BEST OF TASTY CLIPS: Harold Perrineau still leading the way as ‘From’ nears end

By Bill Vaughan

Entertainment Writer

With memorable character performances in a string of popular critically acclaimed television series including “Lost,” “Claws,” “Star,” and “Oz” on his resume, you could consider HAROLD PERRINEAU to be the king of one-word hit shows.

“And in each one of them we’re trapped somewhere,” added the Brooklyn native after a hearty laugh at the notion with TASTY CLIPS. “In a prison, on an island, in a town. That’s been my good fortune because they’ve all been really good shows written by amazing writers with a bunch of amazing actors.”

Add the eerie horror thriller “From,” to that esteemed list. In the Nova Scotia-filmed series currently streaming on MGM+, Perrineau portrays Sheriff Boyd Stevens, the enigmatic leader of an isolated town whose dwellers are besieged by compelling yet violent night creatures.

Upon reading the script, he found the situation to be somewhat of a parallel to the pandemic of years past.

“I was like this is exactly what it felt like,” Perrineau said. “I felt like we were all sort of trapped inside this one place and there was a monster out there that none of us knew [anything about]. We had to figure out some kind of way to protect ourselves. So, I thought it was really transferable for me as an actor.

“Boyd is one of those guys who does what he does, and you have to ask if he’s right or wrong,” Perrineau continued. “I personally think he’s doing the best he can. He’s a man of service who really wants to do everything he can to help the people there.

“He just doesn’t have time for the shenanigans and doesn’t suffer fools well. He doesn’t care if he has to break rules. I like that he’s that passionate. Some people are not going to like him. Some are going to watch if he gets killed.”

More laughter followed when it was suggested to “The Best Man” actor that he may have been the first Black autistic sex symbol on television via his role for four seasons as younger brother of Niecy Nash’s Desna Simms on TNT’s “Claws.”

“That is funny. You’re probably right if that’s true for anybody,” he said. “But I do remember one time I was walking in Atlanta, and this girl was like, ‘Uh, Are you Dean?’ I said, Well no, I’m Harold. She’s like ‘Uh, cause you know Dean could get it.’ I was like, OK! Imma keep rolling. I’m not sure what you’re telling me. I was really surprised by it.”

Much like the many fans of “Lost” were at the conclusion of the sci-fi mystery series that ran on ABC for six seasons.

“I understood the ending,” he admitted. “I don’t know if I like it. In that way that, in the very beginning we were like, ‘We’re not in purgatory, right?’ And they were like ‘No, no, no. Of course not.’ Then later we’re in purgatory!”

“But I really understood it from the creators’ point of view,” he added. “That at the end of the day it was just about the journey. It was about the fun we had on this ride, and you don’t have to get all the answers. I kind of got that and understand people were upset about it.”

Many forget Perrineau was once in “The Matrix” franchise and while he felt the 2021 reboot was fun, he thinks the thrill is gone after the secret of the far superior original film was out.

“The first one was so amazing that we expect to be blown away like that each time,” reasoned the film’s Link. There were great special effects, characters and story, but it didn’t have the same feeling once you realized they were all batteries.”

Despite not having a strong desire to direct, Perrineau has been working for several years as a producer on “Slay The Dreamer,” about one part of the coverup of the assassination of the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., with Lawrence Fishburne and Josh Lucas attached.

“It centers around finding this woman who no one really knows much about named Grace Walden,” he said. “She was the only eyewitness to the person who left the rooming house, and she has always said the person they arrested is not who she saw. She suddenly disappeared one day. It took eight years to find her. We have a whole story that we’ve been trying to get out about her. It’s been tricky.”

In the meantime, the 62-year-old husband and father of three is enjoying the success of his actress daughter Aurora Perrineau (Prime Video’s “Every Year After”), before gearing up to begin filming the fifth and final season of “From.”

Of this last tale to be told in saga of the horror series, Perrineau says, “I think that my fans will be like ‘Oh Snap’ again when they see what’s coming up.”

For 12 years, Bill Vaughan has kept Wave readers up to date with the latest news in entertainment. Now, we are collecting some of those past columns into what we call the Best of Tasty Clips. To contact Vaughan, visit his social media pages on Facebook and Instagram or @tasty_clips, on X @tastyclips, and on LinkedIn to William Vaughan.