Exploring Person of Interest Character with Kevin Chapman

Kevin Chapman on Person of Interest - (c) 2012 CBS

Actor Kevin Chapman stars as Detective Lionel Fusco in the hit J.J. Abrams created crime drama Person of Interest, which airs Thursday nights on CBS.

Starring Jim Caviezel as former Special Forces and CIA officer John Reese, Michael Emerson as mysterious billionare Harold Finch, Taraji Henson as a former Army interrogator turned NYPD detective, and Kevin Chapman as the once corrupted NYPD Detective Fusco, Person of Interest quickly became a fan favorite after being nominated for a People’s Choice Award.

Since the series debut back in September, Kevin Chapman has settled into playing a multi-dimensional character who’s sometimes torn between himself, life, and what it means to be a cop. Although Lionel Fusco existed in a moral gray area when Person of Interest made its debut, Fusco has evolved as a character after leaving fans to wonder about Lionel’s loyalties. As Person of Interest evolved, Fusco was blackmailed by John Reese into being a source inside the police department but now works for both Reese and Harold Finch.

So, how did Kevin Chapman find truth and authenticity in Lionel Fusco as a character with a beating heart?

When The Deadbolt spoke with Kevin Chapman ahead of the Person of Interest episode called “Risk” on February 23, Chapman shared his view of Detective Fusco.

“Lionel operates from a place of a very jaded moral compass,” Chapman told The Deadbolt. “He pretty much has a sense of duality.”

“The duality of Lionel is that he’s a cop first, but secondly he’s a conflicted individual. He’s a guy that’s looking, I find, to be accepted. I think what happened, with the whole crew in the pilot, he just felt part of that. He felt accepted into that group. Once he became accepted, he just adapted to the environment that he was operating in.”

Although Person of Interest fans saw Detective Fusco as much more of a morally ambiguous character at the beginning of the series, Kevin Chapman admitted that he never tries to judge Lionel as if he were a person.

“I try not to judge any of the characters,” Chapman continued. “I try to leave the judging up to the viewership. Anytime I’ve played a character on television or film, whether it was Val Savage in Mystic River or Freddie Cork in Brotherhood, those guys were very conflicted individuals. I try not to judge my characters. I feel anytime you start to judge a character it’s a recipe for disaster.”

How does withholding judgement of Detective Fusco differ from feeling bad for Lionel in some areas of his life? As Chapman revealed, it’s more about a character finding a purpose as a person of human interest.

“In some areas of his life, Lionel [has struggled]. He’s a divorced dad who doesn’t have custody of his child – he sees his child whenever it’s possible – and he lives in a studio apartment by himself. Is he living? No, he’s more existing. I think working with Reese and Finch has given Lionel a purpose somewhat in life. You can see that in the performance from the pilot to where we are now. You can see with each episode that Lionel gradually came more and more to life.”

Interestingly, in relation to Lionel Fusco as a good cop, the Person of Interest episode “Wolf and Cub” was significant for Fusco on two levels in that he saved a young boy from a bullet (Astro from The X Factor) and he relayed to Reese that Harold Finch was also known as Harold Wren.

So, although Fusco was corrupted as a cop early on in Person of Interest, how does Kevin Chapman see the changes in Lionel since the pilot?

“The switch in the character for me was the episode where we had the missing boy. When Lionel was at the hot dog stand with Reese, and Reese says to Lionel, ‘What do you care?’ And Lionel says, ‘It’s a missing kid, I’m still a cop.’ That was the event that turned Lionel to getting back to what initially interested him in becoming a police officer. I’ve seen it as a gradual progression as the series has continued.”

In the latest episode of Person of Interest called “Blue Code”, Fusco was forced to confront his past when Reese asked him to re-establish connections with the dirty cops to flush out a key contact.

So, where does Kevin Chapman see Fusco now?

“I think Lionel is into it now,” added Chapman. “Reese is coming to him with different task and asking for him for information. He’s not a bad cop. In the one of last episodes, where he said to Lionel, ‘You know, Lionel, expect for a few bad choices, you could’ve been a pretty good cop.’”

Does Kevin Chapman believe Reese’s perception of Fusco has changed in terms of Lionel finding redemption?

“Everyone loves a story of redemption. Just pick up any tabloid and they’re constantly writing about redemption. But that’s the thing, Lionel is redeemable. Reese said that to Lionel in the pilot, ‘Lionel, I see these qualities in you. If I ever see you kill somebody or hurt somebody again, I’m going to put a bullet in you.” So Reese saw those qualities in Lionel. They definitely rear their head ever once in a while.’”

Person of Interest airs Thursday nights at 9/8c on CBS.