Mark-Paul Gosselaar Evades Justice as He Pretends He's Not the Kidnapper in Chilling “Found” Teaser (Exclusive)
In PEOPLE's exclusive clip from Thursday's episode of 'Found', Sir holds court with a room full of reporters
For Mark-Paul Gosselaar, justice remains incredibly elusive.
In an exclusive teaser for the next episode of Found provided to PEOPLE, Gosselaar’s character — former high school teacher and serial kidnapper Hugh “Sir” Evans — addresses reporters at a press conference following Charlotte’s (Jadin Harris) rescue. Sir was previously held captive by Gabi Mosely (Shanola Hampton), a public relations specialist and crisis manager who used Sir to help her crack cases at Mosely & Associates (a.k.a. M&A), her firm of private investigators, tech experts and lawyers. (Sir, ironically, captured Gabi as a child 20 years prior.)
“Gabrielle Moseley held me captive for nine months in her basement. Not only was I Gabrielle’s hostage, I also became her confidant,” Sir says. “She would talk to me because, well, she is damaged and tortured. She forced me to help with all of M&A’s cases. I was M&A’s secret weapon.”
At that moment, one of the authorities approaches Sir at the podium.
“That’s what I’m here for,” he responds. “All charges against you have been dropped. For your heroics in rescuing Charlotte, we bestow on you the Medal of Valor.”
During an interview with PEOPLE, Gosselaar and Hampton discussed the show’s success and their complex characters.
“I had never intended to play Sir as someone who's likable,” Gosselaar shared. “I noticed certain qualities about Sir in that first script that interested me as an actor. And I asked NK [Nkechi Okoro Carroll] if there was someone I could use as a muse to model Sir after, and she said, 'Ted Bundy.' So that instantly unlocked who this is for me. This guy does horrible things, and yet because of the way he looks and the way he presents himself, he's able to get away with a lot.”
Related: Mark-Paul Gosselaar Plays a Sinister Kidnapper in Creepy New Drama 'Found' — Watch! (Exclusive)
While Hampton shared that she enjoys playing Gabi, she acknowledged her character is somewhat of a polarizing figure.
“Sure, some champion her and give her a break, but a lot of people have some anger towards Gabi for the hypocrisy of what she did,” said Hampton, referring to her holding Sir captive. “So I think the audience will be happy that there's not a quick fix. And that's one of the advantages of doing 22 episodes; we can take our time to get to whatever that new normal is going to be because we have the luxury of time to do it.”
While their onscreen characters are at odds, the two actors actually have nothing but love for each other.
Related: Mark-Paul Gosselaar Plays a Sinister Kidnapper in Creepy New Drama 'Found' — Watch! (Exclusive)
“I could not be on this ride without him,” she says. “Mark-Paul makes everything better for me, both on and off-screen. He's one of my dearest friends and it's been beautiful to share the screen with him. He's not an overly rehearsed actor who has an idea of how that scene is going to go and can't penetrate past that. He's so available and available to play. And I love to play on the playground with him.”
Gosselaar, for his part, describes his costar as a “bright ball of energy.”
“I've never worked with someone like her. I was brought on after the show was already cast, so there was no chemistry reads between us or anything before that. And when we were shooting the pilot, she surprised me right off the bat,” he recalled, adding, “She's just so effervescent and such a bright human being — and really good at what she does — that she's able to turn that switch. And it's a joy to be around. She just makes it easy.”
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Found airs Thursdays at 10 p.m. ET on NBC. Season 1 can be streamed on Peacock.