Secret Service agent Aaron Pierce of 24 is a survivor.On a TV show with an alarmingly high body count, in which even important and beloved characters can die at any moment, Pierce has remained standing through seven bloody seasons.
In fact, Glenn Morshower, the veteran character actor who plays Pierce, is the only person other than leading man Kiefer Sutherland to appear in every season.
That feat is all the more remarkable given that Morshower initially was cast with a guarantee of doing just two episodes.
"It was basically a disposable towel of a role at first," he says. "It was very procedural. They just wanted someone to be by Senator Palmer's side while he was seeking election as president."
But Morshower, a Dallas native, stuck around for the long haul -- in large part because he had great chemistry with Dennis Haysbert, who played David Palmer. The two actors are still good friends.
"The funniest thing you will ever see is when Dennis and I go to lunch," Morshower says. "When we go out in public together, people look at us and say, 'Oh, my God, this is bizarre! Even though President Palmer is dead, Pierce continues to protect him!'"
By season five, Pierce had so risen in stature that the writers gave him a platonic love story with First Lady Martha Logan (Jean Smart). And Pierce's heroics this season as protector of the president's daughter rate among the highlights of "Day Seven."
It's hardly a stretch to say that Morshower, thriving as a Hollywood actor for 30 years, is a survivor too. "I'm delighted to be winning in a business that routinely chews people up and spits them out," he says.
The thrill-a-minute 24 airs at 8 p.m. CST Mondays on Fox. (We haven't seen the last of Agent Pierce this season, by the way.)
Morshower also stars in a Desdemona: A Love Story, a Texas-made independent film that premieres Monday in the AFI Dallas Film Festival (with a 10:30 p.m. screening at Landmark's Magnolia Theatre).
What impact has 24 had on your life? Has it blown your anonymity as a character actor? Do people recognize you more than ever before?
"Yes, but that's true for all of us on the show. We felt like we won the lottery when 24 happened, because now anywhere we go, not just in this country, but in the world, the response is phenomenal. There are other countries, by the way, where 24 is far more popular than it is here. If any one of us goes to Japan, it's like being one of the Beatles. It's insane in the UK. It's that way in Australia as well. I flew to Bulgaria to do a movie two years ago. Nobody speaks a lick of English there. But you get off the plane and people are there to greet you in the airport saying, 'Aaron,' with wide open arms. They don't want a handshake. They want a hug. It's pretty great."
Given that your stay on the show has far surpassed your original expectations, how would you react if you got a script in which Pierce is killed?
"Given that you're asking me that, that tells me there's something you don't know. What you don't know is that I was scheduled to die and it wasn't merely an idea they were toying around with. The script was actually written. I have that script, with the death of Aaron Pierce, which was in season five."
So how did you manage to beat the reaper?
"Howard Gordon, our executive producer and now show-runner, called me and said, 'I want to give you the heads up. It's Aaron's last show. He dies in this one. I didn't want you to have cardiac arrest when you read the script.' He assured me it had nothing to do with me personally, which I knew. Basically, they were running out of people to kill that the audience cared about. And after I hung up, I actually cried. It hit me like a ton of bricks. What a sad thing to put this character, who I so enjoyed playing, to rest. And I thought about it and thought about it. And I phoned Howard the next day and said, 'I think it is a colossal mistake to kill Aaron Pierce.' This was the season that we killed David Palmer. We'd also killed Tony. Of course, Tony came back from the dead, but we didn't know that would happen. We'd killed Michelle. We'd had Edgar die in that gas-related situation. Now what are the chances that all of these deaths would occur on the same day in separate incidents? I said, 'If you're not careful, the show is going to wind up becoming cartoon-like.' I said, 'Let me assure you I'm not trying to lengthen my stay on the show. I'm saying don't kill Aaron because I think it will hurt the show. So if you're done with Aaron Pierce, give him the dignity of sending him off in retirement. You don't need to kill him.' Less than a week later, Howard called and said, 'You've jolted me with your conviction. My whole take on this has changed and I'm going to bat for you.' He went to Fox and pitched his newfound feelings and by noon they had destroyed that script."
And instead of Aaron dying, his relationship with the first lady continued to smolder. Of course, all that we ever witnessed onscreen were longing looks and hand-holding. How serious do you think it got off screen?
"In season five, I would say emphatically that they were not having a physical affair. What they had was a kinship of the heart. Aaron was the safest place for her to go. She felt understood by Pierce and loved unconditionally. But there was no hanky panky. However, as that bond grew, I believe that in season six, the answer changes. They were a couple up until the time she shoved a knife into her ex-husband's chest. That's when an alarm went off. Mind you, this was never talked about. It's just what I feel must have been going on in his life: An alarm went off in Aaron's head that said, 'This kind of instability, when it's operating at this level, is really more than I choose to be near.' And you might have noticed this season: I'm not wearing a wedding ring."
You seem to play a lot of law enforcement types, military types and government types. Is that because you find yourself drawn to these roles? Do you have these sensibilities? Or is it merely that you go where the work is?
"The answer to that is simple: It's called Harry Morshower. My stepfather was this way. He was a retired military guy and I was raised in an environment that was the strictest of strict. We had nightly nail inspections at our dinner table, including when we went out to dinner. It was very much like being in the military. All of that was downloaded onto me, because as actors we are mimics. We see life and then replicate it for camera. And I guess it is a manner that is not easily imitated. Which is why, many years ago, I basically would go in and imitate my stepfather and be hired for roles like that. And it has happened again and again and again. But, hey, better to be typecast than not cast."
-- David Martindale
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