Recently Matt Barr joined the cast of the hit FOX series, Sleepy Hollow, as Nick Hawley, the mercenary bounty hunter who is always after artifacts that he can sell to the highest bidder, even if he gets in the way of Ichabod Crane (Tom Mison) and Abbie Mills (Nicole Beharie) in their fight to stop Muloch and the end of days. However, it seems that the mysterious Hawley may be becoming more willing to help the duo.

Barr recently participated in a call for Sleepy Hollow with the media to talk about his role, Hawley’s relationships, and more.

You can catch Barr Mondays on Sleepy Hollow on FOX.

FOX Conference Call
Sleepy Hollow
Matt Barr

October 17, 2014
2:00 p.m. ET

QUESTION: Well, your character has been a mixed ally for Abbie and Ichabod. Can you talk a little bit about how we’ll see the relationships develop coming forward with the next coming episodes? Will he continue to have this angsty relationship, especially with Ichabod?

MATT BARR: As Hawley, as he realizes that in his efforts to take care of himself, he realizes that he needs Ichabod and Abbie for his own self-preservation so, ironically, it’s even selfish of him that he realizes in order to survive the apocalypse he might have to join the Scooby Doo gang in order to survive. I think he knows that he needs them as much as they might need him. In that experience, he might bond a little bit with these guys.

QUESTION: Well, he does have a past relationship, also, with Jenny. Can you talk anything about if we’ll learn more about that, or how that relationship, also, will continue going forward?

MATT BARR: Yes. Hawley’s six degrees of separation is, he does have a history with Jenny and I think they obviously come from the same salt. They understand each other, and I think that creates a vulnerability for Hawley because he recognizes that in her, and it also scares him so I think that’s why he keeps his distance with Jenny. Again, there’s that curiosity and there’s that intoxication; the chemistry that you can’t deny. He’s not going anywhere as of now.

QUESTION: I’m wondering if you could talk a little bit about what motivates Nick aside from obviously what we’ve seen so far, which is his financial motive?

MATT BARR: I think Hawley is driven by the drug of it; the thrill of the ride. It’s about, I think, the great mystery of what’s beyond the next horizon. Even if the apocalypse is upon him here at Sleepy Hollow, he’s game.

He wants to be on the front lines of that experience. He definitely doesn’t want to be on a bench. I would say, wherever the action’s happening, he wants to be there.

QUESTION: You obviously don’t have to give any specifics, but just in terms of getting to know the character; how much do you know about his back story already? There are a lot of theories that we have about Hawley so far, and is this something that you know and you put into your performance, or do you find out on a week-to-week basis?

MATT BARR: That’s a great question. I actually didn’t know his back story until a couple nights ago. I sort of created my own, I call it, Hawley history. It’s funny how it mirrored what the writers and the producers actually are creating for the character; it was very similar. There’s a lot of synergy in that relationship, I guess, because we were very much in sync. Yes, I think we’re on the same page with where he’s been and where he’s going.

QUESTION: What will it take for Hawley to actually get to work with Ichabod and Abbie without survival being the main factor? Is there any point where he’s just going to be like, okay, I just like these guys; I’ll help them out?

MATT BARR: Well, like any loaner, eventually you get to a point where you invest in something more meaningful. I think Hawley’s probably always searched for that family. I don’t want to give too much away, but he didn’t have that growing up so I think he’s potentially found that with Ichabod and Abbie and Jenny and the whole gang. When you find that, you want to stick around and you invest in something.

QUESTION: Obviously there’s a little bit of a history that we’ll learn about Jenny and Hawley, but there’s a little bit of chemistry going on between Abbie and Hawley. Tell me a little bit about how that’s slowly progressing. Obviously she challenges him, so is that something that Hawley sees as something worth pursuing?

MATT BARR: Right, right. Abbie’s a very truthful person and she does, like you said, she challenges Hawley, which is the most intoxicating thing for him because he wants to be stimulated, and he’s always on the search for the next great treasure. I think that there’s a mystery to Abbie that Hawley is really engaged by. Again, he does it for work and then in his personal life he’s always trying to find that next great mystery or whatever that treasure is. Abbie’s tough to crack. He keeps coming back, and whether he’s bold enough or stupid enough, he keeps coming back. There’s some chemistry there.

QUESTION: Obviously Hawley and Ichabod are very smart men; they’re pretty much circling each other. Has it been played that maybe Ichabod is getting wind of this, maybe even a little bit more than Abbie? How is that progressing, that you can tease us as we move forward that maybe creates a little more tension between the two guys?

MATT BARR: Sure. Well, Ichabod, he might be the smartest man in the room, and he definitely is. He’s not an idiot. He can see Hawley moving in on his partner. I think he balances a line of knowing that Hawley has the utility that serves the team and, at the same time, Hawley’s shifty and he knows that. As we’ve seen over Season 1 and now in Season 2, he cares about Abbie, obviously, and he’s looking out for her. He’s cautious, I would say, regarding Hawley.

QUESTION: What is it about Sleepy Hollow that made you say yes? What is it about the premise that you just went, okay, I have to try out for this role or try to play this role?

MATT BARR: I think it was the fact that the little boy in me always wanted to be a treasure hunter; it’s like I wanted to be Hawley. I did, I wanted to be Indiana Jones; so I guess that was it. I can live vicariously through this character, so I get to enjoy my day job, but the antithesis is that I—

QUESTION: Yes, I think it’s like your childhood dream come true almost, basically?

MATT BARR: Yes. Yes, basically.

QUESTION: Is there a particular creature or demon or legend that you’d like to see Hawley fight? Not necessarily the entire Scooby gang, but just Hawley, himself?

MATT BARR: That’s a good one. That’s a good one. That’s a good question. I’ve always been curious about the monster that lives under your bed. Even now at 30 years old, I wonder, like something that comes -- when you lean over the bed there’s something under there, potentially. I would say that’s [indiscernible].

QUESTION: What has been your favorite scene or episode to film so far?

MATT BARR: That’s a great question. I think it was actually the first episode I filmed, me and Tom, who plays Ichabod, had a scene in a church where we’re looking at the stain glass window. It was the first time that I experienced that dynamic between Hawley and Ichabod and how fun that was going to be. As actors, I think we both got the wink of the whole joke, which was, these guys are two different people, but they’re meant to be together. I’d say that was fun.

QUESTION: Much has been made of this whether you’re a friend or a foe; which part do you prefer to play?

MATT BARR: Oh, it’s much more fun being the foe, is it not?

QUESTION: I think most people think so.

MATT BARR: I think what’s fun about Hawley is that he’s bipolar in the sense that he can jump onboard at any moment, and also any moment he can jump ship because he takes care of himself. I think that makes for a really fun and dynamic character. He’s unpredictable, which is always entertaining.

QUESTION: From the scenes that we’ve seen so far between Ichabod and Hawley, they’ve been nothing short of hilarious, so can we expect a bromance to develop between these two, or are they going to be adversaries over the course of the season?

MATT BARR: Well, I hope that they’re always adversaries because that’s a fun dynamic. I think they will recognize that they serve each other and there’s a higher goal and that there’s something more important than themselves. I don’t want to give too much away, but we get to see a turn with Hawley; for a conventional loaner, he starts to find a bond with this group and especially with Crane.

QUESTION: With Ichabod being so new to the 21^st Century and Hawley being such a scoundrel; he knows all the dirty places, all the cool places. Can you imagine Hawley, or would you want Hawley to take Ichabod and introduce him to his world? Like, take him to a bar he’s never been to, or introduce him to nice sights or something? Can you imagine Hawley introducing Ichabod to something he’s never seen before and Hawley going, yes, man, that’s how it is. Would you like for that to happen?

MATT BARR: Sure. There’s the episode that’s waiting to be written where Hawley takes Ichabod to Vegas and they go to a prize fight, and then they go to the craps table. What’s funny is that, through the episode I bet they find out that they really do love each other. They’re probably made for each other. They’re bros.

QUESTION: Yes.

MATT BARR: You know what? They’re pretty savvy guys, so they probably kill it in Vegas.

MODERATOR: I was going to quickly interject one thing because, Matt, I know you have a really interesting history with Wilmington, actually, and I don’t know how many people are familiar with your story, how you’d filmed there before. I just thought that was a really cool aspect of your history as an actor, too.

MATT BARR: Right.

MODERATOR: I wanted to share that story about how you were on One Tree Hill and trying to get back there eventually...Just that you had done that there, and then coming back after all these years and what it’s been like.

MATT BARR: Yes, yes. That was about eight years ago. I did One Tree Hill, I played the character who’s infamously known as “Psycho Derek”, but it was one fun character, too. It was a big deal for me and my career, so it’s sort of a magical place. I forget what year it was, but Wilmington always holds that magic to me.

For all the years following One Tree Hill, I was always joking with my agents about trying to find a job back in Wilmington because it’s like the first girl that you kiss; you never forget her name, and mine was named Misty. So Misty and Wilmington are symbiotic; it’s like the scene of the crime, I guess. When I finally made it back, it took me eight years, but I made it back.

QUESTION: I was just wondering about the fight sequences. We had that really great one with the pied piper last week, and I was wondering how you’ve prepared, or if you’ve had to do any prep, in particular, for the more action-based sequences.

MATT BARR: My dad was a college football coach, so we’re a big, athletic family. I was either going to be an athlete or an actor. As an actor, I hoped I would be able to bond the two, so that stuff was fun. But, I have to give props to my stunt double, Miles Brew, who is the real deal and gets to do all the fun stuff and make me look good, I guess.

QUESTION: When you joined this, and you’re kind of getting back into a TV series, have you discovered that you like doing TV series more so than films because it’s an always-growing process with them, or do you prefer working on film? If and when Hawley ever dies for whatever reason; not saying that he is, but would you want to focus more on films, or do you like working on shows like this?

MATT BARR: I think there’s something fun about television where, as the actor, when you read the script each week it’s kind of like the audience experiences watching the show each week. I don’t know what’s going to happen with Hawley or with Ichabod and the apocalypse. It’s fun to get that script every Monday morning and go, cool. I’m a professional actor, but I’m also a professional story lover. I guess I get off on that thrill.