Dennis Haysbert focuses on future
Dennis Haysbert has made a career playing commanding authority figures, most memorably “24” President David Palmer, and he explores that territory again in “Incorporated.” Set in a dystopian 2074, the new Syfy series cast Haysbert as the head of security at the largest corporation in a world where multinational corporations have unlimited power in the void caused by bankrupt governments.
The “Incorporated” debut comes after last month’s U.S. premiere of the BBC miniseries “Undercover,” in which the actor plays a role strikingly different from his characters in positions of power: an inmate on death row.
Haysbert, 62, talked about his current projects. The following is an edited transcript.
“Our legal system’s not absolute. We make big mistakes.”
Q: What interested you in joining the cast of “Incorporated”?
A: There’s a few things. I love sci-fi. I always like looking into the future and being a part of that discussion. If it turns out to be a utopian world, I want to explore what that would be like to be a part of that. And a dystopian world, if that’s the world we’re headed toward, it would be nice to know how to survive it. Also, I love playing detectives. But this one’s different. This one’s in the future, and it’s in a dystopian world. How does a lawman, basically a corporation lawman, operate? Does he do it just at the behest of the company or does he have a strong sense of law?
Q: What films or TV shows are among your favorite sci-fi?
A: One of my favorites is the original “The Day the Earth Stood Still.” I really kind of connected and identified with the Michael Rennie character, who was the alien. That would be an incredible role to have. And to have your own robot.
Q: You have two current projects that are dealing with hot-button issues: climate change in “Incorporated” and the death penalty in “Undercover.” Are those issues you’re passionate about in any way?
A: I would say, first, I like the exploration of the human condition (in “Undercover”). That said, yes, I’m very passionate about the death penalty, ’cause I used to be for it. And to a certain extent I still am, depending on the crime and the criminal. Children and the elderly, women — I don’t like seeing women murdered and abused. That is the height of cowardice, to hurt a woman, to destroy a child.
But the thing that holds me back from fully wanting a death penalty is our legal system’s not absolute. We make big mistakes. A lot of people have been put in jail and on death row who didn’t commit the crime. We incarcerate more people in this country than China, and they’ve got over a billion people. It’s a business. That’s profoundly sad to me. Then the people that they’re putting in these prisons are people that look like you.
Q: Your organization, the Haysbert Humanitarian Foundation, focuses on some efforts related to the climate change depicted in “Incorporated,” like sustainable energy and clean water.
A: That has been at the forefront of what I wanted for my foundation, but now I’m changing it a bit because I must do something to preserve children’s education. Emily Rome is a freelance reporter.