Stars John Krasinski, Wendell Pierce and show creators Carlton Cuse and Graham Roland were all present for the premiere of the Amazon series Jack Ryan during LA Fleet Week Friday, where they aboarded the historic Battleship Iowa at the Port of Los Angeles in San Pedro.
The series centers on CIA analyst Ryan, who was first introduced in 1990’s The Hunt for Red October. Over the years, the Ryan character has been portrayed by major stars such as Alec Baldwin, Harrison Ford and Ben Affleck. In order to make the character relevant to 2018, Cuse explains that the audience will witness a “more progressive” Ryan.
“The Clancy character was very traditional old-fashioned sort of Gary Cooper type of good guy. Our guy is very much a good guy, but a millennial good guy,” Cuse told The Hollywood Reporter.
Roland added that though fictional, the character was rewritten to emulate Krasinski’s “charm.” “I think we wrote to John’s sense of humor…I think that he brings a sort of millennial kind of earnestness that we haven’t seen before and a vulnerability that we haven’t seen in the other iterations of Jack Ryan.”
The Amazon series filmed in various locations around the world, including Morroco, Montreal and Washington D.C. Krasinski —who has two children with actress Emily Blunt — revealed that he went to great lengths to continue spending ample time with his family while filming.
“Family for me, it’s a non-negotiable thing,” Krasinki told THR. “So if I’m honest, I was shooting 6,000 miles away from them, and I flew back every single weekend. It was Montreal to London, every single weekend.”
With their children residing with Blunt as she filmed Mary Poppins, Krasinski explained that they “always set up a base.” “I always want the base to be with their mom, and I’ll do the flight time. But yeah, it’s brutal.”
Wendell Pierce, who plays James Greer in the series, was well aware that he was taking following in the footsteps of acting legend James Earl Jones.
“James Earl Jones is a hero of mine. He’s one of the reasons I became an actor,” Pierce said. “So, it’s less fear and intimidation and more excitement and challenge. I was looking forward to doing a role that he was asked to do and then have a chance to go and explore it a little more in ways that they didn’t give him a chance to.”
Amazon spared no expense in creating an optimal viewing experience for the premiere of the series, constructing a massive screen and adding bleachers on the stern of the 75-year-old battleship. Carnival snacks such as churros, giant pretzels and hotdogs were also offered for everyone to enjoy during the show.
The audience was buzzing with excitement after viewing the explosive conclusion to the first episode. As the audience walked off the ship, a massive fireworks show was unleashed over the harbor that decorated the warship in multi-colored lights.
(Excerpt) Read more in: The Hollywood Reporter