Runaways' Kip Pardue Discusses Frank's Exposure to the Pride

Every family has secrets. Yet rarely are they as dramatic as on Marvel and Hulu's Runaways, when six teenagers stumble across a bizarre ritual and discover their parents are actually supervillains in a group called the Pride. The estranged friends band together and vow to stop them, while grappling with teenage life, their feelings for one another and the truth about their folks.

The Pride consists of six married couples, with one exception. Religious leader Leslie Dean (Annie Wersching) may call the team’s shots, but her husband -- former teen star Frank (Kip Pardue) -- is unaware of the Pride’s existence or what they are up to. That’s all about to change.

After Pride member Janet Stein (Ever Carradine) fatally shoots her husband, Victor, in order to stop him from abusing their son Chase (Gregg Sulkin), the group recruits Frank to help them clean up the mess. Frank ultimately gets thrust into a world of good versus evil -- although which side he prefers remains to be seen.

Pardue recently spoke with CBR about Frank’s discovery of the Pride, his tense interactions with the enigmatic Jonah (Julian McMahon) and whether he will succumb to the supervillains’ quest for power.

CBR: This version of Frank Dean deviates from his comic book counterpart. He’s an outsider to the Pride’s nefarious schemes. How does the series’ interpretation give the character more depth?

Kip Pardue: First of all, not only am I different from the character in the comic books, but I’m also different from everyone else on the show. That’s a really fun angle to play. In a sense, I represent the audience. I feel like a lot of people continually ask me, “What’s going on with the Pride?” I feel like Frank is the one who is trying to answer those questions in the same way that the audience is. That’s been a really fun thing to do. As we were making the series, as I was learning more and more about Frank and his journey, I was in the same position that everyone who is watching the series is, which is, “How are we going to solve this thing? How are we going to get ahead of the evil that is behind the Pride, or that is the Pride?”

How does Frank’s failing acting career make him ripe pickings for the Church of Gibborim and potentially going “Ultra”?

That is one of the things that does align with the comic books. Obviously, Frank and Leslie were actors in the comic books, so we held onto that for Frank. It keeps it true to the comic books, but it also adds this layer of someone who hasn’t quite reached their potential and doesn’t really understand why. He is starting to fight for that potential in a totally different way. That’s something almost everyone feels like they are twirling away with at times in their lives, and making decisions that aren’t necessary helping them propel themselves forward.

Frank finally makes the decision to give up on what was a dream, to find something more important. He ends up stumbling into a world that is much deeper and more twisted than he realized. That feeling of desperation is one that a lot of people can relate to. I, as an actor -- it’s easy for me to relate to. Anyone who has been an actor has dealt with rejection, and has dealt with the reality of this business. It’s not the easiest business in the world, so finding meaning in other things is important.

There’s plenty of tension between Frank and Jonah. What does Frank make of the Pride’s mysterious head figure?

I think at this point, Frank is really learning about Jonah in the same way the audience is. He was caught off guard by this guy. He doesn’t know who he is or what he is. Frank has never even heard of his existence, as far as he can remember. And, everything he is seeing is his introduction to Jonah. So, what we saw in episode 106 is this very mysterious man, being very comfortable with his wife and awkward with his daughter, Karolina (Virginia Gardner). That immediately puts Frank on edge.

There is a lot of discomfort and a lot of uncertainty when it comes to Frank in general. Then, you add in this element of a seemingly powerful, very handsome stoic figure who reintroduces himself. On top of that, Frank has just failed at something that he thought was very important to him. There’s a ton of insecurity swirling around Frank and then, suddenly, in walks Jonah. It’s scary for Frank.

Page 2: [valnet-url-page page=2 paginated=0 text='Choosing Sides, Frank's Special Bond with Karolina']

So far, Frank has been in the dark about the Pride’s machinates and his wife’s extracurricular activities. What is his wake-up call?

Jonah is a big wake-up call. Seeing someone who has this connection to his wife and possibly to his family, and a deeper connection to the church. Frank is so insecure and he’s so uncertain right now. He’s standing on really shaky ground. The only thing that really grounds Frank is his family, especially his daughter. His relationship with Karolina is what really makes Frank dig deep and get his wake-up call. She’s a big reason that he is able to fight as hard as he is able to fight.

So, basically Karolina informs Frank’s decision-making? If he didn’t have a child, would he be doing the same things?

He would not. Karolina is his everything. That was one of the things that me, as the actor playing Frank, had to continually remind myself. Everything is about Karolina. Everything is for Karolina. One of the great things about Frank’s career being on the rocks is he got to establish a relationship with Karolina that was certainly deeper than if his career had been flourishing. But, it’s almost deeper than any of the other parents’ relationships with their kids in Pride. He has a special bond with Karolina that is so powerful. That was the rooting force in my performance. That was the rooting force in what Frank does. That was the raison d’etre for Frank.

In this week’s episode, "Tsunami," Leslie recruits Frank when tragedy strikes the Pride. What was your reaction to that development and how does it influence Frank’s perspective on what’s going on?

It’s fun to have the power shift. It’s fun to watch someone who was so desperately looking for a purpose, find a purpose. Everyone has power dynamics that shift and ebb and flow. We start to see the powerful aspects of Frank, and hopefully why Leslie was attracted to him in the first place and a lot of the reasons why Frank was successful in the first place. We start to learn, too, why he wasn’t successful in the recent past.

The Runaways believe that Frank has their backs, that he is going to take care of this dilemma. What’s his next move?

Ideally, Frank is playing chess while everyone else is playing checkers. So, keeping in mind that he loves Karolina more than anything, and he will do anything to keep her safe, Frank continues to have to think two, three, even four steps ahead while everyone else is focused on the immediate future. At least, that’s the way I like to think about it.

Obviously, the series is building towards a confrontation between the parents and their children. Whose side will Frank be on?

That’s been the fun thing to figure out. Frank has to play that middle ground. He has to figure out who is right and who is wrong. One of the great things about the show is nobody is truly good, and nobody is truly evil. There are all these shades. Frank is finding out where his allegiances lie. As things get revealed to him, he makes decisions based on that, rather than what he’s seen in the past. You are going to have to watch to find out.

Family is a strong theme in Runaways, but so is power -- and power corrupts. What lengths will Leslie go to in order to achieve her goals? Would she be willing to sacrifice Frank, or worse, Karolina?

Leslie is the toughest one of the Pride to read. She is the one willing to go to great lengths to save Jonah. It remains to be seen how far she will go to save Karolina. Her relationship with Frank is still up in the air. I don’t think she would go nearly as far to save Frank as she would to save Karolina. The problem is, she might go even further to save Jonah than she would to save Karolina. It all remains to be seen. That’s the great things about Leslie. Exactly when you think she’s one thing, she turns out to be another.

New episodes of Runaways debut Tuesdays on Hulu through Jan. 9.