Tim Griffin On ‘Wayward Pines,’ Working With M. Night Shyamalan [VIDEO EXCLUSIVE]

Tim Griffin reprised his role of Adam Hassler for the sophomore season of Wayward Pines, which Griffin says was never meant to be.

Tim Griffin On ‘Wayward Pines’

M. Night Shyamalan envisioned Wayward Pines as an event series, one that would go all out for just 10 episodes in order to provide a quality production with a star-studded ensemble that, in addition to Griffin, includes Matt Dillion, Terrence Howard, Melissa Leo, Juliette Lewis and more. But, after the acclaimed first season, Wayward Pines was destined for a sophomore showing.

“We actually didn’t think we were coming back because it was a pretty epic undertaking. So, in season one it’s M. Night Shyamalan’s first foray into television and he wanted to assemble like the Avengers of actors,” Griffin told uInterview in an exclusive interview. “And the way they got us to all sign on is they said, ‘Listen, we’re gonna do this as an event, this is gonna be like ten seasons of Lost combined into one action-packed season.”

Griffin added, “The real cool thing is they wanted to make something really cinematic, so you’re working with the best of everybody. When you have all of those all stars at your disposal they want it to be right. So they did something that was sort of unheard of, and it was expensive and that’s why I was like, ‘You can’t bring a show like this back,’ but they found a way to do it. I think we had even lost all of our sets; they had broken the town down, they rebuilt it all. It’s amazing, it’s amazing what you can do when there’s a will, when there’s a cry for it.”

Griffin was one of the fortunate stars of the first season that didn’t see his character dispatched during the horror show’s initial 10 episodes. For the second season of Wayward Pines – which added Djimon Hounsou and Jason Patric into the ensemble – Adam Hassler returned a changed man on a mission.

“This whole season is about Adam Hassler’s atonement. It’s literally like the movie Atonement, where I’ve decided to dedicate my life to trying to fix this mistake that I’ve done, but it’s completely changed me,” Griffin explained. “Viewers who watched the first season – I think they just teased last week that it’s a huge surprise – I go from looking like this, to looking like Leonardo Dicaprio in The Revenant. I’ve been out in the wilderness, the proverbial wilderness for like 12 years, and you’re about to see what happens.”

Working with Shyamalan – the filmmaker behind The Sixth Sense and Signs – was a gift in and of itself for Griffin, who was hand-picked to star in the series. Shyamaln had a vision for Wayward Pines, and in a rare Hollywood move, had all of the cast over so that he could show it to them.

“I knew something special was happening because this never happen,” Griffin shared. “He literally just had us [at his compound in Philadelphia] for days, to dine together, to get to know each other, to rehearse. For television, that rarely ever happens — for film that rarely ever happens. He was just so clear, he was so incredible. He had the whole thing storyboarded out. He was so prepared. […] It’s really nice when there’s somebody that has a specific vision because then as actors you know what you’re trying to communicate or live up to.”

Wayward Pines airs Wednesdays on Fox at 9/8c.