Hypable participated in a conference call this morning with Sleepy Hollow‘s Matt Barr, who plays Nicholas Hawley. Who is Hawley and can we trust him? Read the interview to find out!

A couple weeks ago we were introduced to Nicholas Hawley on Sleepy Hollow and now the character keeps coming back and bumping into Ichabod and Abbie.

In a new clip from this Monday’s episode, “The Weeping Lady,” our questions are answered, temporarily at least:

In the clip above Hawley runs into Abbie at the town library, which leads to a discussion about how Hawley failed to help them last week with the Pied Piper. Feeling bad for his neglect (or so he says), Hawley offers his services free of charge for the next time they come up against a creepy creature.

We talked with Matt Barr and he gave us some awesome insight into who Hawley is and what might become of him in the future.

Your character has been a mixed ally for Abbie/Ichabod, can you talk about how we’ll see the relationship go forward? Will it continue to be angsty with Ichabod?
I think Hawley realizes that [in order] to take care of himself he needs Ichabod and Abbie for his own self preservation. So ironically it’s even selfish of him that he realizes in order to survive the apocalypse he might have to join the Scooby Doo gang in order to do so. In the end he knows that he needs them as much as they might need him, and in that experience he might bond a little bit with these guys.

Well, he does have a past relationship with Jenny, can you talk about if we’ll learn more about that?
I think they obviously come from the same salt, so they understand each other and that kind of creates a vulnerability with Hawley because he recognizes that in her and it also scares him, so I think that’s why he keeps his distance from Jenny. But again there’s that curiosity, intoxication and chemistry you can’t deny.

What motivates Nick aside from his financial motive?
Hawley is driven by the drug of it: The thrill of the ride. It’s about that great mystery of what’s beyond the next horizon. Even if the apocalypse is upon him in Sleepy Hollow he’s game because, you know, he wants to be on the front lines of that experience. He definitely doesn’t want to be on the bench. So I would say wherever the action is happening he wants to be there.

How much do you know about Hawley’s backstory? Because there are a bunch of theories out there about who he is, so is that something you actually know and put into your performance or do you find out on a weekly basis when the script comes out?
I actually didn’t know his backstory until a couple nights ago. So I sort of created my own kind of, I call it Hawley History, but it’s funny how it mirrored what the writers and producers are creating for the character – it was very similar. There’s a lot of synergy in that relationship I guess, but yeah we’re on the same page of where he’s been and where he’s going.

What will it take for Hawley to want to help Ichabod and Abbie without survival being the main factor? Is there going to be a point where he’s just going to go, “I just like these guys, so I’ll help”?
I think like any loner eventually you get to a point where you invest with something more meaningful. I think Hawley has always searched for that family. I don’t want to give too much away but he didn’t have [a family] growing up, and potentially found that with Abbie and Ichabod and the whole gang and when you have that you invest in something.

There’s chemistry happening between Abbie and Hawley, so tell us about how that’s slowly progressing. Is that something that Hawley sees worth pursuing?
Abbie is a very trivial person and she challenges Hawley, which is the most intoxicating thing for him. He wants to be stimulated and he’s always on the search for the next great treasure. There’s a mystery to Abbie that Hawley is really engaged by, so again he does it for work but then in his personal life he’s always trying to find that next great mystery. Abbie is tough to crack so he keeps coming back. Whether he’s bold enough or he’s stupid enough, he keeps coming back.

Obviously both Ichabod and Hawley are both very smart men, and does it seem like Ichabod is getting wind of this and his relationship with Abbie?
[Ichabod] can see Hawley moving in on his partner, [and] I think he balances the line of knowing that Hawley has an ability that serves the team while at the same time Hawley is shifty. He’s cautious, I would say, regarding Hawley.

On page 2: Learn more about Barr’s favorite scenes, which monsters he’d like to fight and more.

What is it about ‘Sleepy Hollow that made you want to take this role on?
I think it was the fact that the little boy in me always wanted to be a treasure hunter, I wanted to be Hawley. I wanted to be Indiana Jones, so I guess that was it. I can live vicariously through the character so I get to enjoy my day job.

Is there a particular creature/demon/legend you’d like Hawley to fight?
I’ve always been curious about the monster that lives under your bed. Even now at 30 years old I wonder, you know, when you lean under your bed there could be something there, potentially.

What has been your favorite scene or episode to film so far?
Actually, the first episode I filmed, me and Tom have a scene where we’re in the church and staring at the stained glass window it was the first time that I experienced that dynamic between Ichabod and Hawley and how fun that was going to be. As actors we both got the whole joke, that these guys are two different people but they’re sort of meant to be together.

A lot of discussion has been made about whether Hawley is friend or foe, so which would you prefer to play?
It’s much more fun being a foe, is it not? What’s fun about Hawley is that he’s kind of bi-polar in the sense that he can jump on board at any moment, but also [at the same time] he can jump off ship. He takes care of himself, and I think that makes for a fun and dynamic character – he’s unpredictable, which is always entertaining.

The scenes between Ichabod and Hawley have been nothing short of hilarious, so can we expect a bromance between them or are they going to become adversaries over the course of the season?
Well I hope they’re always adversaries because that’s a fun dynamic, but they will recognize that they serve each other and there’s a higher goal, something more important than themselves. I don’t want to give too much away, but we definitely see a turn with Hawley. For a conventional loner he starts to find a bond with this group, and especially with Crane.

With Ichabod being so new to the 21st century, is there anything you’d like Hawley to introduce him to? With Hawley being grittier and rougher around the edges I imagine him showing Ichabod how to knife fight or something.
[Laughs] I feel like there’s an episode waiting to be written where Hawley takes Ichabod to Vegas and they go to a prize fight and then they go to the craps table. And what’s funny is I bet through the episode they’d find out they were made for each other, they’re bros. They’re pretty savvy guys so they’d probably kill it in Vegas!

You’ve filmed in Wilmington before, so tell us your history with it and how it feels coming back to film.
Eight years ago I did One Tree Hill and played a character who’s infamously known as psycho Derek; it was a fun character and [also] a big deal for me and my career. So Wilmington is sort of a magical place, and it [still] holds that magic for me.

For all the years following One Tree Hill I’m always joking about trying to find a place back in Wilmington, because it’s like the first girl you kissed – you never forget her name. So I finally made it back, it took eight years, but I made it back.

Do you have any theories about Hawley on ‘Sleepy Hollow’?

Don’t forget Barr will be back on Sleepy Hollow this coming Monday in “The Weeping Lady,” airing at 9:00 p.m. Eastern on Fox.