EXCLUSIVE | LA's Finest's Kurt Yaeger says playing 'bad guy' is fun: Wanted Clete Winslow to be scary yet human
'LA's Finest' returned with the second round in September and delivered some several shocks and twists, as we saw Syd Burnett (Gabrielle Union) and Nancy (Jessica Alba) try to get to the bottom of a mysterious crime surge in Koreatown, as well as find the murderer of their friend.
Kurt Yaeger, who plays the role of the antagonist Clete Winslow, talks to MEA WorldWide (MEAWW) about his experience of working on the show. A former BMXer from San Francisco, Kurt has quite the inspirational story, as he is an amputee after spending months in the hospital, recovering from the loss of his leg, his pelvis was broken in half, he fractured seven vertebrae and ruptured internal organs after a motorcycle accident. He has also appeared in shows such as 'The Rookie', 'Paradise Lost', 'Sons of Anarchy', 'NCIS LA', 'Quarry' and 'Shameless'.
How did your role in 'LA's Finest' come about?
That's actually an interesting story, because it wasn't through an audition. A dear friend of mine, Lauren, introduced me to the showrunners, Brandon Sonnier and Brandon Margolis. She knew we'd get along well and we did. We met up and discussed different roles and they came up with Clete Winslow.
You play one of the antagonists, a rather merciless one too. Do tell us how it felt to play him.
Yeah! Oh, playing the bad guy is so so so much fun. I think the part I brought to this character was his own justification that he was right in doing what he was doing. From that perspective, he would be able to get the job done by any means necessary. When you put yourself in that mindset, which I personally believe is very dangerous, a human is capable of justifying any behavior.
What were the challenges you faced for this role?
The only thing I felt was a challenge was making it convincingly good, and not over the top "bad guy". I wanted to have him be scary but still human. On every set though, I want to impress upon all the cast and crew that disabled actors can be a great value to a project and yet, aren't any more work to have on set. Usually people think disabled actors cost more, require more time, more insurance, all of which is bullshit. So, I always work harder to impress upon people that I'm a professional here to do a job, and hopefully better than anyone else you've met before, and with a bigger smile.
Do tell us a favourite moment you had on set.
Actually, there were so many. I really loved working on this show. I loved ripping my leg off and hiding in a homeless encampment, I loved jumping from roof to roof and across a beam with one leg! And yet, I think the most favorite moment was the reaction to my performance from the other cast members, like Jessica Alba. She loved how much life I brought to the character, and how convincingly bad I was, so much so that she was moved by the performance herself. That is the ultimate win for me.
What preparation did you have to do, to play an intense role like this?
I think I'm a pretty intense guy. I goof around a lot, love to laugh but I'm deadly serious when I have to be. It's because I grew up rough, in a deadly part of town and had to keep my head on a swivel, prepared to attack or be attacked. That has a long, residual effect of never letting your guard down too much. So, there's always this residual seriousness to me that comes out when playing these characters. I've done comedy, and you wouldn't think that I could!
Will we see you in more cop dramas?
I sure hope so! I've wanted to make a cop show that is an amalgam of my life, a cop's life, and a story about where and how I grew up. I haven’t seen it on TV before, so I think it's needed!
What other shows do you have in the pipeline?
I'm filming “Another Life” Season Two on Netflix right now. The cast and crew are amazing, and the plot twists!!! Oh man, the audience is going to love it. Also, working on “Tommy and Bobby” with my writing partner Alex Barone. It's a comedy series about two guys from Boston who do beer reviews from their Ma's basement. It's a lot of fun to film.