Manhunt has proved yet another critical hit for AppleTV+. The series’ portrayal of historical figures as rich, complex, and possessing interesting dynamics with each other has received a large amount of credit for its success. Damian O’Hare, as one of the least well-known figures featured in the show, Thomas Eckert, has achieved high praise as well. With the series finale arriving this Friday, O’Hare took some time to speak to us about bringing an important but little-written-about historical figure to life, Ireland and America’s intertwined histories, and what is the true soul of the Manhunt.

This interview was edited for length and clarity.

THE SPOOL: We were just talking about you having watched the most recent three episodes. That catches you up in time for the series finale. Looking back over what you’ve seen, how do you feel about the results? Obviously, you had enough initial interest in the project to sign on. Still, projects often end up different than how they started. Given that, did Manhunt pay off on what you were expecting or hoping?

DAMIAN O’HARE: Oh, yeah, completely. Just speaking as an actor, you go off the material you are given. Because it’s a historical piece, it gives you something to jump into right away. The fact that this happens so hard on the heels of the Civil War with the country being in such a state of tension and turmoil, it’s just such a rich bed for this story.

It’s a great ensemble piece as well, obviously led by Tobias [Menzies] and stocked with fellow country- and city man Anthony [Boyle] as Booth. It’s such a great ensemble cast, especially Lovie [Simone] and her storyline. I love what Monica [Beletsky] did with the whole thing. It’s not just the cat and mouse chase, which is a strong linear line throughout [Manhunt]. She paints this lovely picture of what’s happening in the country at the time with slavery and Reconstruction. It was amazing to walk on those sets the first few days.

What I’ve seen on the screen is just magnificent. You can see the care that’s been taken to describe that period so well. I must say that our DP, Robert [Humphreys], was incredible. He was the one constant throughout, so it looks magnificent.

It’s funny what you can do when you’re given the right path. And the right mustache. I’ve been overjoyed so far with what I’ve seen. I can’t wait to see the end. No spoilers. Well, some–

TS: Some spoilers are already out there.

[Laughter]

TS: You bringing up historical spoilers leads me to my next question. As you grew up in Northern Ireland, while I know the United States has a tendency to get in everywhere, I’d imagine some aspects of the history were unknown to you. What did you encounter for the first time researching Manhunt? Was any of it especially surprising to you?

DO: Now, obviously, you can hear by my accent that—I’ve been in LA 12, 13 years, but—I’m not from these parts. Like everyone, I had heard of the famous assassination that Lincoln was shot by a guy called John Wilkes Booth, who was an actor.

But I presumed he was caught at the scene, a bit like Jack Ruby and Harvey Oswald or something like that. I was speaking to a lot of Americans and American friends, and a lot of people actually didn’t know where that story went. He did escape. He fled the theater and went on the run for 12 days. That was immediately a great way in because that’s like a thriller, you know?

I did know some about the period because, a few years back, I did a show called Hatfields & McCoys for the History Channel. So, I did a lot of research into that period around the Civil War. Tom Berenger worked with me on [the series], and he’s a huge Civil War buff, so we’d talk about it. What got me was America was such a country in its infancy at the time. Coming out of this period, it could’ve went anywhere. It’s something Carl Franklin, the great Carl Franklin, kept reminding us. This was immediately after the Civil War. There were initial cheers, but there was still this tension, this real sense of jeopardy and danger. Jefferson Davis was still in the wind. Who knows what would’ve happened if Booth actually made his way back to the Confederate States even though they had been pretty much bested by the army?

The time echoed what happened in Ireland as well. The Irish Civil War starting in the early 20th Century. That was literally brother against brother, too, and a lot of families were divided. So there were lots of similarities there. And, of course, the Irish and the American stories are very much intertwined.

TS: [Your role] Thomas Eckert is an actual historical figure, of course. But he’s not one of the prominent ones, even to Americans. Does that make it easier to realize him because there’s no definitive version of Eckert out there to compete with? More difficult because there’s just less to hook into?

DO: Yeah, it was a sort of double-edged sword. Manhunt all comes from James L. Swanson’s book, which I devoured. But it’s like something a comedian once said. When someone gives you a book, and you know you’re in it, you immediately turn to the back and check to see what pages you’re on. And he’s hardly mentioned in the book at all. There’s a few little bits and pieces. And yeah, the bits of research I did were very informative. But the fact that there wasn’t a definitive depiction or portrayal gave me some leeway. [I had] to go from the script, and I thought what Monica did with the character was phenomenal.

It would have been very easy for him to be always hanging off Stanton’s shoulder and just there as a sounding board. But there was a definite relationship there, which I loved. And he had a definite part to play in the effort. Eckert was in charge of the telegraph department, which was an essential part of winning the war. Stanton said the telegraph was his right hand. He actually moved the telegraph department to the War Room so it would be right beside him. In the show, you see their doors are sort of interlinked. Eckert was brought on as a confidant. He was initially like a civil servant, but he and his team developed ciphers and codes so Stanton and Lincoln could talk to each other. That gives the the show this relationship between Eckert, Lincoln, and Stanton.

In the latter episodes, you get to see that even though Stanton’s on a sort of one-man mission and has to be definite when public-facing, in his quieter moments of questioning and doubt, he will go to Eckert. That was lovely to play with Tobias. Then Stanton made him Assistant Secretary of War. He ended up being President of Western Union, so quite a successful ol’ boy. It was great, but to be honest, there was a lot there was a lot of reading around to find him. And, of course, the wonderful mustache, which was historically accurate.

TS: What else do you need?

DO: Yes, exactly!

TS: We’re running down to our final moments here, so I just wanted to take a moment to dig into the cast. You, of course, arrive on set with an idea of how to play Eckert. But I imagine that grows and evolves as you begin to perform with other actors. Was there a particular scene partner that helped you anchor yourself in the part? Was there a scene or moment when you realized you had Thomas?

DO: On my first day, I remember there was a lot still being finessed. Like the scripts were still being finessed. But my first day filming was in the boarding house when I arrest the one of the conspirators. It was quite physically demanding, you know. I remember Monica telling me she didn’t want Stand to just be this cerebral team. So I overpowered the guy, and it’s a bit of a struggle. That gave Eckert some physicality, which is always great to get into.

But I think a lot of it for me came from that relationship I had with Tobias—a lot of the quieter moments. I remember we had been filming for three or four weeks and, for my first time and I think his too, we had a scene with Hamish [Linklater] as Lincoln. Both of us realized, “This is the soul of the show.” And I thought Hamish was just incredible, the way he plays Lincoln. You know, it is really easy to play him as Abraham Lincoln, statue in DC. But he found this playfulness about him. These people were human, and they laughed and had bad days and good days. They weren’t just one thing. If you’re doing a historical story, you need to find that human element.

It’s all comes down to Monica. And certainly, the great actors and scene partners I had. Hopefully, that comes across.

Viewers can witness Damian O’Hare help it come across in Manhunt‘s series finale on April 19 on AppleTV+.