Harold Perrineau clarifies comments (and lands a pilot)

Just a quick follow-up to my previous post about Harold Perrineau's annoyed comments to TV Guide following the death of his character, Michael. He just talked to Entertainment Weekly to clarify some of what was said:

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: You expressed displeasure with the way your story line ended, calling it “not cool.” Do you feel bitter about what happened?
HAROLD PERRINEAU: I wouldn’t say I’m bitter. I’m just like the fans, and I got excited when Michael was coming back. I thought it was really significant when Michael dropped those people off with the Others; I thought he was going to have something just as significant when he came back. I was disappointed that he didn’t. He didn’t get to make amends with those people...I was disappointed more than anything, like the fans were disappointed. Like I think the fans were disappointed.

Don't worry bud, I'm with you. He also played the race card to TV Guide, saying that Walt becoming another fatherless black kid played into a "really big, weird stereotype." On those comments:

Do you feel that there is something fundamentally problematic with that plot, or is that just an observation?
It’s just an observation. Michael’s a black character and I’m a black person, so I have feelings based on it. I can’t really separate those two things — my race and my country and all that stuff. How it plays out in the story, I don’t know, because I don’t know how the rest of the story is going to play out. I accept that this is what [the producers] need to happen for something else to happen later.

Do you regret going public with your feelings?

I should probably think more before I say things. I should especially think before I say anything racial, because I recognize that when you make a racial comment it polarizes people. That was never the intention. It’s like, “No, no, no, don’t choose sides. I’m just telling you this is what I think. Everybody stay on whatever side you’re on; this is my point-of-view.” I should think about those things, and then unfortunately what happens is I just start to talk — like I’m doing now, I should probably shut up. [laughs]

Check out the full interview here.

And by the way, Perrineau just landed a role in a new dramedy pilot for ABC called "The Unusuals," playing "a worrisome cop who never takes off his Kevlar because he's always afraid that he might die."

TAGS: Harold Perrineau, Interview, Michael
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