What appealed to you about Jim — and about this show as a whole?
He is a fixer for the mafia, 1972. Hey, that’s fun! He loves his job. That’s his family; he has grown up with that mafia family and he’s pretty darn happy until [FBI agent Nina Hayes] comes around and basically becomes a mirror to things that he knows inside he needs to address and has suspicions about. So, his nice, easy-breezy life goes out the window with the truth of things.
But what I love about that is, inside, he is ready to grow. Having these gnawing questions he doesn’t want to answer . . . meeting Nina pulls those questions out of him. These things bring out his heart.
One of our cast members, Gail O’Grady, she nailed it. She said, “When I read the script, I want to be every character in this.”
Being a “wheelman” feels like less of a job and more of a calling. What is it about Jim that drives him into that life?
The initial draw is he’s a natural at it. He knows how to drive like nobody’s business. That’s his kitchen. That’s where he feels most comfortable. And the thing about a vocation like working for the mafia? It’s always on the move. When you stop moving is when you get busted . . . And I love that the driving takes you between scenes, in a way. It’s a “vehicle” we use to move the show along with this kind of fun, high-powered velocity.
Is there some shared DNA between Jim and your most iconic character, Sawyer from Lost — who was also a shady yet charming sorta guy?
Yes. I don’t know what it is in me that keeps getting me cast for these things. Maybe I need to cut my hair — or, you know, just get honest! But no, I love playing characters that are on a journey to the light, if you will. I feel like Sawyer started in real darkness and came towards the light. Jim is a person of light in his soul — he just grew in the mafia. He has real family loyalty that’s shown when he joins Vietnam because his brother joins Vietnam; he’s gotta go protect his brother. And then, the whole reason he’s working with the government is because of this gnawing feeling and doubt that his brother was killed by [his mob bosses].
During the process of immersing yourself in this role, was there anything about the 1970s that surprised you?
I was surprised at how tight the clothes were. Sorry, but I mean, my God! Tight, not breathable, and the way that they wore the pants so high . . . I was surprised at the sexuality, I guess, that you feel when you put on the clothes. It was a time of being sexy, you know? And you felt like, “If I’m gonna wear this, I have to wear it.” I can’t put on my sweats and my hoodie and slouch around. This was an era of putting it out there, and people showing off their body parts and lots of skin. It was a swagger and a strut you had to have about you back then.
Did you feel compelled to educate yourself on the art of getaway driving?
I learned, I did. I sent myself immediately to Rick Seaman’s driving school; Rick’s this old salty stunt driver — legendary.
I, as an actor, always felt like if you’re going to play a role, then you need to have knowledge about what that person does. If it’s a cowboy, you better ride a horse, shoot a gun. If it’s a driver, you better know how to drive. If you speak Russian . . . don’t call me!
Duster airs Thursday, June 6, on Crave1
MEMORABLE ROLES:
Following bit parts on Angel, CSI and Walker, Texas Ranger, Josh Holloway landed his signature role in 2004 — playing roguishly charming ne’er-do-well Sawyer for all six seasons of Lost. After that, he led the underrated sci-fi spy drama Colony for three years, and guest-starred as an annoyingly handsome gunslinger in one of Community’s much-loved paintball episodes.
CURRENT GIG:
The San Jose native reteams with his Lost co-creator J.J. Abrams for this throwback ’70s thriller about a wheelman who reluctantly joins forces with a rookie FBI agent (Rachel Hilson) to take down his kingpin boss (Keith David) — a guy he views as a surrogate father, but who may have killed his actual brother.