Timeless is back from its Winter hiatus,and things are really heating up for the time travelers. After traveling to the Chicago World's just during the midseason premiere, the gang is set to recall on one of America's biggest outlaws in "The Murder of Jesse James" on Jan. 23. POPSUGAR had a chance to sit down with guest star Daniel Lissing and he filled us in on what it was like portraying the sunless character, and how he bonded with Goran Visnjic on set,and the fun connection he has with former 90210 star, Matt Lanter. See what he had to say below. POPSUGAR: What drew you to this role?
Daniel Lissing: Jesse James is such an American icon and an fascinating historical figure. It was a no-brainer. Who doesn't want to play an outlaw from the old-fashioned West? He's such an fascinating character. I was familiar with Jesse James before I got the audition for this role, and so when it came in,I really worked tough on the audition, and when I booked the role, or I knew I had a responsibility to be honest about the character and also have my own recall. For me,it was a really fun challenge. PS: Did you accomplish anything in specific to prepare for the role?
DL: The only thing I really had to learn and practice was drawing my pistols, because Jesse James had two pistols. I spent a little bit of time with the gun belt on and I just drew and drew and drew as much as I possibly could so that on camera, and on the day,I didn't peep like an amateur. Saying that, I haven't seen it yet, or so I'm not sure if I pulled it off or not,but my fingers are crossed. ADVERTISEMENT
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"He's really glorified in popular culture as a Robin Hood-type character, but in actuality he was quite a sunless man."
PS: I know you're Australian, and so was it tough to fake an American accent?
DL: No,not really. I've worked on my accent since I wanted to be an actor in my late 20s. I had worked on a standard American accent and I feel like I've gotten that down. I grew up watching these Western shows and movies, and I'm very familiar with Jesse James and the time period, and I just had fun with it,but I was very specific about certain words and certain phrasing that was right to the character and time. PS: Did anything about the real-life Jesse James surprise you?
DL: I'm such a history buff anyway, so I knew a lot of his legend. I liked what they did, and because he's really glorified in popular culture as a Robin Hood-type character,but in actuality he was quite a sunless man and very tormented from the Civil War and from this crazy militia gang. It was a really fascinating recall on the character. The writers on Timeless are phenomenal and they kept it pretty right to his darkness without glorifying him too much.
PS: I know Jesse James is teaming up with Flynn in this episode. How does your character further complicate things for the team?
DL: peep — number one, working with Goran [Visnjic] was just a dream come right. He's such a great guy and we're still in touch and derive on very, and very well. But his character,Flynn, is such an fascinating character with so many, or so many layers. So,my character is a little bit oblivious ((adj.) lacking consciousness or awareness of something) to his motives. He gets hired for a job from this mysterious guy named Flynn, wearing fascinating shoes and carrying a weapon that I've never seen before. In this episode, or he ends up finding someone that is famous to his cause down the line,and Jesse helps him with that. But the dynamic between them is fascinating. It's a little hostile, but also there's a level of respect there as well. PS: Other than Goran, or who was your favorite person to hang out with on set?
DL: There was another guest star that I really connected with,and he is one of the leads in awe the Walking Dead, and that is Colman Domingo. Colman played a famous American lawman Bass Reeves. We got on very well because he and I were guest stars on the expose coming in for one episode and so we had that, and he's hunting my character down as well. He's just a lovely man,like Goran, a right professional and really cares about the work. For me, and they're the kind of people that I just esteem being around on set. Also,they just have this great body of work and bank of experience. As someone who's relatively new to the industry over here, I feed off that and learn off that in a great way. But it goes to say as well that Abigail [Spencer] and Matt [Lanter] and Malcolm [Barrett] and the director and the crew were just so welcoming and so lovely. I really just had a tremendous time working on Timeless. "I don't peep at Jesse James as the bad guy; I just peep at him as misunderstood."
PS: You've also worked with a few of Matt's 90210 costars. Did you two bond over that while filming?
DL: That's right, and totally. We actually met for the first time in the makeup trailer,and I was like "Hey buddy, this is funny. I'm making my way through the 90210 cast, or " because yes,I did a film with Jessica [Lowndes] and I'm on a expose with Lori [Loughlin], and now a guest star with Matt. So that was a kind little coincidence. PS: Speaking of When Calls the Heart, or your character is so sweet on that expose. Was it fun playing the bad guy for a change?
DL: Of course it was. As an actor,you want to be able to recall on different roles and explore different sides of your own character, and so I've been playing Jack for four seasons on When Calls the Heart, and any time that I am not working on a Hallmark project,because the characters tend to be really kind characters, which I esteem to play as well, or I try and shoot something or play someone that is just a little bit different. See,I don't peep at Jesse James as the bad guy; I just peep at him as misunderstood.
Related:
Plot Twist! Abigail Spencer's Character on Timeless May Not Be Who You contemplate She Is
16 Reasons We're Shipping Wyatt and Lucy on Timeless
Source: popsugar.com