Jason O'Mara at the ABC All-Star Party held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, Calif. on July 17, 2008

In the new ABC drama Life on Mars, adapted from the popular British series, NYPD Detective Sam Tyler (Jason O’Mara) finds himself in the cultural hot-bed of New York City in the tumultuous times of the Vietnam War, Watergate, women’s lib, and the civil and gay rights movements, without a cell phone, computer, PDA or MP3 player. Suddenly ripped from 2008 and hurtled back in time to 1973, after being hit by a car while chasing down a criminal, he tries to understand what has happened to him and figure out he can get back “home.”

Forced to use a different moral code and no hi-tech crime fighting techniques, Sam clashes with his new boss at the 125^th Precinct, the irascible Lieutenant Gene Hunt (Harvey Keitel), who would rather use his fists than his brains to solve a crime. Hunt, who has earned the adoration of the men under him, does his best to hide his humanity behind a gruff exterior and great gut instincts, in contrast to Sam’s more politically correct, cutting-edge style. But the two begrudgingly combine to make a powerful team -- along with squad member Detective Ray Carling (Michael Imperioli), Annie Norris of the Police Women’s Bureau and Rookie Detective Chris Skelton (Jonathan Murphy) -- whether they like it or not.

Irish actor Jason O’Mara spoke to MediaBlvd Magazine about what it’s like to be the lead of such a highly anticipated television series.

MediaBlvd Magazine> Were you concerned with taking this on, since it was such a popular British show?

Jason O’Mara> There are obviously going to be comparisons to John Simm and the British version. But, we’re making this for Americans, and I think most of the American audience hasn’t even heard of the original version, let alone seen it. We’re really tailoring this for an American audience, so that they can enjoy it.              

MediaBlvd> Have you spoken to John Simm about taking over this role?

Jason> No, I haven’t. I’m a big fan of their work, but I have to own this myself. I have to make it my own. I can’t be scratching my head going, “I wish I was John Simm.” I’m going to do my own thing and, hopefully, people will love it. He’s fantastic, but that was then and this is now. We’re a different country, and it’s set in a different city. We’re going to make it our own.

MediaBlvd> Do you think this version will ever play in England?

Jason> I don’t know. It depends on what they make of it. It’s going to be a hard sell. It’s like selling ice to the Eskimos. They love Life on Mars, and we want to do the most we can to give it the same integrity and respect. We have to make this work for a slightly different culture, that was actually very different in 1973. There’s a big difference between Manchester and New York. So, we’re painfully aware of all of these differences, and we’re trying to address everything as best we can, while keeping everybody happy. But, you can’t please everybody all the time. If you’ve seen the original Life on Mars, and you prefer it, then bully for you.            

MediaBlvd> The American version of The Office succeeded in England, didn’t it?

Jason> The Office does have a life in the UK because they found what works for them and they made it their own. That’s our challenge. There’s no point in shying away from it. We are making the American version of Life on Mars, and we’re going to try to make the most kick-ass version of it that we can.            

MediaBlvd> Are there experts for the style and look of the show, for those of you who don’t remember the 70's? Have you done any research?

Jason> There are consultants and associate producers. I think our biggest consultant was practicing police work during that time, so he can chart the changes, on the spot. And, we have a great wardrobe designer and a great production designer. Everybody is super-aware of the details. That’s a really important part of the show. It’s going to be interesting to specifically explore the differences that have occurred in New York. The city was a very different place.

MediaBlvd> Did you look at any movies from then, just to get an idea of what it was like?

Jason> Oh, yeah. I looked at Mean Streets, Serpico and The French Connection.

MediaBlvd> What about old magazines or pictures?

Jason> Yeah, I’ve been looking through those for wardrobe and production design elements. Also, the city was probably more dangerous than it is now. This is all pre-Giuliani. Muggings were common. Those differences are going to be the most fun to explore. And, also, the level of racism and sexism are things we want to take on.

MediaBlvd> Do you like the clothes from the ‘70's?

Jason> I do. It’s not just the ‘70s, though. Saturday Night Fever came along in 1977, and that was when it went disco. It went a little nuts, and there were platforms and white leopard suits. 1973 was a little more staid. It was a little more rock ‘n’ roll. There was black leather. A lot of the stuff doesn’t look as out of place as you’d think.                                

MediaBlvd> How do you feel about all the polyester?

Jason> After a 15-hour day, polyester causing chafing. It’s rough.       

MediaBlvd> In the original, Sam’s leather jacket became this iconic image. Are you ready to wear the same outfit for the entire run of the show?

Jason> It’s going to be a signature of the show. I want to wear it in every scene, in every episode of the show. We had a jacket fitting to reconstruct the jacket from scratch. It’s going to be its own character. We’re big fans of the British show and we loved that it was his signature jacket, and we want the same thing for Sam Tyler. It’s not exactly the same, but it’s black leather.

MediaBlvd> Do you like the music from back then?

Jason> I love the music from back then.

MediaBlvd> How will you wear your hair?

Jason> My hair should probably stay more or less the same. I want the hair kind of like John Simm’s hair, just to be a reminder that he’s not necessarily from that period. He’s from somewhere else. I’m not going to have long, hippy hair.                                                                                             

MediaBlvd> Do you have a regular cop car or an undercover car?

Jason> They’re all plain clothes detectives, so they have bubble sirens. I think it’s a ‘68 Camaro, but I’m not sure.

MediaBlvd> What are you doing for the accent?

Jason> It can be hard, but I’m going to try to give this a New York flavor. It’s quite difficult to do a very subtle New York accent. It’s easier to do Italian, or something very specific. Even a Hell’s Kitchen accent would be easier. To give it just a little New York flavor is going to be tricky, so I’m working with a dialect coach. I want it to be very subtle. I don’t want it to be obvious.

MediaBlvd> If you had to be in the ‘70s for real, what would you miss most about today?

Jason> I would certainly miss the Internet, iPods, my DVR, my microwave oven, my cell phone. I am a little bit of a tech person, and I kind of hate myself for that.                     

MediaBlvd> Are they going to explore that with your character at all?

Jason> There’s a great line from the original version, which hopefully we’ll emulate, when he walks into this filing room and there’s paperwork everywhere, and he says, “What I wouldn’t do for an Internet search engine right now!” We’re hoping to have that kind of fun with it.

MediaBlvd> How do you feel being the star of a network show that is definitely going to be on the air?

Jason> I was part of the ensemble in The Agency, in 2002 on CBS. I worked with Beau Bridges, Will Patton and Paige Turco, my wife. I was a co-lead on Injustice, in 2005 with Kyle MacLachlan. I’ve been doing some really great pilots that, unfortunately, haven’t made it on the air, but I’ve worked with some really high-caliber people. I’ve been really fortunate. I’ve been working with ABC for the last four years and this is the culmination of a lot of that work.

MediaBlvd> Since you did episodes of both Men in Trees and Grey’s Anatomy, were they looking for something to put you in?

Jason> I was signed to the network, so they were just trying to keep me busy and stop me from getting fat.

MediaBlvd> Do you think being on after Grey’s Anatomy, and your appearance on that show, will help bring viewers to Life on Mars?

Jason> I hope so. Hopefully, it will help, if they enjoyed my performance on that. I’ve been on The Closer, reprising the role of a serial killer. All of that stuff can’t hurt. But, this is a new deal  for me. I’ve never had a Fall launch like this. We’re the only ABC Fall drama. There’s a lot of pressure, but it’s very exciting.

MediaBlvd> Have you completely adjusted to living in the States?

Jason> I’ve been in the States for six years. I don’t live in L.A. I live in a small town in Connecticut. My wife has an apartment in New York, so that’s great for the show. We’re bi-coastal, and we do the best we can. I go back to London and Dublin, where I’m from, but I love it here.

MediaBlvd> Would you like your wife to be on the show?

Jason> Yeah, that would be cool! I’d love her to be on the show.

MediaBlvd> Have you gotten to work together since The Agency?

Jason> No, we haven’t, and we’ve been wanting to. Hopefully, it will work out. She’s doing Damages right now. We’re trying to stay in the same city.

MediaBlvd> Is there a lot of action in the show?

Jason> I think there will be quite a bit.

MediaBlvd> What do you do to stay in shape?

Jason> I run a lot, and I eat less.

MediaBlvd> Did you have to do any special training for this show?

Jason> Because I end up playing cops a lot, I go to a shooting range every month. I don’t like it when I see actors who don’t know how to handle weapons. It’s just a pet peeve. I have no love for guns, but I go to a shooting range, just for professional reasons.

MediaBlvd> Did you have to go back and see what the guns were like in ‘73?

Jason> Yeah. They were mostly revolvers. They didn’t have the automatic pistol then.

MediaBlvd> Do you have a stunt man, or do you prefer to do your own stunts?

Jason> I like to do as much as I can, but when you’re doing 15-hour days, it’s hard. Doing the stunt for the first time is fine. That’s no problem. But, 15 takes later, you start getting bruises, and then you can’t wake up for work the next morning.

MediaBlvd> How badly injured have you been?

Jason> Just scratches and bruises, really. When you’re shooting a show, it’s just day after day, with 15-hour days, and you have to try to stay in good shape.

MediaBlvd> Since you have entirely redone the pilot and recast the show, what was it like to be the last man standing?

Jason> It can be a little weird. I’ve had a long-standing relationship with ABC, for the last four years, but a lot of the pilot work I’ve done hasn’t made it on the air. They know what I’m capable of and they knew I was ready for this. It’s a fantastic opportunity. I was really sad to see that I wasn’t going to be working with those guys, but at the same time, I completely understood the position that was taken. That was a very high-up, executive decision that was made. I had nothing to do with it. By the way, those other actors are already working and continuing their careers, so I think everything worked out fine, in the end.

MediaBlvd> Colm Meaney would have been perfect as Gene Hunt. Did he not want to do it, or did the network just want to get rid of everyone and start over?

Jason> He’s great. I don’t know what happened. I think it was a network decision, in the spirit of starting over. I remember hearing from someone that Colm wouldn’t be into shooting something long-term in New York. I think it was one of those situations where it just died on the vine with no hard feelings. I’m not sure how it actually went down, but I know that Colm has a home in L.A., and he spends time in Dublin, England and Spain. That’s a lot of bases to cover. I’m not sure exactly how he’d make New York work. He’s got a family.

MediaBlvd> Will there be any opportunities for guest casting on your show? Who would you love to have on?

Jason> I can’t think of anyone, off-hand. But, with Harvey Keitel as Gene Hunt, getting fantastic guest actors will not be a problem because everyone’s going to line up to work with him.

MediaBlvd> Do you think there’s any chance that they would reach out to any of the original actors, like John Simm, to guest star on the show?

Jason> I think that’s a great idea. I don’t know if they’d want to. If they wanted to, I think it would be great, just for the whole mythology. It could be a character who’s advising Sam Tyler and says, “Trust me, I’ve been here before.” It would be cool. But, I’m sure they’re very busy. Who knows. I’d be open to it. I think it’s a great idea.            

MediaBlvd> Was there any thought about approaching Philip Glenister to reprise his role?

Jason> He’s been quoted as saying that he doesn’t want to do an American version because he fears he might end up in the Priory, which is an English rehab center.           

MediaBlvd> What is Detective Sam Tyler’s relationship with Detective Ray Carling (Michael Imperioli) in the show?

Jason> Ray is Gene Hunt’s right-hand man. When Sam comes in, he takes a lot of his thunder and upsets the equilibrium of the squad room. I think, a lot of the time, he is jealous. He’s one of those guys who likes to sit back and criticize and comment on what’s happening. He thinks Sam is just a smart ass, and just this lunatic who’s saying that he knows more because he’s from the future or something.

MediaBlvd> Are there any cases from the British show that you hope will be adapted for the American version?

Jason> I really liked when Sam discovered that he had been spending the entire episode with Maya’s mother, and she discovers she’s pregnant with Maya. That kind of stuff is fantastic. I also really liked the episode when there’s a guy trying to torture him on his coma bed, and he’s trying to stop that from happening in 2008, by doing things in 1973. But, we really are taking on a different mythology, so a lot of it is going to depend on where we go and how we find our own feet with the show.  

MediaBlvd> What first attracted you to acting? How old were you when it happened?

Jason> I did this school play when I was 17, and I remember getting a first laugh from the audience, after the first joke.

MediaBlvd> Was it easy to get your start?

Jason> It was easy, initially, and then there was 18 months of total unemployment and I thought, “Oh, my god, I’ve done something terrible!”

MediaBlvd> Did you ever think you should go do something else?

Jason> I’m not good at anything else.                                                                                                  

MediaBlvd> Were you familiar with this show? Did you happen to be living in England at the time it was running there?

Jason> I wasn’t living in England, but I was already a fan of the show, yeah.

MediaBlvd> Did you ever think, “Hey, it would be cool if I got to play that part some day”?

Jason> Actually, when I was watching it, I did think it could be translated for America. I didn’t actually think, in a million years, that I would be the guy playing the role, but I was already a fan of it. I loved the chemistry between John Simm and Phil Glenister, and I loved how they told their stories in an edgy, very fresh, new way. What’s great about this version is that we have such a fantastic wealth of reference points from the early ‘70s. There was that school of film that emerged in the ‘70s with Scorsese and Lumet, and The French Connection, Mean Streets and Serpico. There’s a huge list of stuff. And, while they had their template, it’s important to have ours, so that we can make similar but different cultural reference points.

MediaBlvd> Have you ever traveled somewhere where you felt like you were totally out of your element?

Jason> I was in Morocco once and that was very different, culturally. You have to bribe the police when they stop you. They’ll just stop you and say that you shouldn’t be standing there, and basically give you a hard time until you cough up 10 bucks or something. It’s a developing country. Police corruption is an everyday thing. It’s not a million miles away from 35 years ago. I’m not saying that every policeman was corrupt, but there were issues back then.