La Brea’s final season is off on to a wild ride, in part to leading man Eoin Macken.
Macken’s acting credits are extensive, including Merlin, The Night Shift, a satiric film –Grey Elephant, and currently, La Brea, where he portrays Gavin Harris.
After La Brea finishes, Eoin will star in a new Roku series called Borderline, which he’s excited about because it touches on his Irish roots.
We always love chatting with Eoin, and we discussed many topics, including how Gavin’s new memories would affect the rescue mission, Gavin and Izzy’s evolving father-daughter relationship, and if fans would be pleased with the finale. He also teased his upcoming shows.
Check it out below:
Hi Eoin. The La Brea Season 3 premiere was a wild ride. What’s next for Gavin now that Josh disappeared through an aurora and Izzy is barely speaking to him?
He’s not in a great place. He’s stuck between a rock and a hard place where he has no idea where his wife or son is, and his daughter is not talking to him.
So, this is the moment where Gavin is probably most at sea since La Brea Season 1 when he didn’t know how to get Josh back. He’s trying to figure it out now.
He’s probably in an even worse place because he’s not having the same type of visions. He’s no longer trusting his judgment, so he’s in a tough spot.
Yes. What will these memories of working with Maya Schmidt tell us about Gavin’s past?
These memories I started having are vital because they’re not flashbacks like before. These are real memories that he actually experienced himself, which he either pushed back or, because of so much going on, he repressed them.
These will explain why all these wars have been happening and how Gavin’s been involved. It just gets the lure of what’s been the reason for La Brea and these wars happening in the first place. So, they become significant.
Will they lead us to rescue Eve and find a way home?
I mean, I couldn’t tell you that, could I? I like that you did it subtly and low-key, and I almost told you. I was like, wait, okay, sure.
I had to try. What has Gavin learned about his relationships with this new crisis? Who is he going to lean on more?
He’s learning the value of friendships, even old friendships like Levi’s. Even though they have fallen out, that friendship becomes essential in terms of the friendship they used to have together.
Also, Gavin’s relationship with Ty and Sam becomes essential because they have to work together if they’re going to figure this out. Gavin was sometimes a lone wolf, and now he realizes he needs everybody else together.
Well, that’s undoubtedly going to be fun to see. So, with Natalie Zea only working limited scenes this season, have you had the opportunity to work with other people on set?
It’s been great. I always go back to the relationship between Gavin and Izzy. It is vital to the show and my relationship with Zyra Gorecki as a person and actress; she’s talented, and the father-daughter relationship is critical.
But it’s also essential that her character has been growing as this has gone on. So, their dynamic has changed.
Initially, in La Brea Season 1, he was very much the father figure to Izzy, and now, there’s more of a mutual maturity and respect between the two of them. He has to because she’s growing up and taking her agency much more.
That becomes an integral part of the journey they go through for the rest of the season to try and get Josh and Eve back.
What happens with Izzy and Gavin is fundamental to that, and that’s a perfect example of the evolution of a father-daughter relationship as a daughter grows up, they see each other differently, and he has to understand her differently.
I can’t wait. Gavin and Izzy have always been my favorite part of the show.
Honestly, mine, too. She’s such a joy to work with, and she is lovely.
Is there going to be payoff at the end of the season? Do fans have reason to hope there will be happier Harris family moments?
I couldn’t tell you that because there will be a lot of pathos. Not everybody’s going to make it. It will be emotional, and some good and bad things will happen.
I’ve been a massive fan of sci-fi and fantasy since I was a kid, and one of my pet peeves has always been if a show ends and you don’t get the payoff you want and deserve because you get invested.
I’m pleased about La Brea this year; how it worked out from the circumstances and how we’ve ended the season is that it ends in a way that feels justified and made me happy because we got to build towards an ending that will make people feel content and also connected and also emotional.
They did a fantastic job with the show, the Harris family, and everything happening. It builds towards something that feels appropriate and earned, which is essential because that doesn’t always happen on television. We’re fortunate this year.
That makes sense, and that will make the fans happy. So, what do you think of the dinosaurs? What has been the most fun about having them?
I haven’t seen all of this show yet, but the most fun is seeing the clips, even in that opening teaser, and seeing the dinosaurs come to life. My favorite movie growing up was The Lost World: Jurassic Park. I enjoyed the first movie, but I loved the second one.
So, being in a scene with dinosaurs is one of those things I never thought would happen as a kid. And now I’m just thrilled because then you see it, and you’re like, this is cool.
I’ve seen we have a lot of dinosaurs in Season 3. I can’t wait. I think you touched on this a little. But what will you miss the most about working on La Brea?
Honestly, I miss the people. I say that with complete sincerity because it’s such a great crew. The Australian crews were fantastic, and it was such a great cast that we all became close because we were in Australia for so long.
Since this was the final season, we all knew it was building towards something and felt like we were a part of something special, so everything put their heart and soul into each performance, down to the very last drop.
That comes across on screen. You can feel there’s a specific energy through all the performances, and everyone cares about each other and the show. It was a beautiful thing to be a part of this year.
I also heard you have a new series, Borderline, coming to Roku soon. Tell me about that.
It’s an interesting Irish show. I don’t know if you’ve seen the Swedish Danish show called The Bridge. It’s similar to that. It’s based between the north and the south of Ireland on the border because Ireland and southern Ireland and Northern Ireland are still two different countries, and it’s about two cops.
I play a Northern Irish police detective, and another girl calls me De Bruin, who’s terrific. She plays a Southern Irish police detective. They have to work on a case that’s straddling the border because the two police forces don’t necessarily always work very well together.
It’s comedic but also a vital cop drama across the Irish border that looks at Ireland’s history and what it’s like to be a cop. That’s why it’s a meaty but light cop show.
And when will it be out?
They haven’t told me yet. It’s coming out sometime, either late spring or the summer. I am at the behest of what they want to do. So, once I know, I will let you know.
Oh, it sounds like fun. Yeah, I’m a big fan of all your shows. So, I’ll be looking forward to seeing it.
I appreciate you; you’re very kind. I always love talking to you.
This cop show is super fun. It’s also something different from what I’ve done before. It was nice to work back home in Ireland, and it was also lovely to do something that has something to do with my heritage because I’ve usually been doing American shows. So, it was an important one to do.
Excellent. And do you have any other projects coming out?
I do, but I don’t think we’re allowed to discuss it. They’re not announcing it until next week, and I can’t tell you, but I have one we’ll start working on in a couple of weeks.
I’m just not allowed to say anything yet. You’ll very much enjoy this one when we can discuss it.
Next time. Thank you so much for chatting with me, Eoin.
You can watch Eoin Macken currently on La Brea Season 3.
La Brea Season 3 airs at 9/8c on Tuesdays on NBC.
Laura Nowak is a staff writer for TV Fanatic. Follow her on X.