So Many Shows had the opportunity to pose some questions to Lance Reddick about his portrayal of Chief Irving on the popular Prime Original Series Bosch.
Chief Irving has such a powerful presence on screen. Fans are captivated by him and his ever evolving relationship with Detective Harry Bosch. Viewers have seen Irving face trials both on the job and in his personal life. His story line in Bosch season 2 crossed both entities with the loss of his son and fellow law enforcement officer, George.
In season 3, Irving finally agrees to officially assume the role of Chief of Police alongside Mayor Hector Ramos. And now Bosch season 4 is upon us, having arrived a day early much to the delight of fans.
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On playing Chief Irving
Irving’s relationship with Harry Bosch seems to be evolving and ever changing. How would you describe Irving’s sentiments toward Harry?
Lance: Respect. But Harry’s still Harry and Irving is still Irving. And now that Irving’s personal life has somewhat stabilized, and his relationship to his work is back to juggling his perception of his duty to the greater good and the machinations of power, his values will always be somewhat at odds with Harry’s values. So he must juggle his respect for Harry with his need to get Harry to do what he wants/needs him to do.
Do you think Irv ever misses working cases? Or does he totally prefer overseeing that work?
Lance: No. I think he may have the occasional moment of nostalgia, but I think he is doing what he was born to do.
Chief Irving has a very serious and commanding presence. How challenging do you think it is for Irving to maintain that persona? Or does it come pretty naturally for him?
Lance: It’s who he is.
Irv experienced so much loss in the last two seasons with his son’s death and the finalization of his divorce from Connie. What are Irving’s strongest coping mechanisms?
Lance: Exercise and work. And when his son died he probably had a few late night visits with a bottle of scotch. But that is a rare extreme.
On being Lance
Irv Irving certainly has connections at all the fine dining locations in L.A. What kinds of restaurants are your favorites?
Lance: Honestly, I’m not a big restaurant person. But my favorites are Asanebo (perhaps the best sushi I have ever had), Firefly, both in Studio City, and Carlitos Gardel, in Hollywood.
Our reader and podcast listener Sharon is a huge fan of yours (as are we!) We wanted to give Sharon the opportunity to ask a question of you. Here’s what Sharon wants to know:
Which role have you felt was the most challenging, maybe either from an emotional standpoint as with Irving and dealing with his son’s death or maybe a role just so different from your personal nature that it was a challenge to really “embrace” the character?
Lance: Well, most of the characters I’ve played are very different from me personally. But in terms of finding a psychological sweet spot, I would have to say that the toughest role would be the character I played in Monster Party, a film I shot last year. Unfortunately, because it doesn’t have a release date yet, I don’t want to say anything about the character that may be a spoiler.
Many thanks to Lance Reddick for taking the time to chat with us and for those great restaurant tips!
Lance Reddick also joins us for the “Debrief” segment on the next episode of the Everybody Counts Podcast where we discuss Bosch season 4 episode 1. Watch for the podcast to be released Wednesday night and find out what insights the actor has to share about the first episode of season 4. He might also reveal who he believes is the funniest person on set!