ST. JOHN'S, N.L. — Bell Island-born actor Allan Hawco has landed a season-long arc on the Amazon Prime hit TV show “Jack Ryan.”
The show stars John Krasinski and is based on Tom Clancy’s famous spy novels, featuring Hawco as part of an operative team along with Ryan in the show’s second season.
Though Hawco doesn’t typically watch his own work, he was a huge fan of the first season.
“I’m really interested to see it. I’m looking forward to it. I usually don’t run out and go see the films I’m in unless I produce or need to edit, but I was such a huge fan of this show,” he said.
“It’s so cool that they’ve broken this into a series.”
“This is such a special version of Jack Ryan to be a part of, and it’s a great opportunity.” — Allan Hawco
The Jack Ryan character has been a movie staple over the years, played by the likes of Harrison Ford, Ben Affleck and Alec Baldwin. The last Jack Ryan movie starred “Star Trek” actor Chris Pine, and was made in 2014.
Now, Krasinski — known as a funnyman for his role as Jim in “The Office” — has taken on the huge role.
“Season 1 of this show is so strong. John Krasinski is an excellent fit, both as an analyst and academic as well as a soldier,” said Hawco. “This is such a special version of Jack Ryan to be a part of, and it’s a great opportunity.”
He did an audition for Season 1 a few years back, but had to pull out when he received funding for the CBC mini-series “Caught,” in which he co-starred with Paul Gross.
“I had to...take myself out of the running. But when Season 2 came around, they then offered me a part. The actor they had for my role had taken ill. He’s since recovered, but they needed to fill the role, and I stepped in,” he said.
He says the scope of this show — with a cast of 400 characters — is different than anything he’s ever done.
“The gist of my character is Jack Ryan and James Greer (played by ‘The Wire’ alum Wendell Pierce) assemble a team for a special op in Venezuela, and me and a few other guys make up that team,” he said.
“I can’t tell you too much about the character, as it’s under wraps, but my operation name is Coyote.”
Between “Jack Ryan,” “The Office” and his recent directing-acting tour de force film “A Quiet Place” — with wife Emily Blunt as his co-lead – Krasinski’s career is on the upswing. Hawco had nothing but nice things to say about him.
“He’s a wonderful, charming and funny guy. He’s so generous and has a great energy. There isn’t a moment that goes by where he’s not thinking about saying something funny. There’s laughter on set,” he said.
“We did a lot of night shoots. He has a big load to carry as a producer and filmmaker in his own right, and he wears it really well.”
Though Hawco has had his own shows and features, from “Frontier,” to the recent Michael Melski horror hit “The Child Remains,” to the St. John’s-set series “Republic of Doyle” — for which he was creator, writer, executive and star — he hasn’t been on a production of this complexity before.
“It’s really fun to jump into this league and see the scope and scale. The size of the show is vast. It’s so exciting to be part of something I genuinely enjoy as a fan,” he said.
"I think it's one of the best shows on TV" - @allanhawco says he's honoured to join the second season of @PrimeVideo's #JackRyan alongside co-star @johnkrasinski pic.twitter.com/tUBZQ4uIPs
— ET Canada (@ETCanada) October 31, 2019
While “Frontier” — bolstered by the star power of “Aquaman’s” Jason Momoa — was on Netflix and available to millions, he said a show like “Republic of Doyle” couldn’t quite get the same level of exposure.
“But Amazon and ‘Jack Ryan’ are in that ballpark. It will be cool to see how long this goes for, and I think the show has a great future,” he said.
Not one for the glitz and glamour, Hawco can often be found boarding a plane for Newfoundland as his colleagues head to L.A. for TV pilot season, but this is one Hollywood production he truly loved.
“I enjoy working. Period. But this fulfilled me, and the people I worked with were really great. I got to have a really great time,” he said.
