However, since this interview was conducted before Hastings’ on-air dismissal (and 24′s cancellation), and since the 24 producers really might send Jack Bauer after any actor careless enough to provide untimely spoilers, Williamson doesn’t go into the possibilities of closure or comeback for his character. Here’s what he divulged:
iF MAGAZINE: Were you a fan of 24 before you got on this season?
MYKELTI WILLIAMSON: Absolutely, yes. Thanks to TiVo and Blockbuster, I’ve seen every episode [laughs].
iF: You were heavily featured in the Season Eight trailers where somebody is saying, “Who the hell is Jack Bauer?”
WILLIAMSON: And I give him this look like, “You don’t know who Jack Bauer is?”
iF: So your character Brian Hastings is aware of Jack Bauer’s reputation from the start.
WILLIAMSON: Absolutely. [But] my character doesn’t call him in – he’s sort of forced by circumstances to have to deal with Jack Bauer. He’s not really happy about it.
iF: Season Eight takes place in New York City, though most of it is shot in Los Angeles. Did you get to go to New York for the locations?
WILLIAMSON: No, I didn’t. Kiefer [Sutherland, who plays Jack Bauer] did. The new CTU is located underground, accessible only by tunnels in New York City, a top-secret place. So being head of CTU, I’m primarily in and around those tunnels, underground and in the CTU. So I didn’t get to go to New York [in reality].
iF: About how many days a week have you normally been working on the show?
WILLIAMSON: It varies. Sometimes I’m there four days, sometimes two.
iF: Most CTU directors wind up having to say a lot of techno-babble/geopolitical jargon. Does that type of dialogue ever give you any trouble?
WILLIAMSON Absolutely. Thank goodness we get another take, because sometimes my tongue will not cooperate. And it happens to everybody, to everybody on the show.
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