‘Hawaii Five-0’: Ian Anthony Dale Previews Adam’s Dangerous New Storyline
Q&A
Talk about a rock and a hard place.
That’s where we’re going to find Adam Noshimuri (Ian Anthony Dale) on Friday’s Hawaii Five-0 as the intrepid crime fighter is pulled back into a dark world he unfortunately knows all too well. However, this time there is the added complication — it’s going to put him at odds with his partners on the 5-0 team.
Why does Adam have to take this turn down a dangerous, treacherous road and what will it do to his relationships with Lt. Cmdr. Steve McGarrett (Alex O’Loughlin) and the rest of his 5-0 pals? Luckily, we talked with Dale about this new story arc for Adam and just how much danger he’s in.. and if he can even call on his friends to help.
This is a really intense, new chapter for Adam. What did you think when you heard this storyline was coming?
Ian Anthony Dale: I was extremely excited. As much as I enjoy being involved in the cases of the week, my character started back in Season 2 with a four-episode serialized arc. And as the character developed and he became involved with Kono (Grace Park), my character basically existed in an enclosed serialized arc independent of the crimes of the week.
Brittany Ishibashi as Tamiko and Ian Anthony Dale as Adam Noshimuri (CBS)
That’s something that I always enjoyed and it really gave me an opportunity as an actor to sink my teeth into an ever-evolving storyline and character development. So when I found out that I once again was going to get to jump into a new arc that touched on my character’s past and delve a little deeper this time, I was thrilled. And my personal hope is that this arc continues on until the end of Season 10. So we’ll see. Fingers crossed.
Tamiko’s (Brittany Ishibashi) father has warned Adam in the past about how he can never really escape who he is. Are those words true with the start of this storyline?
His words ring more true than ever. When we get to Episode 11, we realize that because of the actions Adam has taken, the ripple effect has now put himself and Tamiko in immediate danger. And the only way for Adam to ensure their safety is by fulfilling the destiny that Masuda had planned for him. I think it catches Adam by surprise that Masuda’s words end up ringing so true, and they’ll certainly catch the audience by surprise as well.
Every time Adam has dipped his toes into his dark past, the audience has always felt a certain amount of confidence that he has a plan and that he has an escape plan to get out of it. But this time I’m not sure that Adam has one. And I think that might make the audience a little uneasy.
Normally Adam would lean on his team at Five-0. Is he able to do that this time around? If not, who does he lean on?
Typically Adam would involve his Five-0 team because he knows he has their support and trust. In this particular instance, however, Masuda has made it crystal clear that any involvement with Five-0 will put Tamiko’s life in danger. He makes it his personal mission, and as you’ll see in the episode, he’ll stop at nothing to get her back.
Safe to say we’ll be seeing a different side of Adam in this story that we haven’t necessarily seen before?
I’ve had conversations with Peter [Lenkov, executive producer] over the years about what would it look like if Adam really went to the dark side and shed all of these wholesome personality traits that we’ve been developing over the last few seasons and just became sort of ruthless in his pursuit of, in this case, getting Tamiko back safely? And so, as an actor, it was a lot of fun to just throw caution to the wind and not be overly concerned with the repercussions of the actions. But as we learn, acting in that sort of cavalier way, only gets him into a deeper mess. One that I’ll enjoy getting to play over the remainder of the season and one the audience will enjoy watching him try to get out of, as well.
At the beginning of my career, I played a lot of bad guys and then I wanted to transition and play some good guys. And with Adam, I’ve gotten to do both. And Adam has been shown to be pretty good over Season 9 and in the beginning of Season 10. We don’t want the audience to forget what he’s capable of.
Moving forward, Adam is really torn between Masuda, the enemy, and his ally, Steve McGarrett. How will he navigate that?
It is very jarring. For an actor getting to play a conflicted character is one of the most enjoyable things. Life is complicated. Not everything is black and white. And certainly, as Adam gets involved deeper into this, it becomes very unclear what his motivations are and to whom his allegiances lie. And I think it’s going to be very shocking and maybe a little uncomfortable for our audience to see this ohana (aka family) in conflict with each other. Our audience has come to know and love the ohana that we’ve built and I think they’re going to be a little uneasy with seeing beloved members of this team at odds with each other. But it makes for great television and makes for great trauma. We will continue to root for them to have some resolution that allows this ohana to stay intact and to stay fully formed.
You’re directing an episode right now and this story arc isn’t going to be tidied up in just one episode. How has it been juggling your duties both in front of and behind the camera?
I couldn’t be more excited about directing my first episode. I never intended to have as much acting in the first episode I direct but that said, we have begun this really juicy arc for Adam, and we need to keep it alive. And so, I’m excited to have a little bit of creative control over the direction of my character’s arc. And in my preparation for this episode, I couldn’t be more grateful for having the extended Thanksgiving holiday to prepare. I’ve gotten to invest as an actor and make sure that I’m fully prepared to continue to deliver as compelling a storyline in the acting department as I possibly can. And so, I’m just excited. It’s going to be a very big challenge for me, but one that I’m enthusiastically taking on.
Hawaii Five-0, Fridays, 8/7c, CBS
