Yahoo Lifestyle The Rookie: Richard T. Jones Previews This Week’s Speed Homage and ‘A Lot of Tomfoolery’ in April 1 Episode
Ahead of Speed‘s 31-year anniversary in June, ABC’s The Rookie is ready to hit the gas with its own take on the “Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop” bomb-on-a-bus dilemma.
In the episode titled, well, “Speed” (airing this Tuesday at 9/8c), John and Celina (played by Nathan Fillion and Lisseth Chavez) find themselves in a hostage situation while riding undercover on a city bus as part of a public safety initiative.
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As John and Celina work to keep their cop identities under wraps yet also manage the potentially explosive situation, Lt. Wade Grey (Richard T. Jones) and rookie Miles Penn (Deric Augustine) surveil the action from a van. Angela (Alyssa Diaz), Nyla (Mekia Cox), Tim (Eric Winter) and Lucy (Melissa O’Neil), meanwhile, investigate any leads on the hijackers.
TVLine spoke with Jones, an original cast member, about the Speed homage, the secret to filming one of the procedural’s trademark “body cam” episodes, and the April foolery on tap for next Tuesday.
TVLINE | Fun fact: I first interviewed you on the set of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, where you played FBI Agent James Ellison.
Oh, wow. James Ellison…
TVLINE | That must have been about 16 years ago?
What, am I that old…?!
TVLINE | Me, too. Me, too. Do you remember that Garbage singer Shirley Manson’s character shape-shifted into a men’s room urinal?
Oh my goodness, that’s right! That was quite an entrance she made.
TVLINE | When you first heard that The Rookie would be tackling a Speed homage, what was your initial reaction?
Because I’m a big fan of the movie, I was like, ‘Oh!” I said, “Come on, [showrunner] Alexi [Hawley], you’ve got to do this right.” I was a little leery when I first got the heads up about it, but after reading it, I was very, I was very confident that we’d be OK.
TVLINE | What is Grey’s role in this episode, and how does it evolve over the crisis?
The new rookie, Miles (Deric Augustine), is usually under Bradford, but it’s my day with him. I’m trying to train him up, and also get him through some money issues he’s having that date back to his before he joined the [Los Angeles police] force. But I’m also dealing with the whole Speed thing. We’re trying out cops undercover on buses, working with the transit department, and it’s supposed to be an easy day for them, to ride the bus all day, but the next thing you know….
TVLINE | It’s never an easy day for Mid-Wilshire Division!
It is never an easy day for Mid-Wilshire, exactly. As the tension builds up, Lieutenant Grey is in the command role, like the sergeant in the movie played by Joe Morton — “How can we get them off the bus?” Now, we don’t have that type of budget where I’m riding next to [the bus], so I’m in a surveillance van, following it.
TVLINE | This is one of those episodes that Alexi loves so much, using almost exclusively body cam/security cam footage. Does that make the process even slightly different for the actors? Like, are they actually using your body cams, if they’re even real?
It’s very difficult because we are using our body cams, so we’re kind of like cameramen at the same time. Some of us are better at it than others, and I am one of those others. It may be because I’m a little taller? I have to bend my knees a little bit so I can catch everybody’s eyelines.
TVLINE | The director’s like, “Richard, we’re getting too many treetops! Can you slouch a bit?”
Exactly — “You’re getting the top of their heads, can you move a bit to the right?” But I’m getting much better at it because I’m doing it a lot more.
TVLINE | How do the Teamsters feel about you doubling as a cameraman?
[Laughs] They’re they’re fine with it because the cameras are, you know, on our chest. We wear them anyway.
TVLINE | Without spoiling anything, the bus hijacking serves up a couple of fun twists. Did they sneak up on you as you read the script?
They always do. One thing Alexi is really good at is creating suspense, even in the read. It’s always something fresh, something new, so we’re always a little bit surprised about what’s going on. When we start finding out what the real motive is between things, we’re always a bit surprised.
TVLINE | Looking ahead to next Tuesday, April 1, it sounds like Mid-Wilshire Division will have to deal with April foolery from both a social media prank and their own Tim and Lucy?
Oh yeah, we have a lot of pranks going on in that particular episode. With Tim and Lucy, the prank is [SPOILER REDACTED]. There’s a lot of tomfoolery going around. I’m trying to stop it, mostly — I’m kind of buzzkill in that episode — but I also have a little something up my sleeve….
TVLINE | The earliest The Rookie has ever been renewed is March 30 (for Season 5), the latest was May 21 (Season 3). What’s your confidence level today?
Oh, I’m 100%. I’ll never have a doubt. Yeah, I’m 100% hopeful we’ll get renewed this season. Hpefuly they don’t prolong it. They like to drag [the decision] out and keep us in suspense. But I’m 100% confident.
Want scoop on The Rookie, or for any other TV show ? Shoot an email to InsideLine@tvline.com, and your question may be answered via Matt’s Inside Line!
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