We called my dad MacGyver when I was a kid, and I learned a lot from him. He just enjoys problem solving in that way. I do, too, which is something I inherited.
Lucas TillI do like moving my legs a lot, like maybe moon walk-y things. I don't have like one move, because I try as much as I can. But I just love imitating impossible things that dancers do.
Lucas TillI've always done a lot of stunts in the past, and I sound like I'm tooting my own horn here, but I've always impressed the people I've worked with and they've let me do more and more.
Lucas TillActually there were [ in MacGyver] a lot of things about the original that focused on the character, but not too many people seem to remember that.
Lucas TillI was just watching "So You Think You Can Dance," flipping channels, and I was like man, I could never do that.
Lucas TillI don't know that I could do a procedural legal drama and spend all my time in a courtroom talking legal jargon that I don't necessarily understand.
Lucas TillEvery time I work with real Southern actors... we immediately go into white trash and we just get along really well within one night.
Lucas TillWhat's funny is we were doing some fire at work the other day and it was reminding me of all the firework I got to do as Havok, because a lot of that was as practical as you could get.
Lucas TillI never know when I'll find myself jumping out of a helicopter or something. It's like we're making a new action movie every week, which is pretty thrilling.
Lucas TillMy mom's a chemist, so she's pretty smart. I love technology and I can handle myself around a computer.
Lucas TillThe original plan was that James Wan would direct the pilot [of MacGyver ] but it didn't work out, and then it did, which is great. I'm a huge fan.
Lucas TillI took Jujitsu for four years, which has no striking. My dad had me in Taekwondo when I was a kid, but I didn't retain much of that.
Lucas TillThis MacGyver is a twentysomething agent who, rather than operating on his own, is part of a team engaged in high-risk missions that take them around the world. Other cast members include George Eads as Jack Dalton, Tristin Mays as Riley Davis, Justin Hires [late of the TV version of Rush Hour] as Wilt Bozer and Sandrine Holt as Patricia Thornton.
Lucas TillOn the first one, X-Men: First Class, it would be James McAvoy, Nicholas Hoult and I. I'd basically inhale, there would be a red flashing light, and then the stuff at the end of the hallway would just blow up. It really felt like I could do those things, but, sadly, I can't. It was a lot of fun; I got to play a superhero that I was familiar with since I was a kid. It doesn't really get much better than that.
Lucas TillThe producer and writers [ of X-Men: Apocalypse ] were kind of feeling me out with, "Are you okay with the fact that you die?" and I was, like, "Yes." That's something that people would talk about, so I thought it was cool that I died. Havok was in three movies and then I get to be remembered.
Lucas TillIf you had known me in middle school, I was definitely not what someone would think of as Brad Pitt. That was not me. I was kind of a dork.
Lucas TillWith Southern actors you always think you're from the same place. Even if one is from Texas, one is from Georgia, you're like, "oh, you're just down the street, man."
Lucas TillTruthfully, in the beginning [of MacGyver] this could have gone either way, and as it turned out there was a version that was done wrong, which I'm not even going to get into. It was a pretty good idea and I liked where it was going, but then we got a chance to restart with Peter Lenkov [as executive producer/showrunner], who brought his vision to it. I remember reading his pilot script and it was just so exciting that I started hopping around my room.
Lucas TillI'm not a big fan of guitar face. You know, when someone's playing guitar, and they make this really embarrassing face, like they smush their lips together and... they look you in the eye and it's really humiliating. You know some people have that really embarrassing guitar face? I remember thinking about this when I was doing the DJing, because... you do have to focus, and that's what happens, it's your focus face. But you're in a movie, so you should probably lock it up.
Lucas TillIt takes a minute to get use to the TV thing, and I have so much more respect for TV actors now.
Lucas TillI will say this: basically there in [MacGyver] was an idea and it was executed with a bunch of different things in mind, and that's where I will stop talking, because if I were to continue it might sound like I would be slagging off all of these people that I worked closely with, who did such a great and amazing job in their own right.
Lucas Till