Richard Gunn knows the power Netflix possesses to save shows from cancellation and to give show creators an unfettered workspace. It's a service that could have helped 13 years ago when Fox cancelled his show "Dark Angel" after just two seasons.
"I think 'Dark Angel' may have gone for at least a few more seasons," Gunn told Headlines & Global News exclusively had Netflix or other streaming services been available at the time.
Gunn recently joined the Netflix series "Hemlock Grove" for its third and final season as Aitor Quantic, a rugged cowboy type that comes to the mysterious town. The actor teased Aitor would bring an "interesting flair" to the show, which in its final season finds Roman (Bill Skarsgård) and Peter (Landon Liboiron) trying to prevent the "end of days."
"Aitor's a very unique individual probably like no one you've ever met," Gunn said and then dropped this hint: "The name Aitor is of Basque origins, a region in France on the border of Spain, and it means 'good father.'"
The role also gave Gunn a chance to reunite with "Dark Angel" co-creator Charles H. Eglee, who served as showrunner for "Hemlock" in its final two seasons.
"I trust him with whatever he does," Gunn said about Eglee. "I know it's going to be awesome so I was just excited to jump onboard."
"Hemlock" wasn't Gunn's first Netflix show, although it was his first Netflix production. His previous series "Granite Flats" originally aired on BYU TV before its final season ran on the streaming service.
Gunn believes the freedom Netflix provides to its writers then trickles down to the actors and leads to better performances all around.
"I think the writers had more freedom to explore in the way that they wish and that of course usually leads to excellent writing and then makes my job really fun," he said.
On "Granite Flats," which ran for three seasons, Gunn starred as chief of police John Sanders in a 1960s small Colorado town where mysterious things start occurring. The project gave him the privilege of working with the legendary Christopher Lloyd, who he also co-stars with in his new movie, "Lower Bay," written and directed by Gunn's wife Jenna Mattison.
"I love working with him. He's a very talented man," Gunn said about his twice co-star. "He's also very kind and hardworking, very committed to his work, which I have a lot of respect for."
"Lower Bay" is based on true events that involve a writer, Kelly Johansen (Rose McGowan), who studies paranormal activity and believes that low frequency tactile sound is the cause for reported ghost sightings in an abandoned subway station. Gunn plays Kelly's fiancé in the film that he describes as "very intense" and something that will "really resonate with people."
Gunn is also collaborating with his wife on a new TV series called "Devil's Highway," in which he'll play a folklorist and expert on Native American culture. Production is set to start soon on location in New Mexico. Gunn considers himself lucky to have a positive working relationship with his wife of two years, which he hears isn't always the case for married couples working together.
"We have a very similar sensibility so we work extraordinarily well together. What I hear about husband and wife teams, there's usually a lot of infighting but that's not the case with us," he said. The couple have been together since 2008 and were best friends for five years before that.
"We love working together. I read drafts of her work and I give my opinion. She'll watch something that I do and I trust her opinion completely. It's like I was watching it myself," Gunn said.
He also has several other films hitting the film festival circuit including "Gridlock," an action film also starring Stephen Lang and Danny Glover, and "Sympathy, Said the Shark," a thriller about a young couple visited unexpectedly by an estranged friend who claims someone is trying to kill him.
Be sure to watch Gunn in "Hemlock Grove," now streaming all three seasons on Netflix.
