SciFi Vision
Published: Monday, 21 January 2019
http://www.scifivision.com/interviews/5525-exclusive-henry-ian-cusick-talks-the-passage-and-teases-what-s-to-come-on-the-100
Tonight the second episode of the new series The Passage airs on FOX. The series follows the secret government facility, Project NOAH, that has found a dangerous virus that scientists think could lead to the cure to every disease, including the outbreak of the Avian flu that is spreading. However, when test subjects turn into monsters, they believe their only chance of success is to give the vaccine to someone younger.
Federal Agent Brad Wolgast (Mark-Paul Gosselaar) is tasked with bringing in young orphan Amy Bellafonte (Saniyya Sidney), but changes his mind and decides to protect her instead.
In tonight’s episode, more backstory is revealed about Dr. Jonas Lear, played by Henry Ian Cusick, who discovered the virus. The story delves into why he and Tim Fanning (Jamie McShane), patient zero, went into the Bolivian jungle in the first place.
Cusick recently talked to SciFi Vision about his work on the series, his character’s backstory, and more. He even teased about what is to come on The 100.
SCIFI VISION: Were you familiar with the book series before becoming involved? Did you read it when you got the role?
HENRY IAN CUSICK: No. When I got the role, I was a guest star in this show, with the possibility that I might be recurring. There was never – well I don’t know what the writers had thought, but anyway, I was only going to do this one episode.
So, I hadn’t read the book, but as soon as there was talk of a possibility of coming back as a regular, I read the book. And, you know, I wish I had read the book earlier.
Okay, but you did read the book after. That was going to be my next question. [laughs]
[laughs] Yeah, you know, I said to someone earlier that there’s a great line in the book where Amy Bellafonte talks about her first time seeing Lear, and he’s described as this wild eyed, long haired, great scientist.
Had I read the book, I would have opted to play that a little bit more in the beginning when I first met her. But still, there’s opportunity for me to go down that route, I hope. You’ll just have to watch the other episodes.
Other than the script then, since you hadn’t read the book at that point, was there anywhere else that you pulled inspiration from while creating the character?
You mean just for the pilot?
For the character in general, I guess. I’m not sure how long it was in between filming it.
So, here’s how it was. We shot the pilot, and then there was a break, I believe, and then we got a pickup for the pilot. Then we went in August, I don’t know, around that time, to shoot the rest of it.
I had read the book by then, but even in the book – I don’t know if you’ve read the book, but there isn’t very much for me to go on. There’re bits and pieces. Obviously my relationship with Fanning – in book three, that goes into some depth with Fanning and Lear. But what the writers have very cleverly done, is there’re so many blanks in there, that they’ve kind of filled them in in ways that you’ll find out, especially in my relationship with my wife, Elizabeth (Jennifer Ferrin), and they changed things slightly.
You know, in the book, she’s dying. In our version, she has Alzheimer’s, and I go [to Bolivia] to search for a cure for her.
So, they’ve changed things slightly, but I think in many ways they’ve certainly made Lear a lot richer than anything that was in the book.
But I did use the book as inspiration, as a plot, as markers, to say, you know, “Okay, Tim and I were best friends at Harvard; Elizabeth was part of the group.” You know, things like that.
I know you’ve played scientists before, but did you do any research or talk to any real scientists or anything like that to prepare for the role?
I just went with source material and with the script.
I had a lot of friends in the medical profession. I would ask them certain things, but I didn’t, you know, go to see any microbiologists. I just sort of went with the story and my gut.
When you did decided to take on the role, what was it specifically that stood out to you about the story or character?
What drew me to it, initially, I think, was a scene I was doing in the pilot. I was staring at Fanning, and it struck me quite hard, like, “what an awful predicament.” Here’s my best friend that I took to Bolivia, and here’s what I’ve done with him, and this is what I’m still doing with him. You’ll find out later on how exactly that happened, but here I am, experimenting on my best friend.
And the moment that I was in, I just thought there was a lot of potential storyline there. Is this morally right? Should I just, you know, end his life, or do I carry on experimenting on him?
I think that was the first time I thought that this character has a lot of potential. And this was when I was doing the pilot. I had no idea that I was coming back, but I think that was the point where in my mind, I thought, this character could come back, because there’s a lot of potential between these two characters. That was the hook.
So, you knew at the beginning though the backstory between the characters; that was all revealed to you right away? That’s mostly in episode two.
In the pilot, although I hadn’t read the book, I worked with Jamie, and I said, “Jamie, tell me the book.” Jamie had read everything, because Jamie was super well prepared. At that time he told me the backstories, so yeah.
Okay. I have seen the first three, and in episode two, we find out about his wife and why this all started. Throughout the first few episodes, a few times he voices his concerns about the morality of it, but even though he’s upset about it, he doesn’t do anything to stop it. Can you talk about this inner conflict and how that’s going to continue to affect his job at Project NOAH and his relationships with the other scientists?
I think that’s a really good point, but I justified that – you see that when he starts out, his soul objective is to find a cure for his wife. So, he enlists the help of Tim Fanning. Unfortunately, Tim Fanning brings along the military, and you know, once the military are involved – and he’s not very keen on the military, but he’s caught between a rock and hard place. He thinks, “The military have so much money, and if I could just find that cure, then everything would be fine.” It’s not that way, because, you know, the military are going to weaponize anything they find.
I justified it, that rather than take a moral stand and say “This is wrong; I’m out,” he stays in there, because he thinks, “If I could just find the cure, than it will all be worth it.” So, the end sort of justifies the means. He’d rather be part of the project than be thrown out because he’s taking a political and moral stand.
You mentioned how you filmed the pilot, and that there was a break before filming the rest of the season. It sounds like whole experience took place over a long period of time. Were you flying back and forth between Vancouver and Georgia a lot for The 100? It so, was that difficult? Or was this after the fact? I’m not sure exactly what time frame you filmed this in.
You’re right; I was flying back and forth. Not many times, but I flew back a few times. [laughs] That’s a spoiler.
[laughs] Okay, I won’t put that in then.
[laughs] No you can put it in, actually, read into it what you want.
[laughs] Okay, because that’s one question people kept asking me that I’m like, “I can’t actually ask him if he’s still alive!” I’m like, “I’m not going to ask that!”[laughs]
Ask it. Go ahead and ask me; you can ask me anything.
Okay, [laughs] is Kane alive? [laughs] They wanted to know what was going to happen. I don’t think you are allowed to tell me that!
I will say this. On April the 30th, when it returns to the CW, in the very first episode, you will get pretty much everything you – well, a lot of what you need to know about what happens to Marcus Kane. It’s dealt with very early on. You don’t need to wait. So, definitely tune in and check it out.
I asked Mark-Paul this, so I’m going to ask you. This is genre TV, a science fiction vampire show, but different than what’s been on before. Obviously I’ve seen further, but for people just tuning in, can you give them a tease of why this show is different and why they should check it out?
So, I think what’s special about this show, is the size of it, the epic nature of this show, which is unlike anything else on network, I believe. We’ve seen apocalyptic shows and vampire shows, but we’ve never seen something that has so many different strings.
As you’ve seen from the pilot, you have a beautiful story between Mark-Paul and Saniyya. It’s sort of a father-daughter buddy story, and that really is the heart of the show.
And then, for example, on set I wouldn’t see Mark-Paul. I’d say, “Hey, Mark-Paul, what are you up to?” He’d say, “Oh I’m doing a father daughter movie.” “What are you doing?” He’d say, “I’m doing a vampire movie.” You know, it takes a long time for us to connect with each other, for all the strings of the stories to come together. For example with Vincent Piazza (plays Clark Richards), it took me a long time to get to know his side of the story.
So, what I like most about the show is the different strings to this epic adventure. And there’re so many other strings to it we haven’t even begun to touch upon. We’ve only [taken some from] the first book even though we did jump around a little bit, but there’s so much more story I think that will really surprise people. Also what the writers have really cleverly done, is they’ve added a lot of backstory which isn’t in the book, so you get to know a lot of my backstory. So, yeah, I would say it’s just the epic size. When you have a big ensemble cast, it’s always cool to pick the ones you really want to follow, who you like the best, the storylines. I think really there’s something for everyone.
Well, I’m definitively enjoying it so far.
Oh good, I hope you continue to enjoy it.
Thanks. I’m sure I will.
So, is there any room in the show for ad-libbing lines or are they pretty strict with the script?
You know, I’ve worked on LOST, and that was [one where] you could not deviate one jot from the script [laughs], so I know how strict scripts can be. This one we had writers on set, and it really was quite freeing in a way. We could deviate. As long as it meant the same thing as the lines, we could deviate.
And what’s lovely about having these writers, is they were open to suggestions. I think Jamie was really good at ad-libbing some things. And if they were good, they would say, “Yeah, say that.”
Even in the pilot, I think, Liz [Heldens] turned to me, and even though we got the script, she said, “Okay, this time say this” or she’d give me new lines each time.
So, I liked that a lot. I liked the freeness and the ability that we could change things, you know, when you have executives on set.
Was there anything you found particularly challenging?
I guess our time frame was pretty challenging. We were really pushed; we were up against it. For some reason it just seemed you were always – I think there was so much story, so much script, that you were always pushed for time. But challenges like that, that pretty much is common in television. Television works fast, and, you know, I enjoy a challenge anyway. People say “Challenges?” I go, “I want to be shooting, you know, in the Amazon pushing a boat across the jungle.” For me, that would be fun. Not that we did that; I was referencing another movie. [laughs] You know what I mean. The harder it is, the more fun it is for me.
Before you go, I do want to divert for a second. Because I was a huge fan of LOST, I wanted to ask you something about it, but something that was unique and hasn’t been asked, which is pretty hard to come up with. So is there something interesting you can think of that fans haven’t heard a lot about? Maybe a memory that stands out or something?
You know, when I shot LOST, I was so in it. I’ve never had a character that I wake up with in the morning – except in theater, but I’d wake up and I’d think, “I’m Desmond.” You know, I was always Desmond. It was a great gig. It brought me to Hawaii. I still live in Hawaii. It was just one of those [things]. I don’t have any particular story, but I do remember one time being on set and just thinking it just felt so right. It was just a great experience. I just wish I had enjoyed it a lot more when I was doing it. I was so in it that I didn’t really appreciate what I was in. And it’s hard to appreciate sometimes what you’re in. So this time around with The Passage I got to really be in the moment and enjoy it a lot more.
Okay, well, like I said, I’ve seen the first three, and I’ve really enjoyed it so far. I want to know what happens –
I think the show, progressively, I think it gets even so much better. I’m very proud of it. I haven’t seen everything. I’ve seen clips and ADR bits, but from the scripts, you know, it gets progressively better. So I hope you enjoy the rest of it.
I’m sure I will. Before you go, is there anything you tease about something coming up?
Which episode do I want to talk about? There’re so many good bits.
I’m going to give a shout out to Jennifer Ferrin, who plays Elizabeth. I really enjoyed working with her. She does a really great job in that role. Most of my stuff has been with Jamie and Elizabeth and I’ve really enjoyed working with those two. I think that for me is probably my favorite stuff I’ve been doing for the show.
The Passage Cancelled By Fox
Disappointed fans, as well as cast and crew received this unexpected news! Needless to say Ian, along with his fellow cast members were looking forward to bringing more of this fantastic story based on the Justin Cronin books to us all. Sadly it appears that will not happen now…..
Below are a couple of articles on the cancellation followed by Ian’s tweets about it.
We thank all of the Passage fans who went on the journey with us and while it was much shorter than all of us would have liked, it was a time and an experience we won’t forget!
We feel sure Ian will find new projects and when he does, news will be posted here on the site!
TVLine.com : The Passage Cancelled at Fox
Meaww.com : The Passage Cancelled by Fox, Fans Left Disappointed ‘As There’s So Much More To Cover’
From Ian on Twitter: ” Sadly, @thepassage hasn’t been picked up for a S2. THANK YOU to this talented bunch #LizHeldens@jason_ensler@MPG@SaniyyaSidney#jamiemcshane@c_chikezie@Brianne_Howey@McKinleyBcubed@echriqui#vincentpiazza@JasonIsaacFuchs for making it such a FUN if somewhat short ride! X ”
and also this tweet : “Big THANK YOU to all the amazing diehard fans of @thepassagefox Love yas all!!”
Follow Ian on Twitter at: @hicusick
The 100 Season 6 Premiere – Kane’s Fate?
The 100 is back with it’s sixth season and in the season premiere, titled Sanctum….. we saw Ian’s character Marcus Kane wake up from surgery much to Abby’s delight and fans’ delight too! She shared the good news with him of the discovery of the new planet and both shared a moment of peace and joy.
That moment didn’t last too long however when Octavia appeared and started to argue with Kane. Still weak from surgery and his movement during the argument caused him to suffer a rupture of his sutures, leading him to hemorrhage and suffer a heart attack. Before viewers knew it, Kane was unconscious again and barely alive but going back into cryo! Part of Abby’s plan to once again, try and save the man she loves. Will she be able to a second time? That’s the question on fans’ minds and hearts and while we feel sure we’ll know that answer at some point in the season, it’s a waiting game for now!
Tune in Tuesday nights at 9/8 PM on The CW for each new episode of The 100!
Check out The CW’s official site for latest 100 news….. CWTV.com h
Happy Birthday Henry Ian Cusick!
Or as we say here in Hawaii……
Hau`oli Lā Hānau !
Joining fans everywhere today to wish Ian a day that is fabulous in every way!
Ian would be the first to say……..
“Thank you fans for all the love and support!”
TeamCusick
The 100 Season 6 Official Trailer
The trailer was recently released! Enjoy this first look at the new season and be sure to tune in April 30th for the season 6 premiere!
New Interviews With Ian For Chimera Strain Release
From Screen Rant
Henry Ian Cusick Interview: Chimera
BY ZAK WOJNAR
The provocative new science fiction horror tale, Chimera, tells the story of a mad scientist who crosses ethical boundaries and enters into a world where science becomes unholy black magic. Henry Ian Cusick (The Passage, The 100, Inhumans) stars as Quint, a scientist who studies the real-life Turritopsis jellyfish in an effort to save his children from their terminal condition.
Directed by first-time filmmaker Maurice Haeems, Chimera resembles a mix of classic “mad scientist” science fiction, horrific body horror tales of the 1980s and beyond, and the visually stunning color-coded sterility of modern day auteurs like Shane Carruth and Nicolas Winding Refn.
While promoting the release of Chimera, Henry Ian Cusick spoke to us about the fascinating pedigree of director Maurice Haeems, starring in a science fiction film with a small budget but big ideas, and what it’s like to shoot a movie and being forced to wait, potentially for years, before it eventually gets released to the public. He also shares some insight into his status as a Latino actor who generally doesn’t get cast in roles which allow him to speak Spanish on screen.
To continue reading, click on interview link: ScreenRant.com/ChimeraStrain
From LRM Online
– by Nancy Tapia
Chimera Strain Exclusive Interview: Actor Henry Ian Cusick on Immortality
Mankind has always tried to find a way to put an end to mortality. Be it with the Fountain of Youth, spiritual enlightenment, or scientific means, it’s been the subject of countless stories. Such is the case with Chimera Strain, the latest sci-fi drama from writer-director Maurice Haeems, which hits VOD and select theaters today!
LRM Online had a chance to discuss the film with its star, Henry Ian Cusick, who plays a scientist named Quint. In the film, he freezes his children as he races to find a cure by using the DNA of an immortal jellyfish. In our discussions, we discuss immortality and taking creative risks on not-so-obvious projects.
Continue reading here: LRMonline/ChimeraStrain/HenryIanCusick
Retitled ‘Chimera Strain’ Gets A March 15 Release!
Chimera, the independent film with Ian and Kathleen Quinlan, which played film festivals last year, is being released by Vertical Entertainment and has a new name of Chimera Strain.
Today, March 15, 2019 saw it’s release in select theaters and digitally on iTunes, Amazon and several other VOD and cable outlets.
It will also be released on DVD, and available on Amazon April 16 and you can pre-order it now: ChimeraStrain/DVD
In addition, it has a new trailer which you can view here on iTunes movie trailers: https://trailers.apple.com/trailers/independent/chimera-strain/
Don’t miss your chance to see this intriguing film by first time director Maurice Haeems!
Lost’s Henry Ian Cusick Explores Immortality in theChimera Strain
TellTale TV: Henry Ian Cusick Previews ‘The Passage’ Season Finale, Reflects on the Legacy of ‘Lost’ [Exclusive Interview]
A really nice lengthy interview here with Ian as he discusses The Passage’s season finale, Kane and the new season of The 100 and the legacy of LOST
https://www.telltaletv.com/2019/03/henry-ian-cusick-interview-the-passage-season-finale-legacy-of-lost/
By: Ashley Bissette Sumerel
Best known for his roles as Desmond Hume on Lost and Marcus Kane on The 100, actor Henry Ian Cusick has a history of playing complex characters on sci-fi/fantasy television series.
His latest is on the vampire drama The Passage, where he plays the role of Dr. Jonas Lear.
The FOX series, which is based on Justin Cronin’s best-selling trilogy of the same name, airs its season finale on Monday. I recently had the chance to speak with Cusick about The Passage and what we can expect from the finale, as well as his work on The 100 and the impact Lost has had on his career.
Originally, Cusick’s role on The Passage was going to be much smaller. “It was a guest role with a possible recurring because I was on another show at the time, and it just so happened that they managed to work it out that I could join that show full time. And I’m really delighted with the way it’s turned out. It’s a very rich and complex character,” Cusick said, adding that he thinks that’s the case for every character on the series.
*Caroline Chikezie and Henry Ian Cusick in the “You Owe Me a Unicorn” episode of THE PASSAGE © 2019 FOX Broadcasting. Cr: Erika Doss / FOX.*
“They’re all individually very complex, and rich, and diverse, and they all add to the show. We have a really interesting mix in this cast, and also I think we have, in our lead, Saniyya [Sidney], just a phenomenal young talent. It’s a joy to watch her on screen just blossom. She’s just terrific.”
Although much of what we see in Lear’s backstory on the show is a desire to save his wife and find a cure to save mankind, Cusick isn’t convinced Lear’s motives are all good.
“I was of the same opinion, initially, that he was acting from good intentions. But as you [look] closer, I’m a bit suspect about his motives. Yes, he said he wanted to save his wife, and he wanted to do good for mankind. Yet, he’s a scientist; he must have been aware of his place in history, and he must have known what his legacy would have been. So there’s a bit of ego there, and there’s selfishness,” Cusick explained.
“He’s had many opportunities to end it. He could have killed Fanning very early on, and yet he chose to experiment on him, saying that, ‘if I can just find a cure, then I can cure my wife.’ So he’s always been tempted by this carrot of finding the cure, and he justifies it every time. And I’ve said this before, but if history were to judge him, whichever side wins, [he] would come out the worst.”
“He has an ego, [and it] just got the better of him, I think, and that was his downfall. I think he’s aware of that, and that’s where he is. He’s in a terrible place of guilt. He’s aware that he is the root of all of this and possibly thinking, what I just said, how will history judge him? It must be an awful place to be for him, so he’s riddled with guilt and remorse and the what ifs.”
*Henry Ian Cusick in the “How You Gonna Outrun The End of The World?” episode of THE PASSAGE © 2019 FOX Broadcasting. Cr: Erika Doss / FOX.*
Cusick also spoke a bit about the show overall, which, as anyone who’s been watching knows, actually has a heartfelt story.
“At the heart of the show, it’s a really positive message. The dark and the light. And the heart of the show, the relationship between Amy and Brad, which is a beautiful love — a father-daughter, second chance relationship for Brad and for Amy. It’s a very positive one. I think when we get to the end of the show, what you’ll see, everyone makes a decision. And ultimately we’re trying to survive. It has many things. It’s a post-apocalyptic survival show. It’s a vampire show. It’s relationships, a show with deep relationships with father-daughter. It has, which I really love this storyline, the doomed sort of bizarre love story between Richards and Babcock. And the unfinished business between Fanning and Lear — they’re linked in some sort of eternal hate because somebody loved somebody’s wife.”
“There’s all these different vignettes to it. Lacy gets a message from God: she’s got to save Amy. So everyone’s got their own agenda, their own mission, and they’re all very different. But the ultimate one is the survival of the generation.”
The show explores survival and the way people might react when faced with the worst of circumstances. Cusick currently lives in Hawaii, and he recalled a recent incident where people didn’t react in an expected way.
“We had a little incident here in Hawaii where, on a Saturday morning at eight o’clock, we all were given [a warning.] Phones and sirens and alarms went off saying, there’s a missile alert imminent. This is not a drill. This is not a drill. And the way people reacted is not the way — not everyone did the thing where you pack up your things and head to find cover. A lot of people decided just to sit and look at the sea. I wasn’t here at the time. I was in Vancouver. But my wife phoned me with tears, saying ‘is this real?’ and trying to find out on the internet,” Cusick recalled.
Even his own family didn’t react in the expected ways. “Annie, my wife, said she was walking around the house with half packets of Oreos. Meanwhile, my oldest son soaked all the towels. My other son was looking for a particular white shirt. So we don’t know how we’ll react in these circumstances, and that I thought was really interesting. We all think we know what we’d do. I can imagine the audience saying, ‘Well, why don’t they do this?’ We don’t really know what we’ll do at any given moment.”
As for what exactly we can expect from the two-hour season finale of The Passage, Cusick was able to offer up a few hints that should make fans excited — and possibly a bit nervous.
“I have to say, it’s terrific. There are episodes nine and ten, so even though it’s a two-parter, they’re both separate episodes,” he noted. “It’s epic. It’s really sweeping and beautiful. I can’t wait for the audience to watch and get their feedback because I think they’ve done a terrific job.”
“The show has gone by so quickly, but we’ve gotten to know a lot of characters, and sadly we will lose some people that we love, I think. So there are gonna be deaths. It’s a high-stakes show. There’s always going to be deaths. There’s going to be a lot of deaths by episode ten,” Cusick hinted. “If you’ve read the books, you know what’s coming.”
“Besides that, what’s it going to have? It’s going to have heartfelt moments. It’s going to have people coming to terms with what they’ve done. It’s going to have people making decisions on what they should do to survive all of this. It’s frantic. It’s panic and it’s mayhem. And yet, very touching as well. It’s very beautiful.”
In addition to The Passage, a lot of fans also know Cusick from his role as Marcus Kane on The 100. And when we last saw Kane, his fate was unclear.
Cusick couldn’t say much as far as what we can expect, but he did say we’d have answers quickly once the show returns for the new season. He hinted that viewers would “find out exactly what happens to Kane” during the first half of the season premiere episode.
“There’s a whole new world, and it’s… I don’t want to give too much away. Tune in on April 30th, and you’ll find out,” he confirmed.
Finally, Cusick took the time to reflect on his most iconic role — the role of Desmond Hume on Lost.
“So Lost, for me, changed my life completely and utterly. It brought me to Hawaii, where I still live. It introduced me to an American audience on television, on one of the biggest shows. We’re still talking about it. It’s still regarded as one of the biggest genre shows in the last 20-30 years. So I really owe my career to it,” Cusick shared.
“A whole new generation is watching the show now, and I still get people talking to me about it. So I think I will always be remembered as Desmond, and I’ll gladly take it. It was just such a dream role.”
That role was yet another one that started out as something much smaller. Cusick said the role of Desmond was “out of the blue” and was “a three-episode arc that turned into a life-changing role for me. So I owe a huge thank you to Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse and Jack Bender for that gift.”
And if you’ve followed all three of these shows — Lost, The 100, and now, The Passage, you’ve probably noticed some similarities. That’s something Cusick appreciates, but it’s not necessarily intentional.
“All of the shows like that are connected. And I find that interesting as well, as to how did that happen? That I’ve been in shows that all have similar themes. I often wonder about that, why that happened,” he said. “I’m just speaking to the universe, and it’s responding, I guess.”
—
Don’t miss the two-hour season finale of The Passage, airing this Monday, March 11th at 8/7c on FOX.
Don’t Miss The Passage Season Finale!
The Passage has it’s two hour season finale next Monday, March 11, 2019 beginning at 8 pm!
The virals are loose! Don’t miss it!
Watch the preview trailer and get ready for an exciting night of TV on Fox!
Henry Ian Cusick is Dr. Jonas Lear on The Passage
Watch The Passage anytime on FoxNow and Hulu
The 100 Returns April 30th!
“The CW has released its list of returning and premiering shows for the spring/summer 2019 season, including ‘The 100’ season 6 one new addition and a few timeslot swaps.
First up is The 100 season 6, which premieres Tuesday, April 30 at 9 p.m., retaining its slot from season 5.”
Entire article here: https://www.hypable.com/the-cw-2019-premiere-dates-the-100-arrow/
SciFi Vision – Exclusive: Henry Ian Cusick Talks The Passage and Teases What’s To Come On The 100
SciFi Vision
Published: Monday, 21 January 2019
http://www.scifivision.com/interviews/5525-exclusive-henry-ian-cusick-talks-the-passage-and-teases-what-s-to-come-on-the-100
Tonight the second episode of the new series The Passage airs on FOX. The series follows the secret government facility, Project NOAH, that has found a dangerous virus that scientists think could lead to the cure to every disease, including the outbreak of the Avian flu that is spreading. However, when test subjects turn into monsters, they believe their only chance of success is to give the vaccine to someone younger.
Federal Agent Brad Wolgast (Mark-Paul Gosselaar) is tasked with bringing in young orphan Amy Bellafonte (Saniyya Sidney), but changes his mind and decides to protect her instead.
In tonight’s episode, more backstory is revealed about Dr. Jonas Lear, played by Henry Ian Cusick, who discovered the virus. The story delves into why he and Tim Fanning (Jamie McShane), patient zero, went into the Bolivian jungle in the first place.
Cusick recently talked to SciFi Vision about his work on the series, his character’s backstory, and more. He even teased about what is to come on The 100.
SCIFI VISION: Were you familiar with the book series before becoming involved? Did you read it when you got the role?
So, I hadn’t read the book, but as soon as there was talk of a possibility of coming back as a regular, I read the book. And, you know, I wish I had read the book earlier.
Okay, but you did read the book after. That was going to be my next question. [laughs]
[laughs] Yeah, you know, I said to someone earlier that there’s a great line in the book where Amy Bellafonte talks about her first time seeing Lear, and he’s described as this wild eyed, long haired, great scientist.
Had I read the book, I would have opted to play that a little bit more in the beginning when I first met her. But still, there’s opportunity for me to go down that route, I hope. You’ll just have to watch the other episodes.
Other than the script then, since you hadn’t read the book at that point, was there anywhere else that you pulled inspiration from while creating the character?
You mean just for the pilot?
For the character in general, I guess. I’m not sure how long it was in between filming it.
So, here’s how it was. We shot the pilot, and then there was a break, I believe, and then we got a pickup for the pilot. Then we went in August, I don’t know, around that time, to shoot the rest of it.
I had read the book by then, but even in the book – I don’t know if you’ve read the book, but there isn’t very much for me to go on. There’re bits and pieces. Obviously my relationship with Fanning – in book three, that goes into some depth with Fanning and Lear. But what the writers have very cleverly done, is there’re so many blanks in there, that they’ve kind of filled them in in ways that you’ll find out, especially in my relationship with my wife, Elizabeth (Jennifer Ferrin), and they changed things slightly.
You know, in the book, she’s dying. In our version, she has Alzheimer’s, and I go [to Bolivia] to search for a cure for her.
So, they’ve changed things slightly, but I think in many ways they’ve certainly made Lear a lot richer than anything that was in the book.
But I did use the book as inspiration, as a plot, as markers, to say, you know, “Okay, Tim and I were best friends at Harvard; Elizabeth was part of the group.” You know, things like that.
I know you’ve played scientists before, but did you do any research or talk to any real scientists or anything like that to prepare for the role?
I just went with source material and with the script.
I had a lot of friends in the medical profession. I would ask them certain things, but I didn’t, you know, go to see any microbiologists. I just sort of went with the story and my gut.
When you did decided to take on the role, what was it specifically that stood out to you about the story or character?
What drew me to it, initially, I think, was a scene I was doing in the pilot. I was staring at Fanning, and it struck me quite hard, like, “what an awful predicament.” Here’s my best friend that I took to Bolivia, and here’s what I’ve done with him, and this is what I’m still doing with him. You’ll find out later on how exactly that happened, but here I am, experimenting on my best friend.
And the moment that I was in, I just thought there was a lot of potential storyline there. Is this morally right? Should I just, you know, end his life, or do I carry on experimenting on him?
So, you knew at the beginning though the backstory between the characters; that was all revealed to you right away? That’s mostly in episode two.
In the pilot, although I hadn’t read the book, I worked with Jamie, and I said, “Jamie, tell me the book.” Jamie had read everything, because Jamie was super well prepared. At that time he told me the backstories, so yeah.
Okay. I have seen the first three, and in episode two, we find out about his wife and why this all started. Throughout the first few episodes, a few times he voices his concerns about the morality of it, but even though he’s upset about it, he doesn’t do anything to stop it. Can you talk about this inner conflict and how that’s going to continue to affect his job at Project NOAH and his relationships with the other scientists?
I think that’s a really good point, but I justified that – you see that when he starts out, his soul objective is to find a cure for his wife. So, he enlists the help of Tim Fanning. Unfortunately, Tim Fanning brings along the military, and you know, once the military are involved – and he’s not very keen on the military, but he’s caught between a rock and hard place. He thinks, “The military have so much money, and if I could just find that cure, then everything would be fine.” It’s not that way, because, you know, the military are going to weaponize anything they find.
I justified it, that rather than take a moral stand and say “This is wrong; I’m out,” he stays in there, because he thinks, “If I could just find the cure, than it will all be worth it.” So, the end sort of justifies the means. He’d rather be part of the project than be thrown out because he’s taking a political and moral stand.
You mentioned how you filmed the pilot, and that there was a break before filming the rest of the season. It sounds like whole experience took place over a long period of time. Were you flying back and forth between Vancouver and Georgia a lot for The 100? It so, was that difficult? Or was this after the fact? I’m not sure exactly what time frame you filmed this in.
You’re right; I was flying back and forth. Not many times, but I flew back a few times. [laughs] That’s a spoiler.
[laughs] Okay, I won’t put that in then.
[laughs] No you can put it in, actually, read into it what you want.
[laughs] Okay, because that’s one question people kept asking me that I’m like, “I can’t actually ask him if he’s still alive!” I’m like, “I’m not going to ask that!”[laughs]
Ask it. Go ahead and ask me; you can ask me anything.
Okay, [laughs] is Kane alive? [laughs] They wanted to know what was going to happen. I don’t think you are allowed to tell me that!
I will say this. On April the 30th, when it returns to the CW, in the very first episode, you will get pretty much everything you – well, a lot of what you need to know about what happens to Marcus Kane. It’s dealt with very early on. You don’t need to wait. So, definitely tune in and check it out.
I asked Mark-Paul this, so I’m going to ask you. This is genre TV, a science fiction vampire show, but different than what’s been on before. Obviously I’ve seen further, but for people just tuning in, can you give them a tease of why this show is different and why they should check it out?
So, I think what’s special about this show, is the size of it, the epic nature of this show, which is unlike anything else on network, I believe. We’ve seen apocalyptic shows and vampire shows, but we’ve never seen something that has so many different strings.
As you’ve seen from the pilot, you have a beautiful story between Mark-Paul and Saniyya. It’s sort of a father-daughter buddy story, and that really is the heart of the show.
And then, for example, on set I wouldn’t see Mark-Paul. I’d say, “Hey, Mark-Paul, what are you up to?” He’d say, “Oh I’m doing a father daughter movie.” “What are you doing?” He’d say, “I’m doing a vampire movie.” You know, it takes a long time for us to connect with each other, for all the strings of the stories to come together. For example with Vincent Piazza (plays Clark Richards), it took me a long time to get to know his side of the story.
Well, I’m definitively enjoying it so far.
Oh good, I hope you continue to enjoy it.
Thanks. I’m sure I will.
So, is there any room in the show for ad-libbing lines or are they pretty strict with the script?
You know, I’ve worked on LOST, and that was [one where] you could not deviate one jot from the script [laughs], so I know how strict scripts can be. This one we had writers on set, and it really was quite freeing in a way. We could deviate. As long as it meant the same thing as the lines, we could deviate.
And what’s lovely about having these writers, is they were open to suggestions. I think Jamie was really good at ad-libbing some things. And if they were good, they would say, “Yeah, say that.”
Even in the pilot, I think, Liz [Heldens] turned to me, and even though we got the script, she said, “Okay, this time say this” or she’d give me new lines each time.
So, I liked that a lot. I liked the freeness and the ability that we could change things, you know, when you have executives on set.
Was there anything you found particularly challenging?
I guess our time frame was pretty challenging. We were really pushed; we were up against it. For some reason it just seemed you were always – I think there was so much story, so much script, that you were always pushed for time. But challenges like that, that pretty much is common in television. Television works fast, and, you know, I enjoy a challenge anyway. People say “Challenges?” I go, “I want to be shooting, you know, in the Amazon pushing a boat across the jungle.” For me, that would be fun. Not that we did that; I was referencing another movie. [laughs] You know what I mean. The harder it is, the more fun it is for me.
Before you go, I do want to divert for a second. Because I was a huge fan of LOST, I wanted to ask you something about it, but something that was unique and hasn’t been asked, which is pretty hard to come up with. So is there something interesting you can think of that fans haven’t heard a lot about? Maybe a memory that stands out or something?
You know, when I shot LOST, I was so in it. I’ve never had a character that I wake up with in the morning – except in theater, but I’d wake up and I’d think, “I’m Desmond.” You know, I was always Desmond. It was a great gig. It brought me to Hawaii. I still live in Hawaii. It was just one of those [things]. I don’t have any particular story, but I do remember one time being on set and just thinking it just felt so right. It was just a great experience. I just wish I had enjoyed it a lot more when I was doing it. I was so in it that I didn’t really appreciate what I was in. And it’s hard to appreciate sometimes what you’re in. So this time around with The Passage I got to really be in the moment and enjoy it a lot more.
I think the show, progressively, I think it gets even so much better. I’m very proud of it. I haven’t seen everything. I’ve seen clips and ADR bits, but from the scripts, you know, it gets progressively better. So I hope you enjoy the rest of it.
I’m sure I will. Before you go, is there anything you tease about something coming up?
Which episode do I want to talk about? There’re so many good bits.
I’m going to give a shout out to Jennifer Ferrin, who plays Elizabeth. I really enjoyed working with her. She does a really great job in that role. Most of my stuff has been with Jamie and Elizabeth and I’ve really enjoyed working with those two. I think that for me is probably my favorite stuff I’ve been doing for the show.