Harold Perrineau Looks Back on "Lost"

[JamesG]

"I will endlessly be proud of being part of that show and bringing Michael to the screen," says Harold Perrineau of the blockbuster ABC sci-fi drama.

"I know people did not like Michael, and to this day, I'm confused, like Michael didn't kill his dad. He didn't set fire to his mom's house. He wasn't a conman. He was a dude who had a son that got taken away from him. He went to get him back, and the world went nuts."




He especially remembers catching fire for Michael shooting Ana Lucia (Michelle Rodriguez) and Libby (Cynthia Watros) in season 2.

"I said, 'But I shot myself too. I didn't just shoot them. I got shot.' They're like 'You should've got shot! You should've shot yourself in the face!' They were so mad about it."







The actor had his own public frustrations with the show, and the unfortunate racial optics that were a consequence of his character's death.

"What I said about Black characters in the show, I still stand by those things, not taking out anything on the writers. They were just like moments that I thought were lost."




He now laughs in hindsight at how while he was trying to get over the way he'd left the show, he kept coming in contact with co-creator Damon Lindelof because their kids were in the same class during elementary school.

"Those first couple years I was pretty salty about it. And yes, we had lots of conversations and I understood his point of view. He understood my point of view, but we stood where we stood. And then as the years went by, I guess he had many other conversations with lots of other people, he started writing really amazing things."




He now commends the Watchmen creator for the roles he's written for Black actors since.

"If you say something to somebody, then you have to back up and let them hear that. And if they choose to do something about it, let 'em do it. And he chose to do something in a big way. And I'm like, 'Yeah, Bravo!'"

https://ew.com/tv/harold-perrineau-l...eer-interview/