Read below what the creators of the “Locke & Key” comic book had to say about the casting of Jesse McCartney and his performance in the television series in this interview with MTV’s Splash Page Team.
We’ve been following the progress of the “Locke & Key” television series ever since it was first announced last summer, and things continue to look good for the live-action adaptation of Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez’s hit comic book series. Alex Zalben at MTV Geek recently spoke to the pair about their work on the comic, but he also slipped in a few questions about the television series for Splash Page readers.
MTV: Let’s talk about Jesse McCartney. His casting did raise some fanboy alarm bells...
HILL: Yeah, initially I had my doubts, not knowing anything about him except that he had a music career. My concern only lasted until I saw him work, though. I watched him perform a couple scenes and was not just impressed, but kind of rattled by how well he brings off Tyler. Jesse has depth and gravity and a kind of sweet, bruised innocence that really captures what I was after in the character.
With the camera off, he's an un-showy, hard-working kid who wants to do the right thing — which is also kind of like Tyler. He's got a little of that Mark Wahlberg thing going — who was also a pop recording artist once. I think we're lucky to have him. And one other thing: there's this rumor going around that somehow the part has been rewritten to make music a major aspect of the show. That's your basic internet nonsense, right there. Tyler isn't going to have a dance-off with Sam Lesser. It's a horror show.
RODRIGUEZ: Well, I certainly had a different approach to this subject, as all I knew about Jesse when he was announced in the cast, was his guest appearance in an episode of "Law & Order: SVU." I saw that episode, in which he had a very intense role, so I know the guy can perform. And seeing him acting on our set visit was almost disturbing. The guy is Tyler. He can embrace the awkward mix of being strong and fragile at the same time. He’s very much into who the character is, and really focused on doing his best.
