Rock Bottom Interview: Brandon Jay McLaren

What attracted you to Harper’s Island to begin with?

Well, number one… definitely the concept – it was a new concept that a major network really hasn’t done before. And just to work with Jon Turteltaub; he’s done a lot of great things – I was really excited to work with that caliber of a director. So it was a combination of those two things.

Your character had very little background – was there anything that was in the script that we didn’t see in the final outcome?

There was some stuff that didn’t make it; namely because I think that there was so much storyline that had to be cut because of time, but yeah… there was some stuff that didn’t get revealed.

What sort of stuff didn’t we get to see?

You know what; honestly, I’d rather not say because I don’t want to ruin it for people who haven’t seen it yet.

Being a character with little background – did you ever think you could have been the killer?

After about episode four I doubted that it could have been me.

Who did you think it was?

You know, I always thought it was Henry – I always thought it was Henry. Namely because mainly on a story standpoint that’s the biggest thing to offer the audience. If it was Cal or somebody; I just don’t think the outcome would have been as big – so it’s got to be Henry. I knew it had to be a character central with the story; anyone else it would have been left field… like “Oh, that’s random”…

Like the taxi driver in the beginning of the show…

Yes, that’s a really good point. I think there was a point when I thought it might have been the sheriff for a couple of episodes, but I always thought that Henry would be the best payoff for the audience – you always have to make your audience happy.

Were you surprised that you made it so long in the series?

Completely. [laughs]

I don’t want to make a racial issue out of it…. but…

[laughs] When I first got on the show – I always said that if I made five [episodes] I would have been happy… gimme five and I’ll walk away and not curse anybody out – so, it worked out well.

You were actually one of the few on the show to put up a fight in their final scenes – what was it like filming the fight scene with Wakefield?

It was a lot of fun; they kind of let us do most of it. I really didn’t know that going in because there were obviously stunt doubles there, but all of a sudden I’m jumping on Callum [John Wakefield] on the desk and shit. I actually cut Callum's nose when I hit him with the phone – it was a foam phone, but it was hard foam so the edges are relatively sharp. So they said “Brandon, can you just hit him with the phone?” – because we were faking it before… and I said “Are you sure? Because the edges are pretty sharp” – “No, just go ahead and hit him… it’s just foam” – so I hit him and actually cut him; he had to leave and get stitches right away. He was not happy.

Which character would you say you are most like?

I’m pretty much like Danny I think; probably the most similar. Danny stepped up when he needed to – he wasn’t necessarily the most aggressive one, but when shit hit the fan he steps up.

Were you involved at all with any of the special features on the upcoming DVD of Harper’s Island?

I don’t know – we did a bunch of stuff in the beginning, but that was so long ago I can’t really remember. I do know that I’m doing a BBC interview Thursday. I can’t remember to be honest with you.

I also see that you’re going to be on Tron Legacy; can you tell me anything about that?

I’m not allowed to; I’ve signed some confidentiality agreements. I can tell you that I do play Garrett’s best friend in the movie.

What else are you working on right now?
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I just finished this film called Tucker & Dale vs Evil; it’s sort of like Shaun of the Dead… a horror spoof. Yeah, it’s really funny – with Alan Tudyk and Tyler Labine and Katrina Bowden from '30 Rock'. So we I just finished that about three weeks ago. It’s about these kids who go out for vacation and they meet these two hillbillies; there’s a bunch of misunderstandings… the hillbillies are really good guys, but we try to kill the hillbillies and we end up hurting ourselves in the process through a series of mishaps – yeah, it’s actually pretty hilarious.

What else are you working on this year?

That’s all on my plate for now; I’m waiting to hear on a couple of things that I won’t say – I won’t say until they are final – because if they don’t happen then I’ll look like an idiot [laughs]