In Season 2 ofFortitude, the remote arctic town is attempting to recover from the parasites that tore their peaceful community apart. But as nature grows ever more dangerous, the chaos quickly returns when the mainland cuts off funding and supplies just as Fortitude experiences another mysterious and shocking death.
During this 1-on-1 phone interview with Collider, actorDennis Quaid(who has joined the series in the second season) talked about what drew him to the series, the appeal of television, becoming a binge-watcher, why he wanted to play fisherman Michael Lennox, working withMichelle Fairley(Game of Thrones), getting out on a boat in the Arctic Ocean for research, the challenge of getting to the remote set, and looking forward to returning for Season 3. He also talked about what he looks for in a project, that he’d love to do another Western, and that he’d like to make a movie about rodeo.
Collider: How did you come to be a part ofFortitudefor Season 2? Had you been aware of the show, in its first season?
DENNIS QUAID: I was not aware of the show, in its first season. It was on Sky Atlantic, and it was mainly in the UK, and then Pivot took it up, but I wasn’t aware of it. I was in Montreal last August and I got a call from Simon [Donald], the creator/writer, walked me through the character and story. Then, they sent me the first season and I watched it, and it was a no-brainer for me. I definitely wanted to do it.
What was the appeal of this show, for you?
QUAID: Coming in for the second season, with the show being established and everybody else knowing their characters, was appealing to me. I already knew them and was involved with them already, as a viewer, so coming into the show was an easy fit.
WithThe Art of Morefor Crackle and nowFortitudefor Amazon, you’ve done a couple of streaming TV series now. When did you realize that doing a streaming series was a viable option for you?
QUAID: Just watching on television, really. I turned into a binge-watcher, like everyone else, and realized that the writers had gone to television. I found that the stories I liked to watch were being told on television. What’s going on, on TV right now, is like what was going on in the movies in the ‘70s. It feels like the inmates have taken over the asylum.
What was the first show that drew you in, as a binge-watcher?
QUAID:Breaking Badis what turned me into a binge-watcher. I didn’t come to the show until the third season, so there was a lot there. There were 30 episodes, so I basically laid in bed for two weeks and watched them.
What was it about Michael Lennox that made you want to play this character?
QUAID: He’s an American ex-patriot. He’s a fisherman there, in the Arctic Ocean, which I got to go out on, on many occasions, and it’s absolutely beautiful. But his story is a story of true love, for him and his wife, who is dying of Lou Gehrig’s disease. He’s on a quest to save her life. His wife of decades is the love of his life. Nothing deters him from that single-minded path that he’s on. That was very appealing to me.
What was it like to have someone like Michelle Fairley to explore that dynamic with?
QUAID: She’s such a great actress that it was like not having to do anything except react to her. Those are the best actors. It’s just so effortless to do that.
Did you do any research to help you understand who this guy would be and what life would be like for him?
QUAID: Oh, yeah. When I got to Iceland, the first thing I wanted to do was got on a boat and go down to the Arctic Ocean. Just being out on that water and looking back at the fjords, it’s so beautiful. I would describe it as Hawaii in the arctic. It’s very exotic.
Living this kind of lifestyle and surviving weather this harsh is definitely not for everyone. Did this show help you learn to appreciate that, and do you think you’d be able to survive long-term life in the arctic?
QUAID: I’ve had a place in Montana for 25 years, so I’m used to weather. Actually, they say the winters in the arctic are milder there than they are in New York, but that depends on how much the wind is blowing. And then, there’s the situation with the light. In the summertime, there’s 24 hours of it, and in the wintertime, it’s very limited. I don’t think I’d want to live there, but I am so looking forward to going back for Season 3.
Is Season 3 officially happening, and are you returning?
QUAID: Yes, I am.
What did you find most challenging about the experience of shooting this show?
QUAID: Well, the hardest thing was getting to work. We had to go down a mountain pass, and sometimes it was impossible to pass and you’d have to stand by for a couple of hours. And then, you’d get in a super Jeep to make it over there. You couldn’t see a thing, but the drivers would get you there. We were in eastern Iceland. Reykjavík is on the western side. I think there’s 300,000 people in Iceland, and 280,000 of them live in Reykjavík. We were out there in the wilderness.
In a lot of ways, this is a very international cast that you were sort of the outsider of. How did you find that experience? Did it feel like a very unique project, in that sense?
QUAID: Yes, it really did, and I loved it. I loved the diversity of the cast. And it’s also based in fact. In that area of Norway, back in the 1900s, there was a depression going on, but the coal mines were doing well up there, so a lot of people came from all over the world to work the coal fields. I don’t know of another show, except maybeGame of Thrones, that’s so diverse. We have people from Belgium, Sweden, Russia, the UK, Africa, the United States and the Middle East.
When you think back to your time filming Season 2 ofFortitude, what are the things that you think will always stand out for you and that you’ll remember most?
QUAID: We were out there with the crew, so we really had to make our own fun. Hanging out with the cast and crew, every night at the hotel, was fun. We really got to know each other and got very close.
At this point in your career, what do you look for in a project? What’s most important to you, in signing on to do something? Is it the script and the character, or does who you’ll be working with and where you’ll be working also rank pretty high on the list?
QUAID: The first thing, for me, is the story. When I read a script, it’s the only time that I’m going to have a first-time experience of the story, and I want to be taken somewhere and really get involved with it. And of course, the character is important. And then, I want to know who’s doing it and where it will be shooting.
You’ve played many different characters, in various mediums, but is there something you still want to do, like a specific role or a certain genre, that you haven’t gotten the opportunity to do yet?
QUAID: Well, I’d like to do another Western. I’ve done Westerns, but it’s been quite awhile. And I’d like to do a movie about rodeo, actually. Steve McQueen did the last real rodeo movie (Junior Bonner), back in the ‘70s.
