‘Returned’ Mark Pellegrino [EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW]: Star Talks A&E Series Following 'LOST' & 'Supernatural'

Mark Pellegrino has been known to play some dark characters in the past. His appearances on LOST, Dexter and Supernatural easily fall under the category of enough said. But in A&E's drama The Returned, Pellegrino plays something many actors find to be a struggle: a human. In the series, the actor plays Jack Winship, a man who is unable to explain the phenomena of his deceased daughter coming back from the dead. His character is one of many who find themselves and their small town turned upside down when several locals, all of whom had supposedly passed on, come back and are totally unaware of their own deaths.

Pellegrino recently spoke with MStars News about the show, his character and why we as a society are so fascinated with death and mystery.

Kyle Dowling: Congrats on The Returned, Mark. Can you tell me a little bit about the show?
Mark Pellegrino: It's about a miracle that happens in this little town of Caldwell, Washington. The miracle is that people who have been dead for quite a while are coming back to life, and now trying to reintroduce themselves back into a world that has basically gone on without them.

My character is a guy by the name of Jack Winship, who is the father of the first person to come back from the dead.

KD: I know it is based on a French series. Are they at all similar?
MP: I think we kept a lot of the same elements of the French series. We kept the storylines very close with some exceptions within the characters. But only for the first five episodes. After that a lot of differences are brought in and the show definitely takes a turn.

KD: And did you watch the French series before taking on this project?
MP: I did. I normally don't do that, but this was such an acclaimed show that I had to check it out. My curiosity got the better of me. And it is truly a great show. I really dug it.

But ours is different in many respects, and that became a bit of a problem for me as an actor because I had to get rid of my ideas of my French counterpart. [laughs]

It was a little bit [difficult]. It took a little while for me to get a sense of our things and our style and remove myself from adiring the French show too much. I had to let our show and our narrative be the thing that takes me away.

KD: You reunited with LOST's Carlton Cuse for this show – someone who knows how to write about mystery and death. Were he and the producers open to you exploring the European series?
MP: Totally. I think they knew we were going to do a different narrative. They knew it could be interesting information for one to have.

KD: So what drew you to this show?
MP: I loved the way the story was told. It's a twist on some themes that might seem kind of common in our narrative, and I liked the twists. I liked the fact that it's a mystery. For me, mystery is what keeps me coming back to a show.

This isn't just one mystery; it's many mysteries compounding on each other. I loved that aspect. I also loved the supernatural element because it lends a certain creepiness to it that is more subtle than what you get in this genre sometimes. I liked that, I think that is something we took from the French show.

Plus, Carlton has this ability to think outside the box. He's so imaginative; I really am looking forward to where he's going to take this show.

KD: In the show you play Jack Winship. You have a history of playing bad guys, but how would you describe Jack?
MP: I think Jack is an everyman. I think he has been out of his depth with the fact that his daughter died and his wife is so consumed with grief. He doesn't know how to cope with the dynamics that he's met. He's turned to drinking and losing himself instead of confronting the issues head on and dealing with the relationship with his wife. He's running away from that and can't deal with grief.

For me, he's a good guy who just doesn't know how to cope with what's happened around him.

KD: Would you say, because his daughter is the first to come back, he's forced to cope or confront what's going on?
MP: I think he is, but I think what he's forced to cope with more is the family situation he's let progress on its own without any guidance. Everyone is so alienated from each other. This forces him to make an attempt to reconnect with everybody.

KD: So many people know you from your super natural-like characters in LOST, Supernatural, Tomorrow People. Here you're playing a human. How was it playing a real person?
MP: When you're playing every man you have to pull everything in. There's no grand gestures, it's simple humanity. Sometimes it's easier for an actor to get lost in the flamboyance of the part and much harder to bring to life someone whose emotional sides are hidden. It's been quite a challenge. I hope I get to pursue that in Season 2.

KD: An interesting thing about the show is that is went straight-to-series. Did that take any pressure off for you?
MP: I find that it does take some pressure off. There's nothing worse than shooting a pilot and praying to God you're going to get picked up and not knowing which way it's going to go. Then you see a screening and wonder which way it'll go. Then it gets picked up for a few episodes and you hope for the back nine. It's very distressing. [laughs] So this takes one item out of stress out of the equation. I appreciate anything that takes stress out.

KD: The show speaks about death, something we are all fascinated by. I'm guessing you are as well since you seem to play those guys quite a bit. Why do you think it interests us so much??
MP: Well, it's the one undiscovered country from which no traveler returns, right? It's the one thing human consciousness cannot wrap its mind around; the concept of nothing. We can only relate to nothing in relation to something. Just being gone, nowhere, is so distressing to us that we've invented things, at least, I feel.

I feel we've developed these systems and ideas in part to explain our relationship with the universe but also in part to cope with something that is incomprehensible. I think that's why we're interested in it. That, sex and love are the dynamic movers and shakers of our inner lives.

KD: It's the undeniable curiosity of the unknown.
MP: The unknown. Indeed!

Tune into The Returned on A&E Mondays at 10 p.m.

Find more of Mark on Twitter.