Jared Harris Talks About His FRINGE Return and the New Season of MAD MEN

The good news for actor Jared Harris? He’s on two quality shows right now. (He’s David Robert Jones on FRINGE and Lane Pryce on MAD MEN.)

The bad news? There is virtually nothing he can say about either series.

But when I caught up with Harris at the AMC-hosted cocktail party for MAD MEN recently, I couldn’t resist trying to get a few answers out of him…

How does it feel to have a MAD MEN return date?
Jared Harris: Well, we’ve known it for a bit. I’m excited to see [the premiere]. I’m a fan of the show. Even though you work on the episodes, you still don’t know — the last time they write a version of it is in the editing room. We’re all excited to see it as well.

What can you tease about what you’ve filmed?
JH: All I can say is that it follows on from season 4. And I would say [MAD MEN creator] Matt [Weiner], as a writer, he doesn’t go backwards. He doesn’t repeat himself. And in terms of the characters, everything that happens is based on what he feels is true to the characters. So if the characters are stuck, they’re stuck. If they’re learning something, they’re moving on and evolving. You see that reflected in the writing.

Were you surprised by anything that you can tease about the season?
JH: They really, honestly, don’t want us to tease anything at all about the season. This must be very difficult, I’m really sorry! I think it’s the best season yet. Quite often you go to read-throughs of episodes you’re not in and one of the great things is to go there, and even though they give you a copy of the script, don’t read it and just watch it. And you can see the look of shock on people’s faces of things they didn’t expect to happen. We’re all addicts ourselves, we’re all fans.

One thing you might be able to talk about a little more is your return on FRINGE. What was it like to come back to the show after so many years? Did it feel very different given the timeline change?
JH: He’s the same character, but with the absence of certain things that happened to him in that one. He’s the same character, but he’s different. The events of his life up to that point are slightly different.

He’s still got his entire body, so that’s a step up from when we last saw him.
JH: [He was] shot twice to the back and cut in half by the space-time continuum!

You’re in better shape now!
JH: Yeah! That’s a plus.

Is he still obsessed with Olivia?
JH: He didn’t meet Olivia because she never came to the prison, because Peter never visited. So at the point that we’ve seen him [in this new timeline], he hasn’t had that connection yet.

He does seem to have a connection with Broyles, though, so what can you say about that?
JH: Well the thing is, I only know what happens in the episodes I’m in because I’ve read them. I have no idea what happens in the episodes I’m not in. So I’m really looking forward to seeing the next episodes so I [can find out] what happens!

Well, the promos seemed to indicate you were in the next episode…
JH: The ones that you’re not in, you don’t get the script, so I don’t know what happens. And I’m not a series regular on the show, so I’m a guest performer on the show. I’m not going to say which ones I am in and which ones I’m not in. What I’m saying is the biggest surprise for me is to see how they resolve [it when I’m not there].

Is there anything you hope to do as this new version of David Robert Jones?
JH: There’s a thing that they referred to in the first season where a character says to Walter, “I forgot to congratulate you on developing a teleportation device. It kills you, but it’s pretty cool.” And he says, “It doesn’t kill you, it does something far worse.” I’m really interested to see that opportunity — that idea that this guy is mutating in some way. He’s genetically mutating or something. That’s what the idea is for all the skin grafts. That was my idea. I felt like it shouldn’t just feel like a strange dream — that he’s managed to keep himself alive, somehow still holding himself together, but it’s not pretty.

–

Perhaps there are some big spoilers in there hidden under the surface?

And Fox just released a video of the FRINGE cast talking about David Robert Jones’ return…

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zBnOmUYMLSM&hd=1[/youtube]

Are you excited to see what DRJ will bring to the mix for the rest of season 4?

Related:

FRINGE: Jasika Nicole Teases ‘Back To Where You’ve Never Been’
FRINGE: Joshua Jackson Teases ‘Back To Where You’ve Never Been’ and the Show’s Future
FRINGE: ‘Back To Where You’ve Never Been’ You Ask, I Answer

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