At this point in his film and television career, Harvey Guillén has seen plenty of fake corpses on set. In FXX's What We Do in the Shadows, Guillén portrays Guillermo de la Cruz, a familiar to Nandor The Great and vampire hunter. In June 2021, audiences saw Guillén star in the hit horror-comedy Werewolves Within. In Prime Video's newest action television series Reacher, Guillén portrays Jasper, the Margrave Police Department's Medical Examiner.
Based on Lee Child's Jack Reacher novel series, Reacher Season 1 follows Jasper helping Reacher clear his name of a gruesome murder charge. In an exclusive interview with CBR, Guillén discussed what it was like to join the cast of the hard-hitting action series Reacher, his character Jasper, and teased Season 4 updates for What We Do in the Shadows.
CBR: How familiar were you with the Reacher books or movies going into this?
Harvey Guillen: I knew about the books that Lee had written. I hadn't read them, but I was familiar with the movie that Tom Cruise did. I know there was a little backlash with that as well. I was excited to be part of this new vision of Reacher, that really homed in on that and the characters that were put down on print. It was nice to be a small part of that and this amazing cast.
Considering that previous backlash, is it daunting coming into a property like this?
It is. People, who are fans, are expecting a certain caliber to be met, and I think we surpassed that. With the team that we have -- down to the prosthetics, the makeup and hair, the locations -- you would believe we were living in Georgia. We shot in Toronto. It's a credit to what an amazing team we were privileged to work with.
Introduce us to your character Jasper and where we meet him in the premiere.
Jasper is a Medical Examiner in this small town. He's Latinx. He lives at home. He's really close to his mother. He wanted a simple life. He didn't move into the big city. He didn't move to New York or Los Angeles. He likes small town [living]. He thought he would live the rest of his days just putting old people in the morgue, as a result of natural causes, and then would have called it a day. This case shaken him to his core. Jasper is going to go on a ride he didn't sign up for.
Jasper says in the pilot, ''This is my first murder.'' How overwhelmed does he feel?
He is absolutely intimidated by this. This is not his norm. For someone who is a medical examiner, he doesn't like crime and gruesome scenes. He is exposed to some of the most gruesome things that any human would be terrified to be a witness to. Being on set, and it's funny because I work with blood a lot on What We Do in the Shadows, this took it to another level. I kept asking myself, ''Is this body real?'' It looked so real on the table and on the walls. It was an amazing experience to just work with this team of talented experts.
What was the key to finding Jasper's voice and infusing him with personality?
Originally, I almost didn't do the role because I had just finished Season 3 of Shadows. I missed my family. I was living in Toronto. It was a lockdown. I wanted to come home and see my family. The creator and showrunner, Nick [Santora] called me. He was saying that he thought I could really bring this character to life, and it was different than anything else. He's a Medical Examiner. He's Latinx. He's Latino and he has this southern accent. You don't really see Latinos having southern accents while speaking on TV. It was nice to put on that hat of a different layered character that I haven't played. His mannerisms are different, and there's this idea that he's very loving and endearing, but also really good at his job. He's sometimes a pushover, but helps solve these crimes that are taking over this town.
Jasper seems to bring some levity to the show, too…
I think so. Jasper brings a bit of a comic relief that is needed in dark moments. Sometimes when things get too heavy, making light of the situation or bringing just an ounce of brightness into it, can drop everyone's guard just a little bit and let them breathe easily. That's life. Sometimes you need to look at the comedy just to forget the horrible things. I'm always happy to provide that.
At the same time, Reacher is out there busting heads. Roscoe is kicking ass and taking names. Do you wish Jasper got out in the field more?
I do. Personally, for me, I have been bitten by the stunt bug. I do my own stunts on Shadows, and I have gone down this rabbit hole of, ''More! More!'' They want me to jump out of a third story window. ''Sure!'' They want you to stab this person. ''Why not?'' So, a part of me really enjoys the thrill and adrenaline of that. But it wouldn't be in Jasper's true nature to do that because he's so terrified of blood. He's such a butterfly. He would never hurt a fly, so it wouldn't make sense for the character.
These type of TV characters often emerge as fan-favorites. Think Bones, NCIS and CSI. How hopeful are you that Jasper will join that elite group?
I would be honored if he does. I've been lucky enough to play characters that have become fan-favorites. If you recall, Shadow's Guillermo was not one of the vampires in the show, and the show is about vampires, but he's become a fan-favorite. One of the outlets online voted him the number one character because the fans love him so much. You love a character that you see yourself in, that you root for. That's what makes us human. We have empathy for each other. We root for Guillermo, and I think you root for Jasper. You really want him to get over his fears, and you see yourself in his shoes. Hopefully, if that happens, that would be great. No expectations, but it's always lovely when the fans embrace the work that I do.
The other series that you filmed in Toronto was What We Do in the Shadows. What can audiences expect from the upcoming season?
We just wrapped Season 4, so it was a busy 2021. From January through May, it was Season 3 of Shadows. Reacher started in May, as well, but I joined at the tail-end of the month. I came late to the game. Then we filmed from May to July. I wrapped up, went home in August and started in September for Season 4 of Shadows in Toronto.
We wrapped Season 4, so we pick up right where we left off in the Season 3 finale. No spoilers, but you know someone was put in a case, a coffin if you will. A year has gone by, so we will see what unfolds.
Catch the squeamish Jasper assisting Jack Reacher in Prime Video's latest action television series, Reacher, streaming now on Prime Video.