James Marsters Discusses Villany
James Marsters has been added to the cast of the pilot remake of Hawaii Five-0 for CBS, portraying a villain. He told Australia’s Herald Sun, “They saw me in a fight sequence and something about it made them think ‘Let’s keep him around for a little bit’. I’m like a poor man’s Jackie Chan. But I have to say of all of the pilots that I knew about this year, this one stands the best chance of actually making it to the light of day. So I’m pretty hopeful.”
Pop culture reinventors Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci wrote the pilot for showrunner Peter Lenkov. The series picks up from the original by focusing on Chris McGarrett, son of Steve McGarrett (Jack Lord). Casting includes Alex O’Loughlin as Chris, Lost veteran Daniel Dae Kim as Chin Ho Kelly and Battlestar Galactica’s Grace Park as Kono Kalakaua. The remake is likely to make the 2010-2011 prime time schedule, although formal announcements are not expected until mid-May.
Marsters, who appeared with Kim in Angel, reflected on constantly being cast as the heavy. “I think frankly it’s because I got known for a villain early on,” he told the paper. “When I first came to LA, the only job on TV I’d had was as a very nerdish priest on Northern Exposure. I really lucked into that role. I was actually playing a killer on stage at the time for John Pielmeier who wrote Agnes of God, but I just happened to score this priest role on Northern Exposure.
“So when I came down to LA the only thing I had on my reel was this nerd character, so I got put up for a bunch of nerds. I scored a couple of guest spots as people who were uncomfortable in their own skin. Then Buffy was looking for somebody at the last minute, and I don’t know why but they thought I could do accents, so they called me in. And I lucked into that role, and ever since everyone thinks of me as a villain. So, I’ll take it man. The villain is a good role.
“Cos when you’re a villain, you’re standing in the shadows, not having to do much, then when the hero walks by you pop him a couple of times, big music sounds, and you go home. Whereas if you’re the hero, you have to have long scenes with guilt, and you have to be running around all night sweating, and then at the very end of the night you get popped in the face by the villain, who looks cool and gets all the credit.”