Russell Hornsby Talks Grimmby Wilson Morales
December 16, 2011
Actor Russell Hornsby has been acting on and off the screen for a number of years, having done theater productions and TV series such as the play ‘Fences’ with Denzel Washington and the ABC Family series, ‘Lincoln Heights.’
Lately, one can find Hornsby on the NBC drama, ‘Grimm,’ where he plays Detective Hank Griffin.
‘Grimm’ stars David Guintoli as a cop named Nick Burckhardt who discovers he comes from a long line of Grimms – those that hunt and protect the world from the fantastical creatures of yore. To help him, he’s got his cop partner (Russell Hornsby) and Eddie Munroe (Silas Weir Mitchell), a werewolf who has decided to never use his powers for evil. But Nick tries his hardest to never let those worlds intersect.
For Hornsby, the role offers him the opportunity to show a different range of his acting talents. Most recently, there was an episode involving rats, and the California native was quick to point out the writers worked with his real-life fears of rats into his characters.
Blackfilm.com had a chance to speak to Hornsby about the episode as well as the early success and raves the show has received.
What was the attraction to doing the series?
Russell Hornsby: To be honest with you, the attraction was doing something different. I enjoy procedural dramas and what Grimm does is take the procedural along with the Grimm fantasy stories and marry the two. It’s quite fascinating what they have done with the stories.
What character do you play?
RH: I play Hank Griffin, one of the detectives with the lead Nick. We’re partners on the police force and we’re working together solving crimes. Nick (Burckhardt) is a Grimm and a profiler. He’s able to see creatures among us in their true form.
Very recently, you were in an episode involving rats. How do you feel about rats?
RH: I can’t stand them and they actually wrote my dislike of them into the storyline because I can’t stand them. Living in big cities like New York, Boston, and Los Angeles, I’ve seen mice and rats. They scurry around at will. They’re disgusting and pester around garbage and whatnot. I’m actually scared of them. I told my wife, “If we see a mouse in the house, don’t count on me!” I said that before we got married. “I will not help you. I will not save you. I will be gone. I will be calling whomever needs to come and fix/kill this problem because I’m not doing it.” They are my weakness. It’s my Kryptonite.
What have you learned from the series?
RH: I think we are only limited to what we can do by our imagination. What I appreciate about the procedural drama and also the fantasy world is that the possibilities are limitless when you marry these two worlds. There’s so much potential to some imaginative and creative things with these stories and characters. I’m really excited to see where this show can go from a story perspective and also from a character perspective. There’s still a lot more to learn about Hank. We’re just scratching the surface with this show. I think we will take the audience on a magical ride.
Coming over from a family series like Lincoln Heights to something totally different, how’s the transition been?
RH: I think the artist in me enjoys the change and appreciates the transition. I’m going from a ‘Father Knows Best’ role in ‘Lincoln Heights’ to playing the everyman, cool detective in ‘Grimm.’ I welcome the challenge and I feel that it’s a step up too. I’m playing a character with a different type of depth and different type of color to him, which I really appreciate. The writers of the show are giving me the opportunity the flex different aspects of my talent.
Having come from the theater world, was it a challenge to move into another platform or was it a matter of a bigger paycheck?
RH: I think it’s both. It’s very difficult to I leave the stage. The stage is my first love. The reality is that I appreciate the opportunity to do both. Not that many black actors have the opportunity to transition from stage to screen. I take this very seriously. Doing television presents a larger audience to see my work. Hopefully with the money and exposure will bring in a new audience to what I do on stage eventually.
