Plus, he shares his thoughts on whether he’d ever adopt Tom Hanks' Robert Langdon hairstyle.
Robert Langdon loves an enigma.
Zukerman continues: “I think Dan Brown observed that in me.
Sumalee Montano, Ashley Zukerman, and Rick Gonzalez on ‘The Lost Symbol’.Rafy/Peacock
He said to me that Robert Langdon would love to have faith, but he can’t.
I thought that was a fascinating idea, and that’s something that I had missed.
Playing him with that idea changes everything because it means that there’s a possibility for everything.
Tom Hanks in ‘The Da Vinci Code’.Everett Collection
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: The character of Robert Langdon has been with us for a while now.
Had you seen the films or read the books before signing on?
That was a very nice experience.
So I’m glad I had missed them earlier.
For a few reasons, it wasn’t.
I’m not immune to feeling pressure, but for some reason that wasn’t something I felt.
Part of it is because it’s an origin story.
That gave me some distance.
Okay, but you have to admit you’re super-bummed not to have Hanks' distinctive hairstyle.
From the first film?
[Laughs] Who knows?
One day I could have that hairstyle.
You’re just gonna see my hair grow for the next eight years.
That’s the real story of Robert Langdon, he just doesn’t get a haircut.
That was my approach to bringing the younger version.
There’s things about his claustrophobia and this loneliness to him.
There’s an oddness about him, which he later on wears as a badge of honor.
So I looked at little behaviors like that.
I tried to look at what was underneath and felt I had a freedom to play those things.
What’s the loneliness?
What’s the complication he has with intimacy?
Where does his mind get in the way of his feelings?
Look for clues in the pages and then mine them.
I was leaning on that.
Obviously I will never be able to catch up to his level of knowledge.
Confidence in speaking was actually far more integral than just knowing what it was that I was saying.
How much did Indiana Jones influence the show?
Was that an archetype you were drawing on?
It definitely lives in the genetics of the show.
That’s a genre that we haven’t seen much of for a while.
Those action-adventure-comedy, but yet intellectual films.
They are in me.
If we took ourselves too seriously, it would be a heavy show.
We do take ourselves quite seriously, and itisa heavy show.
And yet what I think we’ve done really well is incorporate this idea that the unknown is possible.
We’ve incorporated that in our world in a way that sometimes manifests as magic and sometimes whimsy.
Langdon is an academic, but this ends up being a very physical adventure.
What’s the most difficult stunt you’ve had to do so far?
It’s in episode 4.
So that when he gets tested, it’s a real test.
Yeah, I did a master’s and I would not be up for any intense physical adventure.
We just want to ring the bell for academics everywhere.
Finally you might see an academic on the screen for people who can go, “Exactly.”
