'Stargirl' star Lou Ferrigno Jr says he had a superhero as a dad and that made him a better Hourman
'Stargirl' is losing no time in pointing at the villains and heroes. After battling Brainwave (Christopher James Baker) and Icicle (Neil Jackson), Stargirl (Brec Bassinger) realizes she can't fight crime alone, and decides to recruit members for the Justice Society Of America. Hourman (Lou Ferrigno Jr) was one of the founding leaders of the society, and obviously, he's going to play a crucial role in the series. In an exclusive interview to MEA WorldWide (MEAWW), Ferrigno Jr talks about his audition for the show, the character, and Hourman's complex relationship with his son.
Asked how he decided to take up the show, he says, "I undertook the audition and it was a great piece of material. It was kind of meant to be. I was shooting a television show called 911, and I had to postpone this audition because they had nightshoots and I didn't know if I could make it. And they [Stargirl creators] were very considerate and were very generous to allow me to put it on tape. It did. And it worked out."
Speaking about his character Rex Tyler, he says, "Rex is a gear head. He loves his cars. I'm not a big gear head, but I agree with his fascination of machinery. He's a brilliant man, and a scientist. I don't have a son of my own, but the fact that he goes to such great lengths to sacrifice himself for his son and the love that he shares with him and the lineage and what he provides his son Rick with is really cool."
As many are aware, Ferrigno's father played the role of Incredible Hulk on television. Explaining why this has an important impact on his character, he says that 'he knows what it is to grow up with a superhero. "My father played the Incredible Hulk on television. So I have a special kinship with this [character], because Rex Tyler is a superhero. Geoff Johns and I were speaking and he was like 'Rex has a son, 'how do you think he feels about his dad being a superhero'... And I just looked at him and I said, 'I know, I know this more than, better than most, because I know what it's like to grow up with a dad, who is a superhero'. So I was given the opportunity to kind of jump into my father's footsteps. Rex and his son get along and fight. I don't want to give anything away, but there are a lot of touching scenes."
Asked whether his storyline sticks to the comics, he says, "so far, it's pretty on point. Geoff Johns has done a great job by getting a great team of writers, and adapting the comic book work. The suit is incredible. It is completely 100% head to toe tailored and custom-made for me as Hourman. So I couldn't be more Hourman with this suit, if I tried. As for the storyline, it takes a few different turns, but for the most part it's right on point and it's really, really cool and exciting. I'm so happy to be a part of it."
Opening up about his character's motivations as a hero, Ferrigno says: "He's a good man. Due to the injustice around him, he created the miracle drug so that he could be able to fight crime. And he could be able to dual evil, but he's such a good guy that instead of taking this drug and having unlimited power all the time and getting addicted to it, he's a decent adrenaline junkie. He knows the power that it wields. He doesn't want people to fall victim to the power of this drug. So, effect time of the drug closes down to one hour and hence the name Hourman. He went into his chemistry lab and changed it to a one hour effect."
Talking about his connection to the Justice Society of America, he says: "He's one of the founding members. I mean the Justice League, which came after Superman, Flash Green Lantern, Batman, they looked up to the Justice Society. So there of the founding members, Starman, Hourman are two of them. I'm not sure about the rest of them, but both of them got together and basically said, enough was enough. We want this evil to end."
'Stargirl' airs on CW on Tuesdays at 8 pm.