Actor Taylor Handley chatted about the upcoming Season 2 of the crime thriller TV series “Mayor of Kingstown,” which will premiere on January 15, 2023, on Paramount+.
‘Mayor of Kingstown’
He transitioned from the role of Dennis Quaid’s charming yet troublesome son in “Vegas,” into Taylor Sheridan’s Paramount+ hit drama series “Mayor of Kingstown” opposite Jeremy Renner. “I am super excited for it, I can’t wait for it to come out,” he said. “I am ecstatic.”
The series follows the McLusky family, power brokers in Kingstown, Michigan, where the business of incarceration is the only thriving industry. Tackling themes of systemic racism, corruption and inequality, the series provides a stark look at their attempt to bring order and justice to a town that has neither.
Handley portrays Kyle McLusky, who is the youngest McLusky son. “It’s a dream to work with Jeremy Renner, he is one of the finest actors I’ve ever worked with,” he said. “I love this show so much because it is a show that I would watch. I am thrilled and proud to be on this show, it’s fantastic.”
“If you thought Season 1 of ‘Mayor of Kingstown’ was explosive, dynamic and a hot mess, then wait until you see Season 2. We just doubled down, and that’s the brilliance of Taylor Sheridan and his whole universe,” he foreshadowed.
‘Griselda’
Next, he appears with Sofia Vergara in the Netflix original limited series “Griselda.” “I’ve been a fan of Andrés Baiz since I watched ‘Narcos: Mexico,’ he knows what he is doing, and sure enough, all of the episodes of ‘Griselda’ were directed by Andrés Baiz,” Handley said. “I think Sofia Vergara is fantastic and I am thrilled to be a part of it.”
Vans Warped Tour album cover
A very proud moment for Handley involved making the cover of the 2002 Vans Warped Tour Compilation two decades ago that showed him crowd surfing. “That is my biggest moment of glory because it wraps up who I am in a nutshell,” he admitted. “My brother was actually living in Orange County, and we would be skating all around. He was the guy that took me to the Warped Tour. We were having a cup of coffee afterward and he looks at the back of the Orange County newspaper and his face just dropped, and does a double take and he showed me that I made the Vans Warped Tour album cover.”
‘The O.C’
Handley previously starred as bad boy Oliver on the fan-favorite series “The O.C.” and in Curtis Hanson’s true-life surfing drama “Chasing Mavericks.” “Even though ‘The O.C.’ was 20 years ago, it is still going strong, and people still love it,” he said. “My experience was cool on that, I enjoyed it, and it is wild to think that it was 20 years ago.”
‘Chasing Mavericks’
He subsequently noted that “Chasing Mavericks” was “one of the best experiences of his life.” “I’ve surfed since I was six years old and I finally got to put my skills to the test on the big screen,” he said. “It was a bittersweet memory because it was a great surf movie but my older brother passed away at that time. I really took that to heart and it was weird that it happened at that time because he was such a huge inspiration to me.”
He listed Toni Collette, Lily James, and Kate Winslet as his dream female acting partners to someday work with.
Graham Sibley
Handley had great words about Emmy-nominated actor Graham Sibley (“Dark/Web” on Amazon Prime). “I think Graham is one of the best actors today, he has some crazy depth. I know him from acting class and I’ve seen his amazing acting work in plays, which is just next level,” Handley said.
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