonight’s episode when Russ’ first love, Emilia (Amanda Schull), is kidnapped by the same rebels he fought during his private military contract days, he takes the Phoenix team to a small, impoverished town to rescue her and rid the town of the rebels for good.

“The episode really goes back into Russ Taylor’s past, where you see Emilia, and it’s about how things may or may not worked out,” he continues. “It’s a flashback episode. Not that far back. I would say maybe five years, you know? It’s fun going back in time. It’s probably not as wacky as the other Russ Taylors you’ve seen. Probably a little bit more military, but there’s always wacky moments with Russ Taylor, and I think, at the heart of it, it’s a good episode.”

Justin Hires, Meredith Eaton, Tristin Mays, Lucas Till, Henry Ian Cusick and Levy Tran Photo: Mark Hill/CBS

Justin Hires, Meredith Eaton, Tristin Mays, Lucas Till, Henry Ian Cusick and Levy Tran (Photo: Mark Hill/CBS)

How did Russ get his hands on enough money to relaunch Phoenix?

He was a former MI6 agent that went a little bit rogue and started doing some, well, naughty things like selling arms, and that’s how he made a lot of money. Then he took it too far when he traded a bio-weapon that could potentially destroy the world and that’s when he goes to MacGyver and recruits him, saying, “I need some help tracking down this weapon that I sold, because I think I made a big mistake.” So, he has an epiphany and that’s how he becomes the Russ Taylor that you see in MacGyver now.

Russ doesn’t strike me as particularly a team player, but he does seem to be a bit of a genius, just not in the same way as MacGyver. He is great at solving puzzles, though. What are the skills that Russ brings to the team?

That’s a very good question. First of all, it would seem an abundance of money. If you want to set anything up, money is always good. Also, he’s got a can-do attitude. He never really gives up. He’s intelligent. He’s a pattern spotter. He can read people, and, of course, he’s been trained by MI6 in counterespionage and torturing people. So, he’s got a lot of strings to him.

He’s not a team player, but he needs these people to want to work for him. True they were really bored doing what they were doing when Phoenix was disbanded, and they love having these adrenaline careers, but how does he go about earning their respect, because there was that joke in the last episode that pep talks aren’t his thing?

I think there’s a lot of what you see is not all of what you get with Russ Taylor. I think he’s doing a lot. He’s certainly performing a lot of the time for anyone within close proximity. You see in an upcoming episode, which I’m looking forward to, that pretty much he’s not really who he seems. I can give you a hint. He seems very much like an English tough, and he’s not that at all.

Is he going to be obsessed with Codex all season, or will we take a break and have episodes where Codex isn’t part of the story?

Oh, Codex is very heavily featured up until episode 13, but it actually carries on, even now. We’re just shooting episode 20, and Codex is still lingering around. MacGyver‘s a procedural and serialized show now, with Codex being the overall arc, but we will have episodes of the week, so it sort of integrates both. I think it works quite well for the show to have a long-running enemy, and also have this episode of the week feel.

Lucas Till as Angus "Mac" MacGyver, Henry Ian Cusick as Russ Taylor Photo: CBS

Lucas Till as Angus “Mac” MacGyver, Henry Ian Cusick as Russ Taylor (Photo: CBS)

We had a shock at the end of last week’s episode, where Matty (Meredith Eaton) looks like she might be Titan, the leader of Codex. Will that be resolved quickly?

When you see the episode, you’ll realize that Matty is, obviously, not a bad guy. She’s always going to be the good guy.

You’ve done several sci-fi shows, like LostThe 100, and The Passage. This is more action oriented, although some of those have some action. What do you like about this show?

It’s not the action. It’s the comedy, really. The other shows that I’ve been involved with were always sort of existential threats to the world, and I was always angst-y and turmoiled, you know? In some sort of pain. With this show, it’s very freeing. Russ Taylor is a lot of fun to play. He’s like a blast of fresh air for me. He’s larger than life. For me, it’s been a great, fun show to be involved with. I’m really having a great time. I don’t think I’ve ever had so much fun with a character before.

Also, the crew has just been terrific. The cast is great. Every single one of them has been welcoming to a new performer to the show. They’ve been so welcoming and so easy to work with, so supportive. They’ve all been terrific and I’m having a great time, to be honest.

Of course, Atlanta’s not Hawaii.

It isn’t, but the thing about Atlanta that I’m enjoying is I’m out here with my wife and my sons, also. One of my sons also lives out there. It’s closer to Europe. One of my other sons lives in New York, and my other son’s in Edinburgh, so it’s easier to see them. Hawaii’s quite remote. I get to go back to Hawaii in summertime, so that’s the best of both, I think.

Lost ended a decade ago, but do fans still want to talk about the finale since so many of them weren’t happy with the ending?

Not really, anymore. Certainly, the people I’ve met have gotten over a lot of dislike of the ending and they just want to celebrate the show. Can you believe it’s been ten years? They want to celebrate the whole experience of Lost a lot more, I think now. We want to talk about it, because it was one of the first shows where people really hit the internet. Now, that’s very common.

Henry Ian Cusick as Russ Taylor Photo: Mark Hill/CBS

Henry Ian Cusick as Russ Taylor (Photo: Mark Hill/CBS)

At that time, people weren’t doing that, and it really was water cooler TV. I love hearing about people who got to know each other and became really good friends because of the show. That, for me, is one of greatest takeaways about that show.

It’s still great hearing people saying how much they enjoy it. There’s a little bit of animosity about the ending, but I rarely hear that now. They want to celebrate it, because it’s been ten years, and it’s still relevant TV.

MacGyver airs Friday nights at 8 p.m. ET/PT on CBS.

Interview by: PAULETTE COHN 


Fans were pleasantly surprised to learn today, Jorge Garcia (Hurley Reyes on LOST) is in Atlanta this week and guest starring on MacGyver! This marks the first time he and Ian will be seen on TV together since LOST.

Ian tweeted out a photo of them both followed up by another photo from Jorge on his instagram……

From Ian: “Look who came out to playyayy!!! ⁦@jorgegarcia⁩ ⁦@MacGyverCBS

From Jorge: “Hawaii boys in Atlanta! Jerry shows up on @MacGyverCBS It’s all one #Lenkoverse #MacGyver #H50

In addition, news traveled quickly and press was circulated…

From TV Line: ‘Lost’ Reunion on MacGyver: Jorge Garcia Crosses Over as Hawaii Five-0’s Jerry

“Prepare to experience some Desmond/Hurley flashbacks (or flash-sideways?) when Lost alumni Jorge Garcia and Henry Ian Cusick reunite on CBS’ MacGyver.

Cusick — who joined MacGyver this season as new Phoenix Foundation owner Russ Taylor — teased the reunion via a selfie, to which MacGyver‘s own Twitter handle confirmed that Garcia will reprise his role as Hawaii Five-0 conspiracy theorist Jerry Ortega. ” Read entire article here: TVLine/LostReunionOnMacGyver

From TV Insider: “MacGyver’ Stages a ‘Lost’ Reunion: Jorge Garcia Joins Henry Ian Cusick in Season 4 (PHOTO)

Jorge Garcia Lost Reunion Henry Ian Cusick MacGyver H50

“He had to go back (to CBS).

Jorge Garcia, who left Hawaii Five-0 earlier this season, will once again play Jerry Ortega — but this time, he’s crossing over to MacGyver. And in doing so, fans will be treated to a Lost reunion! In fact, it was his former costar, Henry Ian Cusick, who first shared the news, posting a photo of the two on Twitter.”

Read more here: TVInsider/MacGyverStagesLostReunion

Fans can’t wait to see these two LOST alumni back on the screen together.

It’s not known as of this post date, which episode Jorge will be in, but once it’s announced, we’ll be sure and post it here too.

Henry Ian Cusick joins the cast of MacGyver in its fourth season, changing up the dynamic once again.

MacGyver has changed – again.

In its fourth season, the new version of MacGyver made some major cast changes. With George Eads’s Jack Dalton character’s exit, the show was ripe to be rethought, and that’s exactly what the creators of the show did.

One of those changes was the addition of Henry Ian Cusick as new character Russ Taylor. Cusick explains, “We’ve made quite a bit of changes and a new character, called Russ Taylor. And the remit of him, he’s Oxford educated, ex MI-6, a scoundrel, and trying to atone for his past. He joins the Phoenix and Mac’s team, trying to do good now in the world.

“We find out what he used to do, and how he came about to be the person he is. And trying to better himself, I suppose.”

Cusick’s previous work tended to be somewhat heavier fare, so he is thoroughly enjoying the lighter tone of MacGyver. He says, “I have to tell you, I’m actually having a blast. I’ve not had this much fun in a role for a long time. I usually play, not usually, but I have recently played a lot of characters who have this angst, trying to save mankind, save the world.

“On The 100 and The Passage, even on Lost, to a certain degree, it is all, life or death, and we are in MacGyver, but the thing about MacGyver is it’s a family show, so you have a lot of fun. There’s a lot of comedy in it. Some of it’s big and broad. And yet it has some great moments.

“We have a new writer. A bit of a partner to Peter Lenkov [who] runs the show and the writing team. Terry Matalas joined us middle of season four. So the writing, I believe, is very different. The look of the show is very different.

“But it’s just really refreshing, to me as an actor, it’s so refreshing to come to work every day, to have fun, to tell jokes. And to have a sort of dramedy. But it’s still just very refreshing for me. I’m having a great time.”

Moving from heavy drama to a more lighthearted show can be a tough transition, not only in the performance of it, but also to get the chance to move within the industry. Cusick notes, “Once you go down a certain path, you think people see you as something. From going from Lost to, perhaps the Scandal not so much, but certainly The 100, which I was on for five seasons. And then I jumped on to The Passage.

“So they were all very villainous, high stakes, angst ridden scientists. It’s just such a new, and breath of fresh air for me. Getting all those cobwebs of all that old stuff that I’ve done before. Russ Taylor, he’s larger than life. For me, it’s certainly a bigger character than I’ve ever played, in terms of performance. And he’s got a vitality, and energy, and optimism.

“And, yes, we have those moments of saving the world, and saving people’s lives, and being Phoenix, and Mac, MacGyver, doing his Mac moments. But I have to say, it’s just so much fun. So do I prefer it? I don’t know whether I prefer it, but it’s certainly a welcome change for me.

I don’t think I’ve done comedy since I did a movie back in Scotland called Not Another Happy Ending, with Karen Gillan, and that was probably the last comedic thing I’d done. Which was quite awhile ago. So it was a welcome change.”

Actors choose the roles they will play for a variety of reasons, and sometimes, it’s less a matter of choosing and more a matter of being chosen. Cusick explains, “The opportunity arose. It was The Passage, which was on Fox, wasn’t renewed. Which when we found, we got the news, we were pretty stunned, because we felt it was a really good show. We’d only done 10 episodes.

“We’d just grazed the beginning of this epic book. And I thought this is going to be a job that goes for at least five seasons. So when that didn’t go, and I found myself with no work. And then out of the blue, they said, “Would you be interested in MacGyver?” And I looked at the show, and I thought, ‘That looks like fun.’

And I’m so glad that I said yes to it. It was an offer, and I jumped on it. And I’m so delighted. I find that role kind of chose me in a way. It just was happenstance. I was in the right place at the right time, and it turned up.”

As an actor who has performed in theater, film, and television, Cusick is comfortable in all three, but he has developed a preference.

He says, “Yes, of course, there’s a difference between theater and television. I started off in theater, most actors in Britain do. That’s your bread and butter. So you learn your craft on the stage. You go on stage, you do the whole play. You get that high off the audience. And then it’s hard work. You do eight shows, even 10 shows a week.

“So what do you perform in TV? I’m a lot more relaxed, having done a lot of TV now. I’m a lot more relaxed on a TV set. Even having done theater for a long time, I remember at the half hour call I would still feel those butterflies. And it was always, you’d wake up in the morning, and your day revolved around doing the play.

“With film and TV, I’m here in Atlanta shooting. And of course the reason I’m here shooting in Atlanta is because I’m working on MacGyver. So you’re always thinking about the show. I’m pretty much working every day. But it’s a gentler pace. You can do pick ups. You forget your lines, it’s okay, you get another shot at it.

“Voice levels, you don’t need to scream to the back of the audience, as you would in theater. So there are obviously techniques that you use in both, differently. But ultimately it’s still acting. Of course, you’re aware, they’ll say to you it’s a wide shot, as opposed to a close up, you might alter your performance a little bit.

“But these are things that most actors, they pick up as they go along. I think I’ve been doing it long enough now, so I understand the difference in things. I haven’t done theater for a long, long time. And every time I see it, I think, ‘I’d love to do that again.’ But really for one night only. I wouldn’t really want to do a very long run.

“I think if you start off in theater, the excitement, even just as you’re taking your seat, I’m thinking, ‘What are we in for?’ It could be a great play, or it’s just invigorating. And, ‘Ah, man. I remember that. I remember the feeling. I remember the buzz those actors would be having off stage. And we did a great show. And the camaraderie, and the togetherness, in the trenches together.’ And you yearn for that.

“But then you’re reminded. You go, ‘Hang on. I remember that being a lot of work. Not very much money. And doing it night and night again.’ And there were some nights there was no audience. It’s such a hit and miss.

“I much prefer film and TV, certainly television. That’s where I spend most of my time now. It’s a medium that I’m very comfortable in. It’s different from film in the sense that we work very fast. Usually, for example, on MacGyver we’ll do two takes, and we move on.

“Our cast is great, because they’re all so good. They all know their lines. It’s not an easy script. It’s very wordy, with a lot of MacGyver babble. And they deliver it fast, two takes and we’re moving on, because we’ve got a lot to shoot.

“So you’ve really got to come and hit a home run every time you’re out there. But I like that energy. I like that pressure.”

An added pressure for Cusick is coming into a cast after they’ve already had three seasons together. And, although it was nerve-racking, Cusick found it to be a much easier transition that he had anticipated. He says, “I hadn’t experienced this for awhile, because I did The 100 for five seasons, I joined The Passage right at the beginning, so we were all new cast together.

“But coming into a show for season four, you’re coming into somebody else’s house. You don’t know the rules. And really is like going back to the first day at school.

“And I will tell you, I was very nervous. Of course, you’re trying to be as cool as you can. Plus it was a very wordy, very big script, I came into. And I remember going, ‘Wow. I don’t how it’s going to be. I’m going to be nervous. I don’t remember being this nervous before.’

“But I have to say that the cast Lucas, Phil, Tris, Meredith, Justin, they were all the most welcoming. And our show runner, executive directing show runner, David [Stratton], they were all very welcoming. Peter Lenkov. They were all super friendly, and just after one scene I was like, ‘Okay, great. We’re good. I know what I’m doing.’

“I settled in very quickly, I felt. And also because there weren’t many, not a huge cast. There’s only five other actors besides myself, fixed cast. So it’s very easy to [fit in], when it’s a smaller cast, and I’m used to a bigger cast. It’s been great.”

Cusick is hoping that long time fans of the show will embrace the changes and his character, “I can honestly say I’m having a great time, and I’m just hoping people enjoy season four as much as they enjoyed season three. I know there’s going to be time with the old character, and the show change.

“I haven’t really seen any of it, season four, but they say the lighting, the way it looks, it’s a little bit darker. The storylines have maybe gone a little bit darker.

“But I hope the fans stick with it, and enjoy this new reboot.”

Inteview by Melissa Byers, Emmy.com.news

Be sure to tune in to MacGyver, Friday nights on CBS 8/7c

Henry Ian Cusick on MacGyver Debut: “I’ve Never Had More Fun With a Role”

By Matt Webb Mitovich / February 5 2020

MacGyver Season 4 Spoilers

Mac is back this Friday, and he’s acquired a new frenemy, played by Lost alum Henry Ian Cusick.

This Friday at 8/7c, the Peruvian-born Scot joins CBS’ MacGyver for Season 4 as Russ Taylor, an MI6 agent-turned-private military contractor who recruits former members of the shuttered Phoenix Foundation to hunt down a bioweapon that a mysterious organization plans to deploy in a devastating attack on a major U.S. city.

If it sounds a bit harrowing, rest assured that Cusick is here (and quite thrilled) to lighten things up, as he details in this TVLine Q&A.

TVLINE | Off the top of your head, give me three adjectives to describe Russ Taylor.
Millionaire… MI6… scoundrel. I think because we [prior to the interview] were discussing Scandal, that’s why I said scoundrel. But there is some truth to that!

TVLINE | Under what sort of circumstances do we first meet him?
Russ Taylor has been following MacGyver, and MacGyver catches onto this and says, “Why are you following me?” Russ Taylor has a reputation — he used to be an arms dealer and do lots of terrible things – so Mac says, “Why would I want to work with you?” Russ says that he has had an epiphany and “changed his ways,” that he wants to be one of the good guys now. Mac’s suspicious, but then they go on a little adventure together. But what’s really cool is that because he recruits Mac, Mac then has to recruit his team.

TVLINE | He’s got to “get the band back together.”
Exactly, and it’s always fun to see where “the band” has gone and what sort of jobs they’re now doing using their talents. But then you learn about Russ and what his true motives are, and why he really asked Mac to help him.

TVLINE | As Mac introduces him to the other team members, does Russ share any specific dynamics with any of them?
Well, Matilda [“Matty”] is crucial to the running of Phoenix, and yet here is Russ Taylor, who bought Phoenix. Only one of them is needed, but one owns the whole thing, so they’re sort of loggerheads pretty much through the whole season, which is quite fun. The thing about Russ is even though he’s a skillful manipulator and he can read people very well, and he’s also ex-military, so he’s quite lethal. I have had more fun playing this character than I have had with anything in television.

MacGyver Cusick

TVLINE | From the scenes I’ve seen, it looks like you’re having a blast.
He is quite ridiculous, in a way, and it’s a very free environment to work in. When I first turned up for my first scene, Justin Hires (who plays Bozer) just started improvising, and I just looked at him and joined in. I mean, not hugely, but we’d do a few takes and then sort of mess around with a few lines.

TVLINE | You were like, “Ohhhhh, so that’s what we’re doing.”
Yeah, there’s a little banter, a playfulness about the performances. And Justin is very funny, he’s a comedian actor. I took his lead and I’m having a lot of fun bouncing off him. We play the complete opposite of characters, but we have a lot of fun with him teasing me about my accent.

TVLINE | It’s great you get to use your real accent, because we once spoke about how I missed it in the original Scandal pilot.
Right. Right. Yeah, this time, I’m playing myself, my accent, but it’s a bit more cleaned up. It’s pretty much what you hear now, but it may be a little more cleaned up.

TVLINE | Tease best you can Russ’ true motive, because it sounds like we’re getting into some sort of National Treasure/Indiana Jones/Da Vinci Code type of adventure.
This season is more serialized if not less procedural, so we have one archenemy running all the way through it, and the archenemy is Codex. Russ Taylor has a long history with Codex, and that’s one of the reasons he signed Mac up to his team, to get to Codex. We also have a lot of great guest stars coming in — I was very impressed with the people that they bring into the show — and there’s a different tone to it. Even though it’s still fun family drama, it’s a bit darker from previous seasons. I’ve seen clips while doing ADR, and some of it looks really glossy and shiny…. It’s looking really good, I think.

TVLINE | What is something that you, as an actor, have gotten to do for the first time in this role?
What have I not done before…? I was hoisted up through a glass ceiling, which we just did that the other day. [Laughs] I didn’t actually go through it, but it looks like I do. I’m also getting to do a little more fighting, a little more punching, a little bit more gun stuff…. But overall what I’m getting to do is comedy, which I’ve not done on TV before. I feel very light in the show, and I mean that in a sense of having fun. Everything I’ve done before has always been really earnest and….

TVLINE | Russ is more of a dashing rogue.
Yeah, I have to say it’s very freeing as an actor to play this character, very freeing, because basically I can really do anything, and they’ll just say, “Take it down, Ian, you’re going to big,” which is very rare for me because I always play small.