SLEEPY HOLLOW: Matt Barr Teases Hawley’s History, Imagines a Trip to Vegas

Rare artifacts dealer Nick Hawley, as played by Matt Barr, has been one of the most talked about additions to the second season of SLEEPY HOLLOW. Barr recently spoke with reporters on a conference call, and Give Me My Remote were there to get the scoop. Read on for the actor’s thoughts on Hawley’s motivation, his relationship with the gang, and the Vegas scene that needs to happen…

On the appeal of his character:

“I think what’s fun about Hawley is that he can jump onboard at any moment, and also any moment he can jump ship because he takes care of himself,” Barr noted. “I think that makes for a really fun and dynamic character.  He’s unpredictable, which is always entertaining.”

On what motivates Hawley, aside from profit:

“I think Hawley is driven by the drug of it, the thrill of the ride,” he said. “It’s about, I think, the great mystery of what’s beyond the next horizon.  Even if the apocalypse is upon him here at Sleepy Hollow, he’s game. He wants to be on the front lines of that experience. He definitely doesn’t want to be on a bench. I would say, wherever the action’s happening, he wants to be there.”

On Hawley’s uneasy alliance with Abbie and Ichabod:

“In his efforts to take care of himself, [Hawley] realizes that he needs Ichabod and Abbie for his own self-preservation so, ironically, it’s even selfish of him that he realizes that in order to survive the apocalypse, he might have to join the Scooby Doo gang,” Barr admitted. “I think he knows that he needs them as much as they might need him. In that experience, he might bond a little bit with these guys.”

On what the Witnesses can offer Hawley:

“Well, like any loner, eventually you get to a point where you invest in something more meaningful,” Barr said. “I think Hawley’s probably always searched for that family. I don’t want to give too much away, but he didn’t have that growing up so I think he’s potentially found that with Ichabod and Abbie and Jenny and the whole gang. When you find that, you want to stick around, and you invest in something.”

On Hawley’s chemistry with Abbie, and Ichabod’s response:

“Abbie’s a very truthful person, and she challenges Hawley, which is the most intoxicating thing for him, because he wants to be stimulated, and he’s always on the search for the next great treasure,” Barr pointed out. “I think that there’s a mystery to Abbie that Hawley is really engaged by…He’s always trying to find that next great mystery or whatever that treasure is. Abbie’s tough to crack. He keeps coming back, and whether he’s bold enough or stupid enough, he keeps coming back.”

“Ichabod, he might be the smartest man in the room,” he continued. “He can see Hawley moving in on his partner. I think he balances a line of knowing that Hawley has the utility that serves the team and, at the same time, Hawley’s shifty, and he knows that.  As we’ve seen over season 1 and now in season 2, he cares about Abbie, obviously, and he’s looking out for her.”

On Hawley’s relationship with Jenny:

“Hawley does have a history with Jenny and I think they obviously come from the same salt,” he teased. “They understand each other, and I think that creates a vulnerability for Hawley…It also scares him, so I think that’s why he keeps his distance with Jenny. There’s that curiosity and there’s that intoxication, the chemistry that you can’t deny.”

On his favorite scene to film:

“I think it was actually the first episode I filmed,” he said. “Me and Tom [Mison], who plays Ichabod, had a scene in a church where we’re looking at the stain glass window. It was the first time that I experienced that dynamic between Hawley and Ichabod and how fun that was going to be. As actors, I think we both got the wink of the whole joke, which was, these guys are two different people, but they’re meant to be together. I’d say that was fun.”

On his dream scene between Ichabod and Hawley:

“There’s the episode that’s waiting to be written where Hawley takes Ichabod to Vegas and they go to a prize fight, and then they go to the craps table,” Barr joked. “What’s funny is that, through the episode I bet they find out that they really do love each other. They’re probably made for each other.  They’re bros…They’re pretty savvy guys, so they probably kill it in Vegas.”

On his history with Wilmington, NC, where SLEEPY HOLLOW films:

“About eight years ago, I did ONE TREE HILL [in Wilmington],” Barr said. “I played the character who’s infamously known as ‘Psycho Derek,’ but it was one fun character, too. It was a big deal for me and my career, so it’s sort of a magical place. I forget what year it was, but Wilmington always holds that magic to me. For all the years following ONE TREE HILL, I was always joking with my agents about trying to find a job back in Wilmington because it’s like the first girl that you kiss; you never forget her name.”

On the appeal of working in television:

“I think there’s something fun about television where, as the actor, when you read the script each week, it’s kind of like the audience experiences watching the show each week,” he pointed out. “I don’t know what’s going to happen with Hawley or with Ichabod and the apocalypse. It’s fun to get that script every Monday morning and go, ‘Cool!’ I’m a professional actor, but I’m also a professional story lover. I guess I get off on that thrill.”

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SLEEPY HOLLOW airs Mondays at 9 PM on Fox.

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