Reacher's Harvey Guillén Was Drawn To Jasper Because Of His Uniqueness
Fans of the Amazon Prime Video series "Reacher," based on the "Jack Reacher" novels by Lee Child, might be drawn to the character of Jasper, the medical examiner for Musgrave PD. Played by Harvey Guillén and based on an unnamed character in the first Reacher book, "Killing Floor," the character aids Jack Reacher (Alan Ritchson) in drawing clues from bodies and solving the mysteries that placed them under the ME's care.
If "Reacher" fans enjoy the interplay between Jasper and Reacher on the show, as well as the somewhat unique nature of the former's character and personality, they're not alone. They're joined in this appreciation by Guillén, who told CBR about what it was that attracted him to the role, and why he ended up taking it after initially intending to turn it down.
"Originally, I almost didn't do the role because I had just finished Season 3 of ["What We Do in the Shadows"]. I missed my family. I was living in Toronto. It was a lockdown," the actor recalled. Eventually, however, he was convinced thanks to the unique nature of the character in the world of television. "The creator and showrunner, Nick [Santora], called me. He was saying that he thought I could really bring this character to life, and it was different than anything else. He's a Medical Examiner. He's Latinx. He's Latino and he has this southern accent. You don't really see Latinos having southern accents while speaking on TV," Guillén said.
Guillén enjoyed playing a different type of character than his previous roles
During the CBR interview, Harvey Guillén went on to explain how it was the unusual nature of the Jasper part that caused him to reconsider his original position and take the gig on "Reacher."
"It was nice to put on that hat of a different layered character that I haven't played," Guillén said. "His mannerisms are different, and there's this idea that he's very loving and endearing, but also really good at his job. He's sometimes a pushover, but helps solve these crimes that are taking over this town."
It's a convention of crime stories that medical examiners and coroners be nonchalant about their work, eating sandwiches or candy bars while handling corpses, and so on. Jasper goes against the grain as a somewhat squeamish character who nevertheless holds his own as a sidekick alongside the Holmesian genius of Jack Reacher. And it's nice for Jasper fans to know that the actor playing Jasper was as taken with the character as they've been. Luckily for fans, they will get to see more of Jasper when "Reacher" returns for Season 2 on Amazon Prime Video.