By Mike McCarthy
With a cast consisting of some of the most talented people in the business including Michael Shannon, Taylor Kitsch, John Leguizamo, Melissa Benoist and many more, it’s no surprise that Paramount Network’s gripping new mini-series “Waco” has stunned both audiences and critics and easily became an early front-runner for every award, including, of course, best ensemble cast at the Screen Actors Guild Awards. And while the Shannon and Kitsch most certainly impress, it is also important to note all the bright new stars that are helping round out this phenomenal cast- particularly the talented Michael Hyland.
The extremely affable actor is funny as can be as he informs us how perfect he is for Wingman, quick to point out that his role as FBI negotiator Walter Graves is very much the Wingman to Michael Shannon’s character on the series. Tried and true, Hyland performs his role with not only a dedication to producing a compelling on screen persona that is far more than just a sidekick, but he also has accurately done the research necessary to bringing these real life events to screen, immersing himself with information from the source material from the books which the series is based on and reveling in the fact that the show dares to show both sides. Within an instant of talking to the devoted artist, it immediately becomes clear that he has done his homework and then some as he is overjoyed to share what he’s learned.
But, this all really seems par for the course when it comes to Hyland- a man that clearly knows his stuff when it comes to his craft. An utter professional that truly seems to love what he does, the quickly rising star is fast to praise his talented cast, and then launch into all the directors he would like to work with and novels he would like to bring to life- becoming almost an encyclopedia of show business trivia. It’s no wonder why the ultimate Wingman of “Waco” has already been cast in two hot new films- a horror movie called “Odious,” and a mystery/drama called “Spinning Man” alongside “Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D” star Clark Gregg!
With so much on the way and Waco dominating Wednesday nights, constantly keeping audiences on the edge of their seats, we here at Wingman knew we had to sit down and talk to the star about all his upcoming projects, find out more about his hot new mini-series, and of course, learn how to rock the perfect mustache! Read below to see what Hyland had to say!
*****
WINGMAN: So, you have a lot coming up. Let’s start with talking about your new series, “Waco.” This must be life changing!
MICHAEL HYLAND: It was really exciting. The cast alone is pretty spectacular; you have Michael, John Leguizamo, Taylor Kitsch, Melissa Benoist, Andrea Riseboro, Paul Sparks- the list goes on and on. I think it’s really phenomenal, and what I like is that it gives insight into both sides of what actually happened there as far as we know.
WINGMAN: Talk a little bit about your character.
MICHAEL HYLAND: I play an FBI negotiator named Walter Graves- and it’s perfect that this is Wingman Magazine, because I’m sort of Michael Shannon’s Wingman on the show [chuckles.] We come in after this two and a half hour gun battle with the Branch Davidians at their compound and four ATF guys have been killed, two Davidians have been killed, and we come in to negotiate and get those inside to come out. There were over forty children and over seventy adults. So, our job is to get the people out and we work together, fielding different phone calls and what not. As the kids grow hungry, the mothers stop producing milk, so we come up with a tactic to send milk inside in order to try and send people out, and just after we do that, the people on the tactical side of the FBI cut off all electricity and the milk goes bad. So, there are so many moments where we as negotiators are trying to give something to get something, only to have our plans thwarted and wind up under minded by other members of the FBI.
WINGMAN: How was it getting all dressed up in the period piece attire of 1993?
MICHAEL HYLAND: [Cracks up] It’s great! I got to have a pretty cool mustache, which was au natural- they didn’t have to give me a wig for that. [Laughs again] But, it was great, my costumes were a lot of fun. There are some FBI guys that are sort of boring- kind of vanilla, but these outfits brought me back to my high school years.
WINGMAN: And were you familiar with this news story?
MICHAEL HYLAND: I remember seeing it on CNN and all the news outlets, but at the time I wasn’t really clued in- I just thought it was a group of crazy cult members that set themselves on fire. Getting to really dig into what actually happened, or several sides of what actually happened, it was really fascinating. The mini-series was based on two books- one being the book by the FBI negotiator that Michael Shannon plays, Gary Noesner, and that was “Stalling For Time,” and the other by David Thibodeau- a survivor of the fire who got out, and that’s called; “A Place Called Waco.” Both of those were used heavily in the writing of the script, so they were great tools to tell the story from both perspectives- and it was an amazing insider perspective into the Branch Davidians that I had no clue about. I had no idea about what was going on inide and what people were willing to give up for what they believed in. It was really fascinating.
WINGMAN: Then you have another movie on the way called “Odious.“ Talk about that.
MICHAEL HYLAND: Yes, that was an interesting project. It’s been a little while since we shot that, so I don’t know how long into the process they are, but it’s a scary ort of David Fincher style film- almost like “Seven,” and it’s about a child that gets abducted. It’s actually my character’s child that gets abducted. I don’t really want to tell much more than that because I’d love for people to see it and have it still be a surprise. With Waco, it’s different- everyone knows the story, they just don’t know the inside workings.
WINGMAN: You’re also in the new movie “Spinning Man,” alongside Minnie Driver and Clark Gregg. Who else would you love to work with and what other roles are you looking to play?
MICHAEL HYLAND: You know, I’d love to work with some of the big directors. I love the Coen Brothers. I’m from Minnesota, as are they- as are the directors on Waco, actually! So, there’s a big Minnesota contingency that I do love working with. I would love to work with David Lynch, David Fincher, David Milchard- all those wonderful Davids! [Laughs] Christopher Nolan, of course. I would love to do a Western. I’ve been really into Cormac McCarthy’s books lately, so I’d love to do one of those throwback quiet westerns. But, there’s so many things I’d like to tackle- those are just some starters.
*****
And with the success of “Waco” under his belt, Hyland will no doubt have the world at his feet- and definitely a place at next year’s SAG awards!
“Waco,” continues Wednesday nights at 10/9c on Paramount Network.
Andrew Cristi