Matthew Fox on why he came out of retirement for ‘The Last Light’ action series: ‘It’s good to be back’

Matthew Fox made a mental list of all the goals he wanted to achieve in his career, and as he ticked off each job, he made the decision to “get out of the storytelling business.”

Fox starred in some TV shows. party of five s lost, headlined a series of feature films, starred in Westerns and flew across the Atlantic to put on a play in London’s West End. Wish list fulfilled. Then, in 2015, the actor retired, making what appeared to be his last arc with back-to-back films. bone tomahawk s Extinction before settling in Oregon with his wife and two children.

not so fast. Another small-screen challenge soon followed. “One of the things I never did was executive produce, and it was, you know, I was kind of interested, man, I’m really interested in what it would be like to be involved in other aspects of the story than just the character that I’m playing.” he explains. the hollywood reporter. “So we took the leap.”

The jump came courtesy All night, a limited series premiering September 8 on Peacock. He casts the 56-year-old Fox in a role his die-hard fans will instantly recognize: a good guy who finds himself in a very bad spot. This affects not only the fate of the world, but also that of her family, played by Joanne Froggatt, Alythe Ross and Taylor Fey.

Fox stars petrochemist Andy Yates, who, on a trip to the Middle East, discovers a pressing problem with the world’s oil supply. When his worst fears come true and his family is torn apart, Yates has no choice but to get to the bottom of the international mystery amid the chaos of the case, while his relatives struggle to stay alive. The series is based on the bestselling novel of the same name by prolific author Alex Scarrow.

“I was very drawn to the backdrop against which the story takes place, the oil crisis, this beautiful family unit that is torn apart by the crisis and tries to come together again,” explains Fox, adding that he also wanted to do so. handling work with Entertainment 360’s manager and producer Bill Cho. “He’s become a very close and very good friend, and being able to collaborate creatively and have our fingerprints on a story like this and filming in so many different locations was also engaging.”

about the places All night The production team, led by director Danny Gordon, who directed all five episodes, was based in Prague, Paris and Abu Dhabi. For a first-time executive producer, Fox and the team had their work cut out for them, as the series was forced to navigate the COVID-19 pandemic along with its many locations, with its protagonist contracting the virus in the process.

“We had people sick and I caught COVID while filming in Prague, and that shut us down for a few days,” reveals Fox, crediting the production team that it was “absolutely amazing” to keep the train on track. . The EP’s roster also includes Gordon, Choi, Sidney Gallonde, Ricke Ennis, Patrick Reno, Diego Piasec, Patrick Massetti and John Zinman. “They are light, adaptable and able to change schedules and find ways to get around without hurting us. It was a big challenge. Danny Gordon is a force of nature.”

He is also an old friend. The couple worked together for the first time party of five A day before Gordon became one of the most outstanding television directors in the industry, with credits that include For All Humanity, Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan, Goliath, Warrior, Waco, Kingdom, Burn Notice and the future from the sky.

“He was always our first choice for the role,” explains Gordon, adding that while they share roots in the Fox series, they’ve grown apart over the years. “We haven’t seen each other in like 20 years or so. Your children are adults and I knew them as children. It’s been so long. “

He credits Rolla Bauer, president of international television production at MGM, for orchestrating his involvement. “Matthew has this innate quality that comes out on screen, a person who is a moral person and a person who has heroism in his soul. This was very important because for the trip this epic must be in the hands of someone who has this quality. ”

Gordon says he saw him in action: “We were shooting a scene where he was riding a horse. [Taylor Fay] An 8-year-old boy plays with his son. Matthew, luckily, is a talented rider, and the horse gave him this awkward kiss, causing everyone to land. Matthews was able to hold Taylor the entire time and keep her from falling. It was a slow moving accident, but no one was hurt. It never ceases to amaze me. It is a pleasure to work with him and he has a great tool. I was lucky enough to play a little in the orchestra.”

Frogatt was equally complimentary. “Obviously I’ve loved Matthew’s work a lot over the years, and he’s been really amazing not only as an actor but also as an executive producer. It wasn’t a glorified role for him,” he says. low abbey Star. “He really cared about every element of the shoot and every element of the script. He supported all of us and gave us the freedom to cooperate fully. Matthew told all of us from the start that if we wanted to change something for the better, “we’re going to find it.” He was the one who set the bar from the start. You lead from the top and he did so well and made us feel like we were in such a safe space that we were able to create this world together.”

It is a world that also speaks of the present. All night It presents an urgent story involving the global climate crisis, which Gordon believes really spoke to him in a way he couldn’t deny he was a part of. “He expected something that would have a valuable message if he was away from his family. It must have been something powerful.”

That doesn’t mean it was easy. “I had this conversation with Bill Choi, my partner, and we realized that making a movie is about solving problems overnight. All you do is bump into obstacles and find ways around them to keep telling the story,” he says. “Some obstacles are so strong that you have to be spontaneous and free and be able to push them in a direction that will really improve the story. You have to be open to that, not be completely focused on one version of events, because you have to be ready to move laterally.”

Although Fox declined to comment on whether it is linked to possible additional seasons. All night franchise, I wanted to talk about the future.

“I have this saying and I’m sure it’s been used a thousand times, but for me this kind of shared experience is best when the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. There is no doubt that the experience All night He did it,” explains Fox. “I can’t say enough about it. It was an amazing experience and really renewed my passion for the whole experience. I want to try to find the right projects and the right people to work with, and I try to do that. “

He pauses and smiles. “It’s good to be back.”