‘Tracker’ – Justin Hartley Interview on His New Action Drama
CBS’s new primetime action-drama, Tracker, is set to premiere in the coveted timeslot immediately following Super Bowl LVIII. The Big Game is always a big draw, but even more viewers are expected to tune in because of the Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce romance. CBS has high hopes those viewers will stick around to check out Justin Hartley taking on the lead role in Tracker after six seasons on This Is Us.
Tracker is based on Jeffrey Deaver’s bestselling novel The Never Game and stars Hartley as Colter Shaw, a survivalist who travels via RV all over the country to find missing people (or items) and collect the rewards. Colter, who prefers to be known as a “rewardist” rather than bounty hunter, has support from a close-knit team played by Robin Weigert, Abby McEnany, Eric Graise, and Fiona Rene.
CBS recently hosted a press conference with the Tracker cast and executive producer/director Ken Olin (This Is Us) to promote the first season. Here are the highlights of the Q&A with series star Justin Hartley who also serves as an executive producer.
On the appeal of Tracker and reuniting with Ken Olin:
Justin Hartley: “Ken and I worked together, as you know, on This Is Us, and we had this really great culture and great experience together and developed such a tight friendship – sort of like a family – that we sort of looked at each other, and we said, ‘We gotta keep doing this. We want to do another show.’ And so, we were on the lookout for something really great to do together, and we found this book.
We were able to, luckily, get our hands on it and develop it. And from there, find this extraordinary cast to fill out our show. We’re so lucky. And we have, I think, continued that culture that we found on This Is Us in this really wonderful environment.”
On Colter Shaw’s backstory and his relationship with his fractured family:
Justin Hartley: “It’s sort of a driver for all of the stuff that you see this character do in his adult life. There’s an element, I think, to most if not all of the jobs that he takes – and his ability to solve, to find these people, and to get these positive outcomes – that comes from the way that he was raised. And the way that he was raised is not necessarily always easy on the palate.
I mean, his father was very, very difficult. He had a rough childhood, really unique, strange kind of childhood. But all of those things that he went through when he was younger are things that he was taught and that he uses in his current life. And you know, I think a lot of the stories that we tell […] open up Colter a little bit in a sense that he then kind of can reflect on his childhood.
And oftentimes, I think the way that you remember things might not be actually the way they actually happened, right? And I think Colter’s kind of figuring that out as well. But that’s a major part of our show is the backstory in the family, and he’s got a lot of questions about his childhood and what he ends up, I guess, realizing are assumptions that might not be true.”
On the workload on Tracker compared to This Is Us:
Justin Hartley: “The workload is great. Look, here’s the thing. I love it. I’ve always wanted this, and it’s not work. It’s a labor of love. I mean, you have a call time, and you show up. And gosh! People have written stuff for you, and people are lighting you. And I’ve got this amazing support group around me. These guys, I mean, it’s a team effort for sure. And whether you’re on stage or out in the middle of the forest in the middle of the night, on a Saturday morning, yeah, in 4 degrees by yourself, or whether it’s you or whether it’s you guys on stage or wherever you are. It’s the story that matters. And when you watch the finished product it all becomes worth it. So, I don’t really feel the workload.
That’s…I mean…that’s bullsh*t. (Laughing) I do. It’s hard – it’s really hard. No, it’s not! Look, I mean, I’m not […] complaining. It’s been great when you get an opportunity to do something that you love and spend a lot of time doing it with people that you love. It’s a joy.”
On how much Jeffrey Deaver’s description of Colter influenced how he plays the character:
Justin Hartley: “I would say quite a bit. Ken and I talk about it all the time. We worked on this character together, you know. Obviously, Jeffrey wrote it and then you have to figure out a way in. What is it that’s so interesting about this character? First of all, what drew you to it? And then, from there, how do you adapt it to the screen? Because it doesn’t [adapt easily].
There are certain things in the book where this character…he does a lot of calculations and sort of talking to himself in his head. You just can’t do that on screen. It would be very hard to watch. You’d be reading a lot, and it would be very hard to watch. So, you have to figure out a way to show this guy and what’s going on in his head without just him talking to himself all the time, which sort of is not the character. He’s not a weirdo. He’s not constantly talking to himself like Ken, and he’s not haunted.
But yeah, we talked a lot about that. Actually, how do you get all of that stuff that we love about the character in the book translated to the screen without losing it, but also without kind of making it look like something it’s not?”
On playing a strong, silent type after six seasons of This Is Us:
Justin Hartley: “Well, in some sense, it’s a relief. And in some sense, it’s a daunting task. You know, when you’re still and you’re on camera, and you’re still and you’re not talking, you’re telling the story through your look and what’s going on with your body. It’s interesting. It’s a bit scary, in a way, because you’re sitting there going, ‘Okay, I’ve been still and silent for a good solid 40 seconds. Is that boring? Is that going to be interesting? I mean, is that going to make people think that I’m asleep or something?’
I mean, the writing is good, and the storytelling is great, and if Colter’s listening to something… I firmly believe that if you actually, as far as acting goes, do what you say you’re doing – actually firing a gun or actually stabbing someone or actually punching someone – if you’re emotionally doing what you say that you’re doing. I think that’s very hard to deny or to say that that’s not true or honest.
So, I love it. I think it’s really cool too. I love those characters, too. I love watching a character not necessarily talk all the time but think as an audience member just sitting here watching what Bruce Willis might be thinking, and then you sit at the edge of your seat wondering what he’s going to say next. So, I’ve always been a fan of those kinds of characters. So, for me, it’s sort of a dream come true.”
On whether he likes having a book available as source material or prefers to create his own backstory:
Justin Hartley: “I like both. I think there are fun aspects of both. It’s great to have that source material, though, because week-to-week, as we get these new episodes, new [stories], new guest stars, new sets of circumstances, new jobs, whatever it might be, you do have that source material. […] The fact that it’s there gives you comfort, right? As the stories change week-to-week and, like I said, new characters come on in new…I don’t want to call them cases, but new jobs, new sets of circumstances, you have that source material.
You always have that sort of in the back of your head. What would Colter do? And you use that source material. At least, I do to decide for yourself. What would Colter do? Well, how would he react in this situation, given the source material? So, I use it. And I find it’s good to have.”
On Colter’s personality and his dedication to being a rewardist:
Justin Hartley: “You know what I love about him is I think he’s a good man. He’s a good man and he wants to do good things for people in need. And I think we talk a lot about how he’s a restless guy. He can go in, you know, sort of help a situation, there’s an outcome, and then he leaves. He has a hard time not running away. I don’t think he intentionally runs away. I just think it’s how he is.
He’s afraid of a lot of stuff, oddly enough, and I think that’s why he finds he’s trying to fill this void that is probably unfillable. He’s trying to fill it with these rewards and helping strangers. And he’s sort of created this family around him to try to fill all these voids that, like I said, I don’t think he can fill. I also think, at a surface level, I think he enjoys the action and the fun and the excitement, and not being tied down, and the freedom.
But yeah, I think it’s definitely when you look at his past – his childhood, the way he was brought up, what happened to his father, the questions that he has about his family, the paranoia that he was surrounded by when he was younger – and then you look at what he does as an adult, it all makes sense. You go, ‘Well, he’s a product of his environment.’ You know, what happened to him as a youth.
Tracker will premiere on Sunday, February 11, 2024 after the Super Bowl before settling into its regular Sundays at 9pm ET/PT timeslot on February 18th.
