Diego Klattenhoff on how life has changed since starring in Showtime’s hit drama, Homeland, and how Mike Faber really feels about Jessica Brody.
Diego Klattenhoff has come a long way since his days on Whistler and teen favourite, Mean Girls. The 33 year old hailing from Canada, some would say it’s been a long time waiting for Klattenhoff. Playing Mike Faber is now his arguable breakthrough into mainstream television, with his only guest appearances in the likes of 24, Supernatural and ER in recent history. However, it appears that these small roles were enough to convince former 24 executives, Howard Gordon and Alex Gansa, who are now the creative developers behind Homeland, to give Klattenhoff such an important supporting role.
Klattenhoff plays former Marine, Mike Faber, in Showtime’s critically acclaimed Homeland. Despite being Homeland‘s nice guy, and once the best friend of the protagonist Nicholas Brody, Mike Faber surely has his demons. Assuming Brody had died in Afghanistan, Faber began an affair with Brody’s wife, Jessica. And whilst Brody was gone, Faber firmly established himself as part of Jessica’s family, bonding incredibly well with his two children, Dana and Chris.
On first reading the Homeland pilot, Faber explains, “As soon as I read it, I knew. I think that was like everyone who is involved in the show. By the time you finished that first script you were completely hooked.” Upon the unveiling of Homeland‘s pilot on Showtime back in October 2011, the reception Homeland received was record-breaking for the US cable channel. The pilot was the first in eight years to peak at 1.08 million viewers since Dead Like Me. The episode received a total of 2.78 million viewers from additional broadcast, online demand and viewings.
But, how has life changed for Klattenhoff? He reveals, “People didn’t stop me before for a guest spot that I did on Smallville. Nothing against Smallville but people didn’t freak out in traffic to tell me they love my show.” But does Klattenhoff enjoy the recent new-found fame from fans? It seems as though he really does by saying, “…the waiter turns suddenly and says, ‘I love your show man, from one actor to another, I have to say, I love it.’ And meeting people you admire who are fans of your show. It’s pretty surreal.” With this attention comes all the fancy New York City dinners, amongst the likes of Jude Law and Michael Cera, he’s finding a comfort zone packed within Hollywood A-listers.
However, with Mike Faber, he does spend most of his time playing opposite Morena Baccarin, the talented actress who plays Nicholas Brody’s wife, Jessica. Since the pilot, Mike and Jessica have had such a rollercoaster of a relationship, ever since Brody returned from Afghanistan as a hero of war, hiding their love together has been nothing but torn between the two. There’s no denying that these two are compatible, more so than Jessica and Brody, but there’s an undying parallel of that between Brody and Carrie. Klattenhoff seemed to have a lot to say when it came to speaking about Mike and Jessica, saying, “It’s kind of tough because there is such a big connection between them. There’s no denying what they had. I don’t know if that ever goes away. It’s a great conflict by the writers. I hope Mike Faber doesn’t go, ‘You know what? I’m tired of this Jess, I’m gonna go find some military groupie.'” We hope so too.
It’s certainly tough for Mike right about now, caught between his best friend and his wife. But fans certainly see Mike as a neutral part of the show, who holds a certain glue between Brody’s family, and Brody’s demons within the CIA and Abu Nazir’s people. But, did Klattenhoff reveal any spoilers for the rest of the season? Speaking about the finale airing on December 16, Klattenhoff said, “There is no letting up. Things get darker and spin faster and faster. Inevitably lots of major s**t goes down. It literally gets darker and goes down the rabbit hole.”
Be sure to check out Diego Klattenhoff’s performance of Mike Faber in the critically acclaimed Homeland this Sunday on Showtime 10PM ET/PT.
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