'The Irrational' Star Jesse L. Martin on How Dr. Alec Mercer Will Change in Season 2

Jesse L. Martin spent nine seasons as Detective Ed Green on NBC’s Law & Order , so he is no stranger to procedural dramas, but he was enticed back to the network to star in The Irrational because it was a procedural of a different stripe: Every case is based on behavioral science rather than straight police work.

On The Irrational, Martin plays Dr. Alec Mercer, a brilliant professor of behavioral science who uses his insights into the human psyche to uncover the motives behind people's actions as he assists the FBI in cracking the toughest cases.

“What makes us a different kind of procedural is the fact that Alec takes everything that he learns in the field—going out and trying to solve these crimes and mysteries and turning them into experiments to help solve the cases—and then uses them as lessons in the classroom,” Martin tells Parade . “The big difference with us is taking those things into a didactic space and saying, ‘Hey, here's what we learned in all of this.’ It's not just that we solved the crime, it's that we can now analyze it and learn from it.”

Season 1 of The Irrational had the requisite case of the week, but the overall arc of the season had a much bigger investigation as a through story. Twenty years earlier, Alec nearly died in a church firebombing that left him with substantial burn scars and no clear memory of what happened or who was responsible for the deaths of the 13 people killed. But by the end of the season, the case was resolved. So, what will that mean for Alec?

“A big part of what happens to people and this is particularly true with Alec, is how much your trauma is part of your identity, right?” Martin explains. “So, if some parts of that trauma were resolved or answered in some way, does that change your identity? Good or bad, people wear what has happened to them in their person, and it can become a lifelong part of your actual identity, so when those things are solved, is it still part?”

That is one of the questions that will be addressed in Season 2, especially when a young woman decides to undergo laser treatment to remove her scars from a fire and it becomes a possibility for Alec, as well, to ponder whether or not he should invest the time required to change the physical ramifications of the fire.

Related: Everything We Know About Season 2 of The Irrational

“The notion of using modern technology to reduce the scars presents a quandary for him because the scars have been so much a part of his life,” Martin continues. “Particularly the one on his face, the one he sees every day. You look at yourself every day and reckon with not only how you look but like why it happened, and that became a big part of his psyche and became a big part of his identity. He had to say to himself on a regular basis, ‘This is part of my life. I’ve accepted it. I need other people to accept it.’ Then the idea that it could be minimized, does that change my identity?”

During our Zoom chat, Martin also addressed the connection between actors and behavioral scientists, the relationships with all the women in his character's life, and the role his assistants will play this season.

It struck me that there's a connection between being an actor and being a behavioral scientist in that both are people watching and doing a lot of observation of the human condition. Do you agree with that?

I think you’re absolutely on brand with that because the truth is, and I've been saying it a lot lately, my whole career and my training as an actor has been about human behavior. The actor's job is to reflect that behavior, whether it be on stage or television or the big screen. The thing that is new in this case is the science behind it and the fact that I get to put that science not only in my brain but in my mouth and my cadence. That is exciting for me because I could say all day long what I think about behavior as far as an actor is concerned but now to think of it also as a scientist is fascinating to me. It makes me feel like I'm a little bit smarter than I probably am.

What have you learned that has made you smarter?

I think just having the psychology behind the way we behave and why we make the decisions we make. The big notion in the grander theme of the work that Alec does is we all know what is right and what is wrong or what is rational and what is irrational. We know. Innately as humans we know that's probably not the nicest thing to do or the smartest thing to do. One of the things that Alec talks about in the first season, in the pilot episode, he talks about the fact that we know that it is safer to actually get on a plane then it is to get in a car, but everybody has a grand fear based around the idea of flying.

Those are the kinds of things that I love being able to explore every single day and learn myself every single day. I think maybe that's one of the things that our audience resonates with is this idea of not only consuming television but you’re learning things about what we think, how we behave, why we do the things we do.

Related: The Irrational Star Maahra Hill Talks About Tonight's Shocking Ending and More

The second episode deals with the possibility of laser treatment.

The laser treatment possibility is a big quandary for him, and it was a big quandary for me as an actor playing this role. I went to the writers and I said, “Are we going to minimize the scars?” And a big part of me didn't want to, even though it's a serious process to apply the prosthetic every single day, and if you were to see more of my body, that would be an even longer process which takes time. We have fantastic makeup artists who do it and so I certainly enjoy the experience. But it does change me, and it has become a part of the character, it has become a part of Alec's identity, so it's a big old quandary, do you want to change Alec?

Let's talk about possible romance for Alec this season. The first episode is a big storyline with Rose (Karen David), but Alec’s ex Marisa (Maahra Hill) is not engaged any longer now that her fiancé has been killed. So that opens that possibility again but she probably needs some time to mourn him first.

I don't know what’s down the line, I'm not writing. I can't really give you any concrete answers that way, but what I can tell you is that I love the fact—which almost never happens in real life—is where somebody is so still in tune with their ex and also moving on to a another romantic possibility in the same space, not only personally but in the professional space because I still work with Marisa because she works with the FBI. I'm working with Rose because she has so many connections in the crime-solving world, and I have personal connections to both of them.

I also have the same connections now being very much explored in Season 2 with my sister Kylie ( Travina Springer ), who's joining the FBI, so all the women in my life are in every part of my life. I don't know who gets to do that but I think it's a fantastic place to tell stories from.

I love the fact that you do have this close relationship with your sister, but I also thought it was interesting because she's not a fan of law enforcement that she did go to work for the FBI.

I thought it was an interesting trajectory, too, and I’ve got to tell you Travina’s really keen on it now, too.

You have a new assistant Simon Wylton (Max Lloyd-Jones).

He is a family member of the Wylton family, who are the great patrons of Wylton University where Alec Mercer teaches.

Is he going be a big part of the story since Phoebe’s (Molly Kunz) still around? She seems to be having a hard time letting go. Talk about the role the assistants play with Alec because they seem to support him a great deal.

They do support him a great deal. You spoke of possible triangles. There is a triangle that may emerge between the students. You have Phoebe, Rizwan ( Arash DeMaxi ), and now you have Simon, and Simon may have particular designs for Phoebe outside of academics and that may cause some feelings, I'll say, with Rizwan. So, there's a whole young drama playing outside of the academic world—jealousy and romance and competition for Alec's attention. You can see that play out in Season 2.

The Irrational premieres it second season tonight at 10 p.m. ET/PT on NBC.

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