Jonathan Steinberg and Jackie Earle Haley Chat About Human Target

On Sunday, January 17, FOX launched Human Target, an action adventure series starring Mark Valley (Fringe, Boston Legal), Chi McBride (Pushing Daisies), and Jackie Earle Haley (Watchmen). The show is loosely based on a DC comic and features Chance (Valley), an amazingly skilled bodyguard who protects clients in serious danger by integrating himself into their lives. Human Target is fast-paced and funny, with impressive action sequences. Executive producer Jonathan Steinberg and co-star Jackie Earle Haley spoke to the media about what to expect from the mid-season series.

Steinberg was pitched the idea for the series and decided “it was too good an opportunity to be able to do an action show like that, with that kind of an opportunity to be anywhere in the world for any given story.” The big action sequences so far have been very impressive, and Steinberg acknowledged the production team faces large challenges every week. He said, “We’re learning how to do more with what we have and to do more with less. There’s no story reason why you can’t tell this kind of story on TV; it’s just about trying to figure out how to make it work.”

Asked how he got involved with the show, Jackie Earle Haley (Guerrero) responded, "John came to me and I read the script and I just thought it was real kick ass. I thought it was a lot of fun. I liked how it was comic related, that it was light in tone. [It] seemed to be this really cool action hero character and the character of Guerrero supporting that character. I just thought, ‘What a well written character.’"

Haley is a former child star who made a comeback as an actor six years ago and has been stealing scenes in movies ever since. Last year, he made a splash as Rorschach in Watchmen and will soon be seen in Martin Scorsese’s Shutter Island with Leonardo DiCaprio. With his movie career tracking so well, he said the thought of committing to a television show gave him pause for thought, but he realised that the lines between movies and television have blurred since he was acting in the '80s. He explained,

“[Human Target] seems like a cool opportunity. Everything’s probably a risk no matter how you look at it, every choice that you make. But it just seemed like such a fun show. It was comic-based and I loved that. I had such a great time on Watchmen, and it just really seemed like a neat character and a wonderful opportunity ... It would be a great show to work on episode after episode, to see what it’s like to work as an actor on such a demanding ongoing basis and also to get to develop Guerrero and see that character become an even more integral part of what’s going on in Chance’s back story and his curve.

Speaking of Chance, Haley is a big fan of Mark Valley. Besides being a lot of fun to hang with, the actor noted, “He’s just a wonderful actor and I specifically love what he’s doing with Chance. The tone of this thing is so wonderfully steeped in that '80s tone like Die Hard or A-Team and Mark just seems like he’s nailing it. I particularly loved the way they wrote and the way he performed in the show ... 'Embassy Row.' It rocks.”

Article Author: Gerry Weaver

Gerry loves film, books, a few television shows(True Blood and Supernatural come to mind), and writing about them.

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