Castle had one of the biggest panels on the Sunday of the 2011 San Diego Comic-Con. Although the official Comic-Con program listed only star Nathan Fillion in attendance, most of the Castle cast joined Fillion on the stage. After the panel, those stars spoke with reporters about Castle, Comic-Con and what’s coming next for the show.
Jon Huertas, Detective Javier Esposito on the show, was among the stars at Comic-Con.
So, Castle, the beginning of the season. What can you tell us about what’s going on?
Jon Huertas: Well, I break into song. No, I’m just kidding.
At the beginning of the season we’re picking up right where we left off from the last season. It’s going to be pretty intense. The opening of the episode will be intense. We have to kind of figure out what happens with Beckett, and it’s a difficult, difficult time for every character on the show. And then we also have to grieve Montgomery still.
In lieu of that, we get a new captain trying to replace Montgomery and that’s something that is not so easy for us to deal with in this first episode. On top of all that, I’m trying to figure out who shot Beckett, and we welcome this new captain, we get a murder. So we have to investigate the murder. Is Beckett ready, if she lives, is she ready to come back to work? We have to deal with that. So there’s a lot of stuff going on in the first episode.
And the new captain, this new captain is not as relaxed as Montgomery. It’s hard for me and Ryan, Esposito and Ryan to break the rules a little bit, to gather information because she’s a hard-lined type of captain who is, I think, working towards her next big job, and not necessarily focused on the justice, in trying to make sure an innocent man doesn’t go to jail. She just wants it solved.
There was obviously that big fight between Ryan and Esposito in the finale.
Jon Huertas: Yes, I kicked his ass.
There was some ass-kicking involved, definitely. So is that gonna be played out — it was obviously in-the-moment tension — is that gonna carry over at all?
I think that we resolved that before the funeral, so that tension does not come back. That fight, that was a thing, that was like two brothers or two sisters, how they might get into a squabble and fight and then later on they’re eating dinner with their parents and that’s kind of what we’re doing. Well not like Castle’s our parent. He’s not my dad.
So, you know, we’ve resolved that, but this season, tension will come back to Ryan and Esposito. I think it’s more along the lines of dealing with Ryan’s marriage to Jenny and his relationship with Jenny, is that taking away from me and him? Also, is Esposito and/or Lanie thinking “Hey, maybe I wanna get married too. What’s your problem, how come you don’t want to get married? Whatever.”
And then who’s Ryan going to pick as a best man?
I was just gonna ask you that!
Jon Huertas: That’s exactly what I say. How can it not be me? But he’s looking at Castle, like he’s got the best bachelor party he could ever throw because he’s got money and all these girls!
Is there anything in this season premiere that shocked or surprised you?
Jon Huertas: The new captain shocked and surprised me.
The actress’ name is Penny [Johnson Jerald]. She didn’t expect to come onto a show like ours. She thought she was getting cast in a one-hour drama. I don’t think she had watched the show before. So she thought she was getting cast in like, the other CSI, or something like that. So when she got on set, and Seamus and I, we’re not taking anything seriously. And we’re talking about murder and all that stuff and we’re laughing and making fun and she was like “What’s going on here?” She was ready to come in like, **drama! And I think she’s really excited now to have fun and work with us on a basis that’s not like any other hour-long drama. We have a different type of chemistry and we really, it’s all about having fun. We have a no-asshole policy on the set.
So are we going to see Ryan and Esposito get any of their own cases? Would you like to see that? Are they going to solve any murders on their own at any point?
Jon Huertas: I think yeah, we might be splitting murders sometimes. You know, two murders per episode. This first episode back, he and I do a lot of our own work. So I think yeah, we’ll see a little more of it.
What’s your porn name?
Jon Huertas: My porn name? Yeah, I do have a porn name and it’s, uh…
It’s using your first pet and the street you grew up on.
Jon Huertas: Oh, using that one? OK, cool. It’s not a really good porn name.
Doesn’t matter, what is it?
Jon Huertas: Rusty 141.
That’s a good name.
Jon Huertas: That’s a good name… Rusty 141. Starring in!
Thank you.
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Castle will return to ABC on Monday, September 19 at 10pm.
Senior Writer, BuddyTV
Laurel grew up in Mamaroneck, NY, Grosse Pointe, MI and Bellevue WA. She then went on to live in places like Boston, Tucson, Houston, Wales, Tanzania, Prince Edward Island and New York City before heading back to Seattle. Ever since early childhood, when she became addicted to The Muppet Show, Laurel has watched far too much TV. Current favorites include Chuck, Modern Family, Supernatural, Mad Men and Community. Laurel received a BA in Astrophysics (yes, that is possible) from Colgate University and a PhD in Middle Eastern Studies and History of Science from Columbia University before she realized that television is much better than studying.
