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Warning: This article contains spoilers that some readers may prefer to avoid.
Click here for the first part of this interview.
For the benefit of those watching at US pace, what can we expect in the second half of the season?
"It's about the list. Are you on the list? I have this list, and the list is key, it's who's on this list is what this season is going towards. The list itself is going to become important - there are a lot of people who want to get their hands on it. Who's on that list and who's not on that list is very important. Remember, there's only 36 people on that list - there's people who aren't on that list that should be, maybe, and people who are that shouldn't be. That's a problem, because everybody on that list is turning up dead. The speed of the show ratchets up considerably in the second half. A lot happens, the pace of the show, I think, speeds up in the second half. It's like a runaway train - like the response to the show has been, we've taken off like a bullet, and that's what happens with the story. It just accelerates and accelerates. I can't wait to find out what happens at the end, but it's going to be huge - we're going to do a two hour season finale. I can't wait for that."
Glad to hear we'll be seeing a bit more of Mohinder now everyone will be bugging him for the list!
"Absolutely. Like I said, the bad guys play a big part and Sylar is a huge part of the second part of the season, he's the one trying to get at everybody. The list, and the hunt for Sylar, I should say, are huge. So, the way that it's developing right now - I never could have seen it coming in a milion years. When I read the 15th episode and saw where it was going, it floored me. It absolutely floored me."
You're making me jealous!
"I'm serious! I think it's going to hit the audience like a ton of bricks, they're going to be like 'oh my god, how is this happening?' It's fantastic, I tell you, it's absolutely fantastic."
Is it true that Chris Eccleston's joined the show?
"Yes, I believe for six episodes, I'm not positive about that number - he's not a regular or anything, he's come in as a guest star. From what I've heard, he's doing six. What I'm allowed to say about him is that he plays a character named Claude and his power's invisibility. I've worked with him, and he's fantastic. He's a real laugh to be around. His character does everything that you would expect a person with invisibility to do - it must be a ball for him to be doing it."
What's the relevance of the episode where you are looking for the young child?
"I become the ultimate sceptic, I lose faith in my journey - this particular hero's journey has gone completely off the tracks. The honest answer is - I don't know how this child appeared, or why he appeared, to this day. It will be addressed, I'm assured of that. I don't know how, or why he came to me, but the effect was that he put me back on my journey. He helped me realise that my father wasn't crazy and I wasn't stupid for trying to find out why he did what he did, and he leaves me the list. I remember when I was shooting that episode, and we were doing that stuff with the list - I felt like Schindler! I was like 'the list is life!' It was like the light coming out of the sky down onto the list, because the list is everything. The list is the second half of the season."
So it does set the scene for the rest of the season?
"At least for me, as an actor, it's brought the bigger picture into complete focus for the second half of the season. I just can't wait to see what they come up with. Every episode that shows up we can't wait to see."
Do you get to see much of the other actors now your storylines are overlapping more?
"Absolutely. I'm crossing paths with a lot of them as we speak. I've been filming with people I've never worked with before. It's been great, because we only see each other when we do photoshoots or press conferences or stuff like that, because all of the storylines are very separate. We did a talk show the other week - me, Marci, Ali and Hayden, and we're sitting up there and we realised we've actually never spoken to each other onscreen. I did a scene with Marci, but I was frozen, I didn't even know he was there. So we did a scene together, but on set the four of us haven't spoken. It was tough not seeing each other, so what we did was instituted a Saturday evening once a month where we all get together at one of the cast member's houses and they host dinner. We all show up to it religiously, all twelve of the regular cast members - just hang out, catch up, just chat about what's going on, what it's like doing the show, what the response has been, what it's like walking down the street and having people come up to you and take pictures of you, you know? It's been great for us to have that time with each other, because we get them on set."
Do you think Mohinder is harbouring any powers? Do you think he thinks he should be on that list?
"You know, anything is possible with these guys. Tim Kring has openly said in interviews that people who don't have powers are going to gain powers, and people who have powers are going to lose them. That's the nature of the show. I wouldn't be surprised if Mohinder got a power, but I have to say that I hope it doesn't happen, just as an actor. Personally, I hope it doesn't happen at this point. There has to be a character that grounds this thing, and that's what I see my character's job as being, but again it's not up to me. They don't consult me - if they're going to give me a power, they're going to give me a power. It's weird, because at the beginning I was totally bummed out that I didn't have a power and now I don't want one. I can't make up my mind."
Heroes airs on Sci Fi Channel in the UK from February 19 and continues on NBC in the US from January 22.
