Harold Perrineau Talks to TV Guide
The latest issue of TV Guide has an interview with Harold Perrineau regarding his long-awaited return to Lost. Michael’s appearance on the freighter in last week’s installment was perhaps the worst kept surprise of the year, especially since Perrineau’s name had been appearing in the opening credits since the season began. Even if it wasn’t a shocker, it should be interesting to see why Michael is going under an assumed name in Thursday’s episode, "Meet Kevin Johnson." The article offers some intriguing hints about what we can expect from Michael’s return, and also lets us in on why it took so long for Perrineau to come back to the series.
Minor Spoilers for "Meet Kevin Johnson" Below
As the title of the episode suggests, this week’s Lost will show us what happened to Michael after he left the island at the end of season 2. According to the article, the episode will be full of "darkly revelatory flashbacks" that involve Michael at home in Manhattan after escaping the island, the music of Mama Cass, and a pivotal encounter with Mr. Friendly. Walt will appear briefly, as will four dead characters. Lost executive producer Carlton Cuse teases, "It’s safe to say Michael’s return to the outside world did not work out in any way he hoped or planned."
Perrineau is currently living in Los Angeles, where his pregnant wife and small child are staying while he films the remainder of season 4. To ensure that he doesn’t miss the baby’s delivery, Perrineau has a plan: "When I have downtime from the show, get on a plane. Fly back and forth to make sure the baby hasn’t come. It’s gonna be crazy."
Though the actor admits that he wasn’t thrilled with the dark direction his character took at the end of season 2, he says that, "It was time to come back. Even if Michael was going to die, I [wanted] him to finish, as opposed to just disappearing."
The initial plan was for Michael to return in the third season finale, but Perrineau decided to sign on to the CBS pilot Demons instead. The actor says that his decision to make the pilot had nothing to do with money, but was based on the fact that he didn’t want to uproot his family to Hawaii. When Demons didn’t make the CBS lineup, Perrineau was once again available, and the deal came together quickly.
Though Lost fans can’t wait to meet Kevin Johnson, the most important thing for Perrineau at the moment is the upcoming birth of his second child, who is due in less than two months. "We’re gonna have a little girl," he says, "and I’m looking forward to meeting her."
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I can imagine Harold flying back to L.A. just in time to see his son crowning… and he will yell, “WALT!!!!!!”
Comment by AMinCincy — March 18, 2008 @ 3:05 pm
This may seem really stupid, but are they going to count Aaron as the sixth survivor then? I dunno, I just feel a little jilted by that.
Comment by Darth Holden — March 18, 2008 @ 5:37 pm
Michael (and his story…and Walt) SUCKS!!! I was so glad when they “disposed” of him at the end of Season 2. And now this…yuck! Harold is one of the weakest actors on LOST…granted, it’s a stacked lineup…and I think he and Michael’s story bring things to a standstill. Here’s hoping Michael disappears once again…for good.
Comment by SweetBlackMagic — March 18, 2008 @ 8:47 pm
I agree that Michael is one of the weaker characters, but it will be interesting to see what happens to him after returning to the world. Will he start to lose it like Jack and Hurley? Everyone makes a big deal about Michael’s whining and all the WAAALLLTTT! stuff. As bad as he was with that, my question is what motivates him to leave Walt. Im assuming Walt is not on the boat so is he dead or did something happen to separate them?
Any ideas?
Comment by Goose — March 19, 2008 @ 5:04 am
SweetBlackMagic - your a fool, Michael is one of the better characters in the show, theres so many levels to his character. I for one welcome him back and think the show will be stronger for it.
Comment by Mick S — March 19, 2008 @ 9:18 am
Mick S, you need to learn to communicate with people. Just because you don’t agree with someone doesn’t make them a fool. Attacking them for disagreeing with you, however, does make you look like one.
Comment by Angelo Carianis — March 19, 2008 @ 9:31 am
I have never understood why everyone hated Michael. I thought his character was so tragic and sad. He made a horrible decision but in that moment he had felt trapped, with no way out. He wasnt going to risk his boy and he hated what he had to do. I loved the Michael character. His whole life has been a tragic mess. My own father cried when Michael’s ex-wife convinced him to give up Walt. He knew what that feels like. Imagine wanting to be a father, wanting to be that guy your sun looks up to, and then having that stolen away. Then years later you are forced into a terrible situation with your son. Michael is struggling to be a good father, and he is making mistakes. But he is trying to do what is right. When your a father or a mother nothing else matters except the safety of your child.
Comment by Jalocke — March 19, 2008 @ 9:40 am
I agree for the most part Michael is not a very interesting character. Michael’s character is not very deep which is the problem. His only want that the writers gave him was to have custody of his son. He got that wish before he left Australia. Then he was stuck on an island with his son. No problem there, his want was still satisfied. We don’t know any of Michael’s dreams or likes/dislikes. If the only thing driving Michael is the repeated loss and gain of his son, then the character is poorly fleshed out. If Locke’s only want was revenge against his father, we would have lost all interest in him when Sawyer killed the dad. Locke is deep on so many level that they can resolve some of his desires because he has enough others to continue to explore. As I write this, I am thinking that Michael probably should die soon because there is not enough interesting things about him to keep him in the series.
Perhaps Michael agrees to help Ben spy in exchange for Walt being sent back to civilization. Walt lives with his grandmother in Englewood where he is killed by a gang and then starts showing up as a ghost on the island?
If Ben is truly operating in the best interest of the world, as I suspect he may, then Michael is not a bad guy at all for killing Libby and Anna Lucia in order to free Ben. It’s the greatest good for the greatest number. I think having Ben be a complete Utilitarian would contrast perfectly to the philosophy of island John Locke.
Comment by blutoschmooto — March 19, 2008 @ 9:52 am
To back up the utilitarian comment in my above post, turns out John Stuart Mill (early proponent of Utilitarianism) coined the the term “Utilitarian” from a book written by John Galt called “Annals of the Parish.” It is apparently about a clergyman who does not want his his people to leave the church and become utilitarians. Well, the freighter captain’s last name is Galt and he doesn’t want his people to leave the ship for the island where they could possibley link up with the utilitarian Ben? Okay, I’m reaching.
Comment by bluto — March 19, 2008 @ 10:05 am
I’d have to agree that the character of Michael is one of the weakest characters, but not because of Harold’s acting….it’s primarily the writer’s problem. Watch Harold in his other work, i.e. “Romeo and Juliet” and “The Edge”. He can act, and maybe this return will be his moment to shine.
Comment by T-Baby — March 19, 2008 @ 4:24 pm
I think Micheal’s character is one the most interesting…judging by the reaction of some people, they either hate him (overly simplistic) or symphatize(realistic) with him. He’s the only Lostie who went unabashedly to the “dark side”, while every other “bad” character (Kate, Sawyer, hell even Ben),though murderers in their own right, have been drawn in some positve light. They gave Micheal no redeeming value at all,which I think is a mistake by the writer. As a father, hell, I’m down with the man. Attacking Perrineau’s acting is just plain stupid, even laughable. I think his story’s gonna be really interesting!
Comment by JDSalinger — March 20, 2008 @ 9:44 am