If you thought season one was a thrill ride, you better brace yourself for season two.
That’s how Tsawwassen’s Neal McDonough describes Project Blue Book, which makes its highly-anticipated season two premiere on Tuesday, Jan. 21 at 1 p.m. on History.
Inspired by the personal experiences of Dr. J. Allen Hynek, the story centers on the real-life, top-secret investigation into Unidentified Flying Objects (UFOs) and related activity, conducted in the 1950s and ’60s by the United States Air Force.
McDonough plays General James Harding.
“I’ve been doing this for so long that the things I think are going to be hits sometimes aren’t and the ones I think might not be turn out to be hits,” said McDonough. “This is one right from the beginning that I had a great feeling about. When you have Robert Zemeckis’ name attached to it you know it’s going to be pretty great. The cast we had assembled – you knew we had a pretty good shot, but you still have no idea until people start watching it. People went bonkers for it. It’s the top new show on cable television, so that is huge.”
He said as great as last season was, this season just blows that one away.
“We start right out of the gates at Roswell – jump right into the fire,” he said. “My character, for Harding, we go back to ’47 and how my character did some pretty horrific things, with aliens and all that, so you get to understand why Harding is who he is and you start to care about him more.”
McDonough said it has been a blast playing this character.
“To have these huge sets with flying saucers and aliens is just wow, what a great show to be a part of,” he said. “I shoot most of my scenes at Boundary Bay Airport. I can ride my bike to work, which is great.”
Besides Project Blue Book fans can see McDonough in Altered Carbon, the latest season of Van Helsing on The CW, as well as The 100 (pronounced The Hundred), an American post-apocalyptic science fiction drama TV series also on The CW, Yellowstone on The Paramount Network, where he stars opposite Kevin Costner, a western thriller called The Warrant and the new Sonic the Hedgehog movie, which is set for theatrical release on Feb. 14. The movie also stars Jim Carrey and James Marsden.
“Very busy, but I love jumping into a pressure cooker and day one you have to set the tone and nail it,” he said. “All these different shows that I have been a part of in the last year almost all of them shoot right here in Vancouver, which means I can come home and be with my family. It’s the best, however, none of this would be possible without my relentless love and guidance from my wife Ruvé."
