Presumed Innocent star confirms he won't return for season 2
This could be a big loss for the courtroom drama.
Presumed Innocent has been renewed for a second season – but one major face from the first won't be reprising his role.
Peter Sarsgaard (Dopesick, The Batman) featured prominently in the prestige Apple TV+ drama as prosecutor Tommy Molto, who is tasked with throwing the book at murder suspect Rusty Sabich (Jake Gyllenhaal).
The character was viewed in an antagonistic light by most who tuned in, although Sarsgaard himself jumped to Tommy's defence, describing him as "just a guy who lives by himself" and "a decent person".
Nevertheless, it's not a role that he has any interest in revisiting in season 2, which was announced last month and is thought to take an anthology format focusing on a largely new cast of characters.
"I’m not really that interested in sequels," Sarsgaard told IndieWire. "I think I’ve only ever done one season of anything… I think I’m a one-season person."
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Expanding on his rule, he explained: "I tell my kids this sometimes, maybe I’ve done 90 [or] 100 different things over the years between movies, TV shows and plays. I say, 'I’m very good at saying hello and saying goodbye.'
"There’s a very valuable thing in saying goodbye, because then you have to look for another source of inspiration and then you change. I get asked all the time: Did I gain weight? Lose weight? Grow a beard? All of that.
"I’m sort of just doing all of that all the time. If I were playing something over and over again, I would have to keep coming back to the same territory."
Sarsgaard added: "I’ve actually found that acting has been really valuable in terms of just being a person, and I think part of it is that I’ve had all of these really interesting experiences not just playing different characters but collaborating with different people."
Previously, Presumed Innocent producer JJ Abrams had hinted that he would like to see more from Sarsgaard's Tommy Molto, saying that it was "such a joy" to work with the actor on the project.
Some had suspected that the actor might be easy to keep hold of, given that he is the real-life brother-in-law of Presumed Innocent star Jake Gyllenhaal, who will remain attached to the series as an executive producer on season 2.
But alas, if these latest comments are to be believed, fans should not get their hopes up for more.
Sarsgaard will collaborate with wife Maggie Gyllenhaal and brother-in-law Jake on upcoming monster flick The Bride! – a reimagining of 1935's Bride of Frankenstein – which the former directs and the latter co-stars in.
Presumed Innocent is available to stream on Apple TV+. Subscribe to Apple TV+ for £8.99 per month.
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