Peter Sarsgaard is more than presumably done with “Presumed Innocent.”
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The Apple TV+ series, which also starred Sarsgaard’s frequent collaborator and brother-in-law Jake Gyllenhaal, was renewed for a second season in July 2024. While Gyllenhaal will return as an executive producer along with David E. Kelley and J.J. Abrams, there is no casting news yet. It is likely the limited legal-thriller series will be reimagined as an anthology series: Apple’s announcement teased only that Season 2 will “unfold around a suspenseful, brand new case.”
Either way, it will be without Sarsgaard as prosecutor Tommy Molto. The actor told IndieWire that he will not be appearing in “Presumed Innocent” Season 2, and instead opts to never revisit any of his past roles.
“I’m not really that interested in sequels . I think I’ve only ever done one season of anything… I think I’m a one-season person,” Sarsgaard said while promoting his upcoming indie film “Coup!.”
The “Presumed Innocent” novel does have a book sequel, titled “Innocent,” which revolves around Sarsgaard and Gyllenhaal’s respective lawyer characters reuniting 20 years later after the mysterious death of Rusty’s (Gyllenhaal) wife. Ruth Negga played the character in Season 1.
Sarsgaard continued, “I tell my kids this sometimes, maybe I’ve done 90, 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 . 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.”
That may be news to “Presumed Innocent” producer Abrams, who told Deadline that it was “too early to talk about what happens next.” Abrams said at the time, “I will say that watching Peter Sarsgaard bring that character to life was such a joy. He’s such a remarkable actor.”
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Sarsgaard believes the character was misunderstood by audiences.
“It’s funny because for me, obviously with ‘Presumed Innocent’ now, to me I’m not a villain in that. I’m just a guy who lives by himself. I’m playing a decent person in that,” Sarsgaard said. “And actually during the run of ‘Presumed Innocent,’ I did a Q&A at one point and someone was like, ‘How are you so creepy?’ and stuff, and I really object to it.”
The actor added, “Most of the characters that I play, I have my arm around them. They’re right there with me.”
Sarsgaard will next star in Maggie Gyllenhaal’s “The Bride!” alongside Christian Bale, Penélope Cruz, Jessie Buckley, and Annette Bening.
“Coup!” premieres in theaters August 2.
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