Reinventing MacGyver: Break out the paperclips, 80s hero MacGyver is back.

Actor Lucas Till talks to Kerry Harvey about his lead role in the new version of the 80s TV series MacGyver.

Lucas Till was thrilled when he was cast to play Angus MacGyver in a reboot of the 80s TV series. But Lucas’ dad was even more excited than his actor son about the role.

“When I would do movies he would be like, ‘Oh, that’s so cool’,” says Till, 26, about his dad. “But then when I got MacGyver, he’s been calling me every day, like, ‘Hey, man, let’s hang out. Hey, I got this new idea. Hey, look at this thing I built’,” says the X-Men star, whose father John, a lieutenant-colonel in the US Army, appeared as an extra in the show’s first episode.

“We used to call him MacGyver when I was a kid and he used to hijack all of my class projects and do them for me and say that I did them because he loved creating. I mean, I’m pretty excited but he’s way more excited than I am.”

So Till clearly knew he had big shoes to fill when he was cast in a remake of the action series that screened from 1982 to 1992 and made actor Richard Dean Anderson an international star.

Just like the original, Till’s MacGyver is a secret agent who uses his talent for problem solving and his extensive knowledge of science to save lives. His weapons of choice are not guns but instead he uses his Swiss Army knife and common household items such as paperclips, rubber bands and duct tape.

However, unlike the original, who was a lone wolf operator, this Mac is surrounded by a team which engages in high-risk missions around the world. The team includes his best friend Jack Dalton (CSI’s George Eads), who has no problem with guns and isn’t above torturing the odd villain.

“I think all of us feel like we have a responsibility to the old fans,” Till says. “One of those things is having MacGyver making stuff out of nothing but we are just trying to do a lot of new things because, you know, you can always just go watch the (original) show on Netflix. They’re big shoes to fill but I hope George (Eads) and I can fill them.”

Till says he quickly realised while

manyhad original seen viewerstherethe were were too others young who to haveof MacGyver.even heard

“See, it’s kind of like James Bond. There’s a new James Bond every couple of years. Maybe I can do the new MacGyver and put my own twist on it. But you do have certain things that you have to adhere to because, otherwise, it’s not MacGyver.”

The show’s first episode drew an audience of almost 11 million when it screened in the US but Till says he pays little attention to the social media feedback.

“I’m sure there are some haters out there but I just put my blinders on. I try not to look at it, good or bad, but eventually my manager or my mom will be, like, ‘Oh, look how good a review this was’. “So then I’ll read that one. But most of the time I just try to do my job and hope for the best.” Till says he watched clips from the original show before filming began but these days he is too tired to do anything at the end of the day except sleep. “You definitely have to be fit. We have an upcoming episode that is all running. And I do a lot of stunts,” he says, adding mastering MacGyver’s trademark technical skills are even more of a challenge. “However improbable it may be, it’s all possible,” he says, just not necessarily for him. “I have to fake it on the show. I can’t even accomplish half of what I do on the show with these paperclips. I try but I fail.”

“I think all of us feel like we have a responsibility to the old fans.” – Lucas Till