Fan Fest Exclusive: Sam Trammell on his darker role in ‘Reckoning’
A complete 180 from President Hayes in Homeland, Sam Trammell gets to play a darker character in Reckoning.
“I get to play to two very opposite ends of the spectrum, the kind of squeaky clean politician and the sort of dark, dark character with lots of secrets,” said Trammell. “One is obviously the President of the United States, being very mainstream and who is very much a public figure that everybody knows a lot about. And then you have somebody else who is hiding sort of a second life that they had in the past, it’s very dark. So, both great parts and both very different in their own way.”
The 10 episode show is premiering on Netflix this Friday! Trammell shot Reckoning before he filmed Homeland and he’s very excited for everyone to see this project.
“Oh my god, I’m so, so thrilled about it! It’s a family drama and a thriller about these two families you basically follow these two fathers. One of them, you discover is a killer. Basically, it starts off with a murder that’s happened, and you sort of follow these two people and it’s not really as much of a ‘whodunit’ as why,” said Trammell. “You sort of see one person obsessed with catching the other and one knows about the other but the other doesn’t know about the one and their families get to know each other and it’s extraordinarily unique, it’s a really unique show. I’m really, really proud of it. It’s really an on the edge of your seat psychological thriller.”
Trammell plays a high school guidance counselor but that’s all he would reveal as to not spoil it for anyone.
“I play a guidance counselor who has a son that he hasn’t raised who’s moved in with him and his new wife recently and it takes place in a fictional town in northern California,” said Trammell. “And both of these men have obsessions, one is trying actually to stay sober from killing, trying not to kill again. And the other guy is so obsessed with the case that he’s sort of losing his family… they’re both sort of a danger to themselves.
Reckoning is perfect if you like crime stories. Trammell credits David Hubbard for the brilliant writing and adds that since it was shot in Australia, there will be a lot of new up and coming Australian actors featured in the show.
One thing that makes Reckoning great is that it humanizes both of these characters. The show highlights both the light and dark sides of their character.
“A lot of times killers will be painted one way. They’ll be the villain, and they’re trying to get caught, but here you see both sides of that person as well as the cop who has his own problems and may also not be totally good. Neither person is totally good or totally bad. And it’s complicated, it’s gray. And it really challenges the viewer that way,” said Trammell
Reckoning premieres this Friday, May 1 on Netflix.
When Beth “grows up” she wants to see her creations appear on the screen and stage. In her free time, Beth blogs about her love of craft beer and writes screenplays. She received her bachelors in journalism from Youngstown State and received her masters in communication from The University of Akron. She is honored to be a part of the FanFest family.
