I think that Hook is sincerely attracted to Emma. She has a big personality and an iron will which can only seduce him. They feel a sort of mutual respect because they are alike in many aspects. Not sure that their relations will become romantic however, because for now, Emma has mostly the habit of tying me down to what she can find to prevent me from following her. I spent a big part of my time on the show tied down by the way. Personally, I don’t see any problem in that. Anyway, Hook is pretty good at getting himself out of any situation, even the most dangerous.
Were you expecting such an enthusiastic reaction from fans?
No, I was really surprised. I wasn’t expecting myself to start a hysteria on the internet. My family is teasing me a lot and it makes my wife laugh a lot too. [laughs] It’s really weird. I had never been associated to a project that triggered so many reactions so it’s all very new for me. And the guys from my rock band find this hilarious. [NDLR: he is the guitarist in the Irish group The Enemies]
How would you describe your character?
Hook is a pirate and he isn’t someone you can easily trust. He is capable of lying and cheating to get what he wants. But he was sincerely in love with Rumplestiltskin’s wife and his desire for revenge is sincere. You can even say that Hook is particularly brave, because you need to be brave or crazy to pick an enemy as powerful as Rumplestiltskin.
But is Hook a villain or a hero?
Since he is teaming up with Cora, I’d tend to say that he is a villain. He is obsessed with his desire for vengeance. So anyone who will be on his path will be in danger. He is very selfish because he only thinks about killing Rumplestiltskin and he would be very capable of sacrificing the entirety of Storybrooke to achieve his goal. Even Emma would not be able to stop him. She is entirely right to not trust him. Frankly, he does not deserve it… At least, not at this point of the story. For now, he is a sociopath and a manipulator, he has no loyalty except towards himself.
With his pedigree (I’m supposing they mean his backstory), why are fans so seduced by the character?
Because people love anti-heroes, characters à la Han Solo capable of doing the good thing at the last moment. And also, thanks to Johnny Depp, the entire world has a thing for pirates. And let’s not forget that Hook is a big seducer. He is a sort of very sexy Don Juan who does not hesitate to use his charm to get what he wants. But he is incapable of having a real relation with a woman since he lost the one he loved. It’s very romantic, in a certain aspect…
Did you have your word regarding the look of your character?
No, I let the costumers and the producers decide. At some point there were talks about me wearing a wig, because pirates often have long hair in movies. Finally, they gave up on that idea. However I had to get used to putting eyeliner on. But the hardest is to wear a hook and to not be able to use my left hand. Besides, I almost blinded myself several times. Thankfully the hook is not really sharp or I would have already lost an eye. [laughs]
