The actor on his role on the CW series. Plus, the staying power of Lost, as it reaches its 10th anniversary.

by Eric Goldman  IGN

March 25, 2014

Debuting last week, the CW’s new post-apocalyptic sci-fi series, The 100, is set both on Earth, where the title characters have been sent — to discover if our planet is once more livable — and in space, as we follow the power struggle onboard the space station called the Ark, with the remnants of humanity. A key figure on the Ark is Councilman Kane, played by Henry Ian Cusick. The pilot established Kane as a man who is determined to save mankind by any means necessary; even if it involves the death of many, as the Ark’s capacity to maintain life dips dangerously low. This puts him into conflict both with the current leader, Chancellor Jaha (Isaiah Washington) and with Abby (Paige Turco), a fellow council member who has a very different viewpoint on what is right.

 

The 100 has now wrapped production on its 13-episode season, but a few weeks before they finished, I sat down with Cusick to discuss his character and where Kane is coming from. We also talked about the surprisingly dark places The 100 goes and the echoes the series has of Cusick’s previous series Lost, which is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year.

IGN TV: Your character obviously has his ambitions, but do you think he’s sort of single-minded in that? From his point of view, he wants to help save humanity, and he just thinks he knows a better, albeit more ruthless, way to do it.

 

Henry Ian Cusick: That’s absolutely right. You hit it on the head. His ambitions… You would think he just wants Jaha’s job, for no other reason than he just wants the job. But I think, if he is ambitious in any way, he just thinks he can do it better and that his way is the right way. That’s why he’s prepared to kill quite a few people, as opposed to Abby, who’s not playing with that one at all.

IGN: Is it interesting to put your mindset into that of a guy who is so honed in what he believes is the greater good?

 

Cusick: Yes, yeah, because that goes against what I’d do, how I think personally. But to think that way and to convince yourself, “You know what? Yes, there is a valid point…” Would you chop your arm off to save your life? Yes, if you could. So it is a very valid point, and to get into that mindset… I hope that some people can understand as well.

Entire interview here:  Henry Ian Cusick on The 100’s Dark Path and Kane’s Ambitions

 

 

Get ready!!

The 100 premieres 9pm ET tonight, March 19 on The CW.

While you wait………..

Curious about what Earth might look like 97 years into the future? The CW’s new series “The 100” has a decidedly dark view of where humanity might be.

Read Full Article Here:

‘Lost’s Henry Ian Cusick Tries to Save Humanity on The 100’

 

Attractive young people being sent to a post-apocalyptic Earth might be something one would expect from a CW sci-fi drama. What’s more of a surprise, however, is the constant danger of one of them getting a spear through the chest or a knife in the throat.

The 100, which premieres Wednesday (9 ET/PT), owes much more to the short-season storytelling and “anyone can die at any time” mantra of cable shows such as Game of Thrones and The Walking Dead than Gossip Girl or 90210. And creator Jason Rothenberg has already made fast friends with the network’s censors. 

Read This Article Here:

‘The 100 Is Not Usual Fare From  CW’

Pleased and very honoured to announce  Dress, which marked Ian’s directorial debut,  has won this year’s  Best Short Narrative at Chicago’s Peace on Earth Film Festival.  The film screened there on Friday, March 7.  Congratulations to Ian,  Annie and Henry Joe Productions and to everyone involved in the making of this beautiful film!

 

http://www.peaceonearthfilmfestival.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=21&Itemid=9

In advance anticipation of the DVD release ‘Not Another Happy Ending’, Ian recently did interviews with two UK publications. Read them at the links provided below……

From the Daily Record: “Scots Actor Henry Ian Cusick Tells Why He Had to Move Stateside for Work…..”

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/entertainment/celebrity-interviews/scots-actor-henry-ian-cusick-3120255

From Female First: “Henry Ian Cusick Exclusive Interview”

http://www.femalefirst.co.uk/movies/henry-ian-cusick-interview-417023.html

*  ‘Not Another Happy Ending’ releases on Feb. 10th in the UK*

The official trailer is now finished and can be seen here at HIC’s vimeo page:

http://vimeo.com/85511969

 

 

Twist of Fate

First LOST.  Then Home.

By Powell Berger

Annie and Ian Cusick never dreamed they’d call Hawaii home. But for Ian, one of the stars from the fomer TV hit “LOST,” plot twists are part of life.  “We never knew if Ian would be killed off, so we figured we’d be in Hawaii for a year, tops,” says Annie as she reflected on their life in Hawaii.  But of course, Ian wasn’t killed off. “When the show finally ended, we were rooted and our boys loved their schools and life was so beautifully simple and gorgeous, we thought why leave? Where would we go?”

Seven years after Ian’s character Desmond blew the hatch on “LOST,” the Cusicks have put down roots in Lanikai. They’ve launched Oahu-based Henry Joe Productions, created and released the HIFF award-winning short film “DRESS” (using all local talent), and enriched Honolulu’s children theatre with their talent and their dedication.  All of this while Ian commutes wherever the work takes him, which at the moment, is Vancouver, Canada, where he’s starring as Kane, the sketchy guy on the spaceship in the CW’s new drama, “The 100.”

“Ian goes to work on a spaceship now,” Annie laughs. “How fun is that!”

When the filming shifts from the spaceship back down to earth, Ian comes home to Lanikai until the spaceship summons him back to Canada.   Those earth-bound breaks created just the window needed for Ian and Annie to fulfill a commitment they had made to each other — to produce a movie project together.

“DRESS,” which debuted at HIFF and won the Audience Favorite award, tells the story of a man’s emotional journey after the death of his wife and his efforts to help his grieving sons cope with bereavement. It’s a story of love and loss and courage in the face of tragedy, exactly the kind of story Annie’s been directing in her work in children’s theatre for years.

“Ian and I’ve worked together for 21 years. We’ve raised three kids together, managed finances together, moved countries together,” Annie says. “But this time, there were 45 other people in the room!”

“It was wonderful, having Annie do this project with me,” Ian says. “I always knew she’d be good at producing but she was phenomenal. Then, at the end of the day, after everyone left and it was just us, we could talk about it all and share that side of it together.”

The New Year brings new projects for the couple. “Auntie Martha and the Nene,” a children’s play written and directed by Annie, opens at HTY in January, telling a sweet story of friendship, hope and opening up. Originally written and produced 13 years ago in her native Scotland, the show has traveled the globe and been produced on some of the most prominent stages of theatre, including Washington DC’s The Kennedy Center. Now it’s come to Hawaii with Annie back in the director’s chair.

Henry Joe Productions, named in memory of Ian’s late father, is cooking up new projects as well, with Ian looking to create more island-based work for the local, talented community.   “Hawaii is our home, now,” Ian says. “And working at home is a dream come true.”

Despite their deep roots and commitment to Hawaii, it’s still hard, being so far from family back in Scotland. Annie’s parents have made the trek to Hawaii every two years since the family moved here. “Mum got in the ocean for the first time on Lanikai beach,” Annie says. “She kept saying ‘oh, the sand is moving between my toes!’’

http://www.insideouthawaii.com/January-2014/Twist-of-Fate/#