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BY JEANNE JAKLE : AUGUST 8, 2014 : Updated: August 10, 2014 2:24pm
SAN ANTONIO — Sean Bean is so well-known for dying early in movies and television shows that TNT recently handed out T-shirts to TV critics stating “#DontKillSeanBean.”
I know I was bummed when Bean's Ned Stark, one of the few decent figures in “Game of Thrones,” was killed off at the close of season one. ABC's short-lived Ashley Judd vehicle, “Missing,” actually opened with the death of Bean's character.
Brit Bean, who stars in a new thriller, TNT's “Legends,” assured us that death isn't imminent for his lead character of Martin Odum. “I'm going to be in this for a while,” Bean said at the start of the show's press session.
That said, Bean voiced pride in the many deaths he has performed on screen. His favorite? “I liked 'Lord of the Rings' — that death. I was quite happy. Big death.”
He's right. Boromir's prolonged suffering and demise by orc arrows in the first of the trilogy was powerful and poignant.
But back to “Legends,” Bean looks forward to spending a long time with the show, he said, describing it and his role — a deep-cover operative who takes on different identities — as “fascinating.”
He added, “I wanted to work with Howard Gordon ('Homeland') because of his track record, pedigree.”
As for the role, Bean said he was attracted to the aspect of “playing multiple characters, which I have never done before.”
The show, based on a book from master spy novelist Robert Littell, tells of a branch of the FBI that creates a variety of alter egos or “legends” for their operatives to enable them to do a job. One of the best at this is Odum, who's helped along by fellow agents and tech experts on his high-risk assignments.
His latest gig has him infiltrating the Citizens Army of Virginia, an odious domestic terrorist organization. His alter-ego here is a bespectacled sad sack who stutters, has lost his wife and job, and embraces danger because he feels he has nothing left to lose.
“The storyline of that is that people think he's a bit goofy, a bit slow,” Bean said. “They don't take too much notice of him, and that's quite clever because by playing goofy and a bit dumb he's actually getting right to the core of this organization.”
When he returns to his FBI headquarters, fellow operative Crystal (Ali Larter, “Heroes”) voices concern to superiors that Martin may be slipping psychologically, maybe even losing touch with reality, and needs to take a break from the job.
His unsuccessful attempts to reconnect with his son and estranged wife seem to confirm this, as do his increased lapses in memory.
Although this mythology is central to the series, “Legends” also presents a different case nearly every week to make it more accessible to newcomers.
“They will be able to key in,” executive producer David Wilcox said. “They'll be able to follow that case, a really exciting case, that draws them in, surprises them, and then I think be able to pick up on that mythology.”
For instance, the second episode focuses on the kidnapping of a family by Russians — and the dangerous secret the dad has been keeping. For that, Bean dons an entirely different identity, that of a smooth, suave, sophisticated ladies man.
“I thoroughly enjoyed that because I drove big nice cars and wore Gucci costumes and went with a lot of women,” Bean said.
Which brings me to another plus of the action-rich “Legends”: its playful side. Especially enjoyable is an early scene that had Larter's character going undercover as a stripper. In order to get Martin alone, she goads him into a private lap dance. What ensues is quite amusing.
Frankly, though, I would be much less interested if it weren't for the show's leading man. The rugged Bean, one of the most magnetic and engaging actors around, makes the show. Period.
His female co-star seemed to concur. “For me, as an actor, to watch Sean morph into these different people is incredible to watch,” Larter said in the same press session. “And I don't think you've seen someone of this quality take on a role like this. So that's just exciting to be part of and to watch him do it and to work opposite him.”
It's also insurance that the producers — and TNT — not only won't be killing Bean off in “Legends,” but will do whatever it takes to keep this extraordinary actor happy. |
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