Russell Hornsby used Shakespeare to play paralyzed cop ‘Lincoln Rhyme’
Russell Hornsby says he used Shakespeare to play a paralyzed cop on the new NBC series “Lincoln Rhyme: Hunt for the Bone Collector.”
“Because of my conservatory training at Boston University — you’re steeped in Shakespeare,” says Hornsby, 45. “And Shakespeare is about letting the words work, standing still on the stage and presenting the text. That’s basically what I look to for [my character] Lincoln. That stillness — and allowing for emphasis for phrasing.”
Airing Fridays (8 p.m. on NBC), “Lincoln Rhyme” stars Hornsby as the titular Lincoln, a brilliant forensic criminologist who’s paralyzed by a bad fall while working a case. Rather than retire, he continues his work remotely, teaming up with rookie NYPD officer Amelia Sachs (Arielle Kebbel, “Midnight, Texas”) to hunt a serial killer known as The Bone Collector.
If the show’s name sounds familiar, that’s because it’s based on a bestselling 1997 novel that was also made into a 1999 movie (“The Bone Collector”) starring Denzel Washington (in the role of Lincoln) and Angelina Jolie.
“I wanted to show different aspects of my acting ability, and so this gave me the opportunity to do that,” says Hornsby. “It’s a real distinct and specific challenge that has really changed my perspective on a lot of things.”
Over the course of his prolific career, Hornsby has jumped between the big screen (“The Hate U Give”), the stage (“To Kill a Mockingbird”) and the small screen (“Lincoln Heights,” “Grimm”). Lately, he says he’s most drawn to TV.
“I used to love the theater, but your energy is used up in a different way on stage eight times a week,” he says. “I’m really enjoying doing series television because of the canvas — we can tell a larger story over time, and I appreciate that. You get more specificity with characters.”
Hornsby says that, to prepare for his role as Lincoln, he talked to people who’ve been paralyzed.
“I have a medical consultant who took me to a few of his physical therapy sessions, and I talked with some of the other [paralyzed and disabled people] there. I just listened,” he says. “I listened to them telling their stories about how their disability came about, their accident and heard aspects of their humor that they still have. Even though they do have a disability, they want to be regarded as just a regular person as well.”
“Lincoln Rhyme” is filmed in New Jersey, so the California-born Hornsby moved his family to New York.
“I have my kids in school here, and we’re going to give it a go, in anticipation of coming back for a second season,” he says. “You have to think positive.”
Meanwhile, offscreen Hornsby is busy imparting his love of the Bard to the next generation.
“I’m teaching my son [the Hamlet soliloquy] ‘To be or not to be.’ My 4-year-old — he’s got the first four to five lines. My second son is 2, and right now he goes ‘tomorrow and tomorrow.’ He’s got that down. I’m going to work their way up so they know the whole speech by the time they’re about 8.”