The actor's character is far from Richard Wheatley on 'Law & Order: Organized Crime,' creator Dick Wolf's other TV universe.
After two seasons on Law & Order: Organized Crime as the villainous Richard Wheatley, Dylan McDermott is leaving one Dick Wolf TV universe for another as he takes over as the new lead on FBI: Most Wanted following Julian McMahon’s exit. On Tuesday, April 12, the actor will make his debut as Supervisory Special Agent Remy Scott, the Fugitive Task Force’s charismatic but formidable new leader who will pick up where Jesse LaCroix (McMahon) left off.
“He’s a seasoned veteran,” McDermott tells ET about Scott, adding that “there is a reason he’s doing what he’s doing. He’s not just a cop catching bad guys, if you will. There’s a significant reason why he’s still doing this and he’s working out something psychologically inside of himself in order for him to carry on.”
As a result, the actor adds, “I think that’s what makes him different from everyone else.”
While fans will have to watch Tuesday’s episode, “Covenant,” co-written by showrunner and executive producer David Hudgins, to find out more about his reasons for chasing down the Bureau’s list of the most notorious and dangerous criminals, they’ll see Scott stepping in as the team investigates a series of homicides tied to a forbidden love between a young teen and her older boyfriend.
Although he’s the task force’s new leader, there’s certainly going to be some questions from the team -- Who is this guy? Why is he taking over? -- “as they try to sum me up,” McDermott says, adding that Scott will “have to win them over.” But Hudgins assures fans that “he’s good at what he does, and he’s driven to do what he does and I think that comes through with the team.”
While Hudgins teases there’s always “room for drama” between the team members, moving forward, Scott is going to prove to be a welcomed addition to the team. “He’s a natural born leader,” McDermott says. “He’s a compelling character. He’s a complex character. And he has his own demons.”
That said, Scott, who will hopefully prove to be another fan-favorite, is far from the persona he created on the latest Law & Order spinoff. “The remarkable thing about Richard Wheatley is that although he was a bad guy, people loved him,” McDermott says, before adding, “I’m an actor. I can play different roles.”
The actor assures that anyone who watches both of Wolf’s TV universes won’t be seeing the same character. “These are wildly different people with wildly different agendas in life,” McDermott says, explaining that “I had been playing some questionable people along the way, and now it was time to play someone good again. And Remy Scott is that character.”
“I mean, this is a character that’s fully realized when we meet him,” he continues. “You see this guy drive up, and he’s in the action right away. We’re in a case right away, and you’re gonna see so many different facets of this guy that I think you’re gonna quickly forget about Richard Wheatley by the end of the episode.”
McDermott concludes, “I think you’re gonna be like, ‘This is Remy Scott.’”
FBI: Most Wanted airs Tuesdays at 10 p.m. ET/PT on CBS.
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