CASTLE’s Jack Coleman Previews Bracken’s Return: ‘He’d Love to be Able to Erase [Beckett] at Some Point’

CASTLE welcomes back a familiar face in the next episode, but it’s one Beckett may not be too thrilled to have in her life — Senator Bracken, the man responsible for Kate’s mother’s death.

Jack Coleman’s Bracken goes toe-to-toe with Beckett in a big way in Monday’s “Recoil,” and when I spoke with Coleman, he teased that the power between the two “keeps on shifting.”

Keep reading for more on what Bracken’s return might put Beckett through…and if this is the last we’ll see of him…

People are excited you’re coming back to CASTLE!
Jack Coleman: It’s nice to know people care one way or the other, and it’s such a fun show to do that I’m happy to be back!

What kind of reaction have you been getting from viewers since you aired? Do people get a little annoyed at you for your role in Beckett’s mother’s death?
JC: [Laughs] Well, yes, it’s interesting because there’s this whole mythology built up to this uber-villain, and I love that it’s taken layers and layers and layers of story to peel away who it actually was. And then they brought me on and we had this great confrontation in the bowels of the hotel there. She pistol-whips me and gets a little bit of satisfaction, but then what happens from there? And I think the fans have been very curious about this guy is still out there, it’s unresolved, and when are their worlds going to collide again? And they very much collide again in this episode of “Recoil.”

What can you tease about that collision?
JC: I can tell you it’s very complicated, and they’re sort of locked in a very awkward dance. What she sees as a clear-cut — at first seems to be a clear cut way to bring him down, but it turns out to be more complicated than that. It just really takes off from there and goes in unexpected places, and then there’s all this very murky moral ground that she is on and she has to really find her way as to what she’s going to do about him and about this situation. And of course she’s wrestling with what she thinks she should do and what she wants to do.

The great thing for me as an actor in this episode is the power shift — the power keeps on shifting and who seems to be in control of the situation keeps on shifting. It’s really a fun episode, and there are some great scenes, and the character has his teeth, so it’s not like he’s a pushover. But as we all know, neither is Beckett.

The idea of this man — and his presence — has been looming over Beckett for a long time. Do you get the feeling he’s been thinking about her in the time since we last saw him?
JC: Yes, I think he has been thinking about her. What’s interesting is Stana [Katic (Beckett)] and I talked about this on set, and it’s a little bit of “Moby Dick” and I’m the white whale for her. These relationships are so primal and so obviously fraught with peril for both of them. I think there’s an element…from Bracken’s point of view, I think there’s not only the concern of what she could do to him and that there is this wild card out there, I also think there’s — in the back of his mind — a little bit of concern of what he’s done to her.

But, you know, obviously, his own self-preservation is paramount. It’s really interesting when the obsession, whether it’s LES MIS or any character that is obsessed with another character, there are always a lot of complicating layers of psychological territory in there you have to navigate.

Since she did take a chunk out of his face last time, is he thinking about any sort of physical revenge? Like, hey let’s go toe-to-toe so maybe I can get a swing in this time?
JC: None of these injuries are forgotten on either side. Careful observers will be able to detect the mark on my face from where she whacked me. And she said in that scene, “This is going to leave a nasty scar” and it does. So there is that. And, you know, this is a man that does not suffer injury lightly and he was taken aback in that scene, both by the violence of being hit with a gun and she sort of check-mated him. He’s in a position where he believes she really has one up on him and he really can’t take her out.

I think the fact that as time goes on and you have somebody out there and they could be a potential time bomb, the stakes keep rising and the tension elevates. I think he’d love to be able to erase her at some point, but it would be a very difficult thing to do. And she, of course, would love to bury him, but she also realizes that is not the position she is in on this Earth. She is here to do the right thing, so she really has to wrestle with that.

Since so much of your arc is tied around Beckett, do you have a lot of interactions with the rest of the cast?
JC: I do have interactions with the guys. I don’t have that much with Nathan [Fillion (Castle)], but Jon [Huertas (Esposito)] and Seamus [Dever (Ryan)] are the ones who first come to my house to question me about this girl who has been murdered, and it seems to be in a helpful, “What can you tell us?” [way]. And then he quickly realizes, “Oh, they’re not questioning me because they need some information, they think I’m the culprit.” So it goes from a friendly conversation to a unfriendly conversation very quickly. So I did get to work with those guys and that was great.

Stana and I go back to HEROES [where Coleman played HRG]; she did a few episodes of HEROES, so we knew each other from there. I just always have a great time working with her. All of the cast is just so…friendly and accommodating and there’s just no egos on set. It’s really nice because it all trickles down from them. You can have either a very tense set or a loose and fun set. And it’s very much a loose and fun set over there.

Since you seem to enjoy it so much, I have to ask: any chance of a return? Or do you feel your arc has been wrapped up here?
JC: Of course it’s entirely not up to me, but it’s left in a way that I think there is certainly room for him to come back. But…the story, at least for the moment, is seemingly wrapped up. But there are still strings that are untied.

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CASTLE airs Mondays at 10 PM on ABC. Coleman’s episode, “Recoil,” airs Monday, February 4th.

Related:

CASTLE: ‘Reality Star Struck’ Photo Preview — The Squad Deals with Reality TV and Valentine’s Day
CASTLE: ‘Recoil’ Photo Preview – Jack Coleman Returns!
CASTLE: Meet Castle’s Dad!

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