FanX 15 - One-on-One with "Good Cop" Glenn Morshower

Actor Glenn Morshower didn’t come to Salt Lake Comic Con FanXperience 2015 in January with much of the same pomp and circumstance as headliners like Matt Smith and Billie Piper of the BBC’s cult hit “Doctor Who” or with a fan base equal to that of fandom-driven idolatry like Harry Potter’s Tom Felton and Star Wars’ Carrie Fisher. He came humbly, quietly and unceremoniously.

That’s the way I found him at the pre-convention press conference.

Morshower is best known for portraying an staggering number of military personas on film and television. In fact, as he quickly pointed out, he has played more military roles than any other actor. Ever.

“That’s living or dead,” Morshower told me. “That’s an IMDb fact – and I’ve actually spent more time in uniform than most people in the actual military, so I think parts of me wake up in the morning and wonder if I am in the military.”

Although Morshower was never in the military, himself, he largely attributes his on-screen presence, backbone and stern nature, as seen in movies like Pearl Harbor, X-Men: First Class, Black Hawk Down and the Transformers franchise, to his upbringing; he was raised by his step-father, who he referred to as “a lifer Navy guy.”

IMDb credits Morshower with nearly 200 roles in films, TV shows and video games, including appearances in hit military and political dramas like “JAG,” “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation,” “NCIS,” “Alias,” the rebooted “Hawaii Five-O,” “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” and many, many more, but there is one role that Morshower easily claims as his all-time favorite:

“Bar none, my role as head of the Secret Service, Aaron Pierce, on ‘24’ for seven years,” Morshower replied confidently. “He is the nearest and dearest to my heart. I believe in everything that that character stands for, so, basically, I said to the producers, ‘Let me get this straight – you want to pay me to play me?’ I enjoyed that immeasurably, light-years beyond anything else, not to mention that it was the ultimate family… the highest bar I’ve ever seen set.”

Another role came to mind, as well.  “ I did three years on ‘The West Wing,’” he commented. “Both shows [“24” and “The West Wing”] … their bar for excellence was through the roof – and, unless you brought your A-game, you simply were not welcome there. […] I like working in that kind of an environment.”

While he pointed out that he hasn’t minded being typecast into a specific type of role in so many different movies and TV shows, he did mention to me that he got about a year and a half ago where he felt like he had “done it to death” and began to seek out other types of characters.

“I’m just not interested in doing [military roles right now] because I want to be seen in other lights,” Morshower told me. “So this year, it was kind of a ‘bucket list’ year for me because the three roles I wanted to play – which were a serial killer, a flamboyantly gay character and the president of the United States – all three roles came about within a four-month period of time. … So I’m getting out there and returning to what originally got me into the craft[: …] the ability to transform into a completely different human being. But the old saying about being typecast is, people say, ‘Do you mind being typecast?’… My answer is, ‘No, I mind being not cast,’ because my wife and I were able to put our kids through college on typecasting, so I have no problem with typecasting.”

You may recognize some of Morshower’s prominent non-military roles in movies like Moneyball and TV shows that included “Friday Night Lights,” “Star Trek: The Next Generation,” “The Secret World of Alex Mack” and “The Dukes of Hazzard.”

Despite his gruff on-screen exterior, deep down inside, Morshower is like a giant teddy bear. I asked him what he liked the most about doing pop culture conventions and, to be honest, his answer surprised me.

“The people. Just the people. I love giving folks hugs and, more often than not, people don’t want to shake my hand – they want to hug me, and I dig that… ‘Dig’ is a word from the ‘60s… And I do because there’s something very powerful about embracing another human being who has waited in a very long line to meet you. In many instances, you know, they’ve flown from God-only-knows where and I think we have, really, a moral responsibility to be fully present and engaging of every single person that walks to our table. (And I don’t mind this being recorded…) I can’t stand working with jerks! I can’t stand it! I can’t stand actors that don’t reach out and embrace people. I can’t stand being next to actors who think they’re doing you a huge favor by merely showing up. … You’re an actor. So what? Someone sweeps the streets, someone makes cones at Dairy Queen, you’re an actor. That’s what you’ve chosen to do, but that doesn’t mean that you are more special… I think that we are all of equal importance and the fact that we’re treated specially doesn’t make a lot of sense to me, but I’m honored to be there with others. I think it is the greatest business in the world and I also think it’s the worst business. And the worst business aspect of it comes to… it is the worst business to get into if you’re going into it in search of your self-esteem, because then you’ll believe anything that anybody tells you, and if they tell you that you’re the greatest thing since sliced bread, you walk around believing it and then you live as though you’re better than others, which is a nightmarishly ugly thing to be around. So, I just love people, period. I’m glad to be here.”

Then I asked him if I could give him a hug. He happily obliged.