One of Harold Perrineau's old characters was divisive, and justifiably so, but his new character in From gives him the redemption he deserves. Set in a horrifying Middle American town that does not let its visitors leave, From features Harold Perrineau as Boyd Stevens, the town's sheriff and mayor. He helms the responsibility of protecting his people from ghoulish creatures that appear at dawn and tries to maintain order despite his town's strange circumstances. Put simply, he is the nightmarish town's leading figure, who gives the citizens a speck of hope even when people are constantly dying.
From also adds more depth to Harold Perrineau's Boyd by showing how he is estranged from his son Ellis. While these complexities in his characterization make him more multilayered and relatable, they do not unnecessarily turn him into a morally ambiguous character. Harold Perrineau plays Boyd Stevens with conviction and confidence, similar to how he portrays all his characters on screen. Unfortunately, not all of his characters have received the same treatment as Boyd Stevens.
Harold Perrineau's From Character Finally Fixes Lost's Michael Failures
Harold Perrineau's character in Lost, Michael Dawson, was initially portrayed as a protective, caring father who did everything to look out for his son. However, as the long-running series progressed, Michael Dawson's storyline abruptly took a grim turn and made him seem more morally ambiguous than he initially appeared. Michael Dawson's sudden foray into the morally gray zone of Lost's overarching storyline alienated viewers, making it hard not to feel divisive about him. Harold Perrineau, too, felt the same about his Lost character and the direction of his storyline.
Expressing his dissatisfaction towards the closing arcs of Dawson's Lost narrative, Harold Perrineau criticized the show's representation of black people by highlighting how his character was confined into racial stereotypes (via From's horror drama shares many similarities with Lost's, it gives Harold Perrineau the opportunity to showcase his talent by giving him the heroic role of a man who instills hope in his community while trying to find his way back home. By doing so, From gives Harold Perrineau's acting career a much-needed redemption and fixes the flaws that held Michael Dawson down.
From Gives Harold Perrineau His Well-Deserved Spotlight After Lost Wrote Him Out (Twice)
Harold Perrineau was among the biggest talents in Lost's cast as he already had two Matrix movies and an HBO series under his belt. “Harold had one of the biggest careers of all of us when Lost began,” recalled Daniel Dae Kim (via Vanity Fair), who played Jin-Soo Kwon in Lost. Unfortunately, as Perrineau recounted, the show shifted its focus more towards Locke, Jack, Kate, and Sawyer after a few episodes, ignoring non-white characters like Harold Perrineau and Daniel Dae Kim. After continually giving Perrineau's character a lackluster storyline, Lost even wrote him out twice.
Perrineau also disclosed that he was fired from Lost after he tried demanding more depth for his character in the series. Instead of treading the same unfair path as Lost, From gives Harold Perrineau the spotlight he deserves. Unlike Lost, From allows Harold Perrineau to showcase his true range as an actor by giving him a character with a strong arc, emotional depth, and narrative nuances that do not confine him to stereotypes.
Sources: Digital Spy, Vanity Fair