Russell Hornsby as Police Homicide Detective Hank Griffin in Grimm. Photo copyright of NBC.
When it comes to playing TV cops, Russell Hornsby definitely has what it takes, and then some. In addition to his role of police officer Eddie Sutton in Lincoln Heights, he also starred opposite Matthew Fox as Officer Marcus Bradshaw in the 2002 short-lived UPN supernatural show Haunted. Nowadays, the actor is once again policing the streets, this time in Portland, Oregon, as Hank Griffin in the hit NBC fantasy drama Grimm. His character is partners with police homicide detective Nick Burkhardt, and together the two investigate crimes of a somewhat unusual nature.
Nick is especially well-suited for the task at hand, given that he is descended from the “Grimms,” a group of hunters who over the centuries have kept humans safe from supernatural creatures living amongst them. For Hornsby, it was the combination of the real and fantasy worlds that first attracted him to the show.
“I love procedurals and playing police officers,” notes the actor. “One of my favorite shows of all-time is Homicide: Life on the Street, and the idea of taking something like that and marrying it with a fairytale interested me. I wasn’t necessarily a Buffy the Vampire Slayer or Angel fan in their heyday, but I was always a fan of movies like The Wizard of Oz and books like Alice in Wonderland and just the whole idea of being young at heart. I also love the sheer imagination of the worlds that such movies and books create. Grimm is very much a fairytale and the magic really is in the storytelling.
Detectives Nick Burkhardt (David Giuntoli) and Hank Griffin (Russell Hornsby) investigate another mysterious crime scene in "Tarantella." Photo copyright of NBC.
“I had a few auditions for Grimm, and I like to think that [series co-creators/executive producers] David Greenwalt and Jim Kouf along with the executives at NBC were like, ‘We feel that Russell can bring something interesting to the role and his presence would be a nice addition to the cast.’
When I first had the chance to sit down with David and Jim and listen to their excitement about the show and the stories they wanted to tell, including what they had in store for my character, I thought, ‘This has the potential to be something quite special.’ The passion they and all the other creative minds involved had – and still have – about the series was and is infectious. Again, they told me about some of their ideas regarding Hank’s back story and I was like, ‘Yes, I can work with this.’ Then I began to add some of my own layers to the character and thought’ This is going to be a very enjoyable time,’ which it has.”
In Grimm’s two-hour pilot episode, Nick Burkhardt (David Giuntoli) discovers his unusual family history when his aunt, also a Grimm, comes to town on a hunt. While trying to deal with that revelation, he and his detective partner, Hank Griffin (Hornsby), are assigned a case involving a missing little girl, whose abduction Nick initially – and mistakenly – blames on a stranger, Monroe (Silas Weir Mitchell), who is, in fact a Blutbad (or wolf). Monroe ends up helping lead Nick to the real perpetrator, also a Blutbad. Despite the fantastical elements of the case, Hornsby had to keep Hank’s two feet firmly planted on the ground.
Hank Griffin (Russell Hornsby) in "Let Your Hair Down." Photo copyright of NBC.
“Again, we’re looking at two different worlds, the procedural and the fairytale worlds. My character represents the former, which is also our audience’s world, so I had to approach Hank as ‘real police,’ or as I like to say, real good police,” he says. “He’s a man with an interesting and cynical sense of humor. Hank also has a genuine flair for the romantic. You’re talking about a guy who has been married and divorced four times, so he is someone who’s quite passionate and in love with love. I think that’s a neat dynamic for a police officer, and he’s very compassionate, too. We’re going to see several of those levels start to come into play with him as the series continues to unfold.
“When we began filming the show, I immediately started thinking about what sides of my real self that I could use with this role. I’m from the theatre, so it was a matter of bringing my imagination to bear and creating a three-dimensional character and not just playing a cardboard or cookie-cutter approximation of a police officer. Again, I have to tip my hat to Jim Kouf and David Greenwalt, who said, ‘We want Hank to be real and for him to have depth along with peaks, valleys and levels.’ So I guess my challenge, and a fun one, was to help make him believable as well as compassionate and his reservoir deep. That’s something I continue to do with Hank.”
Although Hank is right by Nick’s side when solving all these bizarre cases, he is not able to see what Nick sees when it comes to identifying your average man, woman or child on the street as one of these supernatural beings. Is it at all difficult for Hornsby to play his character as being in the dark when he as an actor knows what’s what as far as the Grimm world is concerned?
Hank (Russell Hornsby) pays a visit to Ephram Geiger (Russell Hodgkinson) in "Danse Macabre." Photo copyright of NBC.
“Each week we’re handed jewels in these scripts, and we don’t know what’s going to happen until we read them,” explains the actor. “I think that’s the fun of it and what I enjoy most. The thing is, I can’t play what’s not there for me. Of course I understand the arc of the story, but I can’t assume anything story-wise. The story I’m telling is Hank’s story, and, again, it’s the real one. So I don’t worry about what Nick deals with, or who Monroe is and what his alter ego is. That’s not part of Hank’s story. I just have to be honest to my character and the story that I’m charged to help tell, do you know what I mean?
“As audience members we’re so sophisticated and see a lot of these types of shows, and we try to get ahead of the story. So I implore the viewer to follow along week-to-week and just enjoy what’s in front of you and don’t worry about, Oh, Hank has to find out. I actually think that the producers have done a terrific job of keeping Hank in the dark. It’s not the ‘Superman syndrome’ where Hank is Lois lane and Nick is Superman, and the glasses and hat are really disguising the fact that Clark Kent and Superman are one in the same. We’re not asking the audience to take that sort of leap. I think the stories on Grimm are unfolding in a very honest as well as logical way that says, wow, that was an interesting episode, and next week is next week. Again, I guess what I’m trying to say is just enjoy the moment.”
As far as their professional relationship, Hank and Nick are very much in-sync and well aware of what it takes to get the job done. Outside of work, though, they are hardly your two proverbial peas in a pod and typical buddy-buddy cops, which is just fine in Hornsby’s eyes.
Hank (Russell Hornsby) investigates the idyllic backyard of an all-too-perfect B&B in "Lonelyhearts." Photo copyright of NBC.
“At one point I thought that Hank and Nick had a Han Solo and Luke Skywalker-type thing going on, but that was before we really even began shooting the show,” he says. “That was just me speculating on what the show might be, but what I’m starting to see now is that they’re partners who realize that it’s all about the work and solving crimes. Hank and Nick aren’t necessarily best buddies, but they do get along and are cool with each other. I think that’s what helps make the stories even more interesting, because it’s not about them sharing every little thing. My character isn’t interest in whatever Nick does on his free time, or what he gets up to with Monroe.
“So it’s not a bro-mance. If we tried to make it a bro-mance, then Hank would become jealous,” says the actor with a chuckle. “That’s not to say that the writers are simplifying Hank’s and Nick’s relationship. Quite the opposite, they’re making it very complex and adding various textures and layers to the relationship. There’s a deeply profound understanding that Hank has of himself and his partner, and then they add that wonderful layer of my character thinking, ‘Yes, I’m four-times divorced. I love women and I love life, but I haven’t solved the riddle of life yet. So I’m not going to try to negatively color your [Nick’s] experience with your girlfriend or fiancée because of my negative experiences. Have fun, young man, that’s what you should be doing. Enjoy and find love.’”
Among the Grimm creatures that Nick and, unknowingly, Hank have so far crossed paths with include a family of bears that hunt humans (Bears Will Be Bears), a strangely likeable B & B owner who preys on women (Lonelyhearts) and a free clinic doctor in the side business of harvesting organs from the homeless (Organ Grinder). In the first season episode Game Ogre, an escaped felon takes his revenge on those who put him in jail, including Hank. Nick enlists Monroe’s help to save his partner from this convict, who he recognizes as a Siegbarste, an ogre-like creature. Needless to say, Hornsby was delighted to receive this particular script.
Hank (Russell Hornsby) takes aim in "Game Ogre." Photo copyright of NBC.
“When I got that script, the first thing I thought was, ‘Jim and David, thank you,’” he recalls. “It said to me that they’re men of their word. They’ve told this cast in so many words that this is a team game, and all six of us [series regulars] are major players. This episode, which was early on in the first season and had a huge storyline for my character, said to me that Jim and David believe in my abilities and that not only am I important to the [creative] process, but that I also have something to offer. I really felt that.
“Of course you want to do a wonderful job because you don’t want to let the show down, you don’t want to let your cast mates down, and you don’t want to let your self down. I was really excited about having this great storyline and amazing back story for Hank. I believe it’s important that David [Giuntoli] is our lead, but I also think that all the players have their entrances and exits. I mean, there are going to be times when Monroe takes the lead. Silas Weir Mitchell is a very talented actor and fascinating guy, and that makes his character really interesting. Sasha Roiz [Captain Renard], Bitsie Tulloch [Juliette Silverton]. Reggie Lee [Sgt. Wu] – these are all incredibly talented actors who were chosen for a reason, so why shouldn’t the producers and writers explore their talents. That’s what Jim and David have done and will continue to do.”
What was it like for the actor filming the climatic fight scene in Game Ogre between Hank and the bid bad ogre? “It was cold and raining. I was all padded up – knee-pads, hip pads, elbow pads, etc, and the only thing left for me to do was dive in,” says Hornsby. “You learn the fight, practice it and then you’ve just got to do it. It harkened back to my younger days when I was in theatre school and doing stage combat, or when I was a kid playing cops and robbers in the backyard. It brings out the kid in you. What’s not to like about my job? I get paid to play and imagine.
Captain Renard (Sasha Roiz) and Hank Griffin (Russell Hornsby) in "Lonleyhearts." Photo copyright of NBC.
“That night I got to be the hero. I got to fight the ogre and be like, ‘Fee, fi, fo, fum. Come on, let’s go.’ I was David, with my slingshot in my pocket and taking on Goliath. I have to say, though, that I’m glad that Monroe came to Hank’s rescue, which in its own way was poetic At one point I texted David Greenwalt and told him, ‘I’m living the dream, man, I’m having a ball.’”
At the time of this interview (February 1st), Hornsby had just finished shooting a Grimm episode that should appeal to his fans and Hank Griffin fans alike. “It’s a nice love story for Hank, and just for the sake of argument I’ll call it Spell Number Seven,” reveals the actor. “I think it’ll be a fun one for the audience. Other than that, I honestly don’t know what else is in store for my character this season. I think the writers are still trying to figure out how to keep Hank in the game as well as interesting and, above all, believable. I look forward to seeing what they come up with,” enthuses Hornsby.
Steve Eramo
As noted above, photos copyright of NBC, so please no unauthorized copying or duplicating of any kind. Thanks!
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