The USS Colorado faces an uphill battle on Last Resort as it faces resistance on the island it calls refuge, but there's more pressing matters: internal strife among the crew.
Terminator alum Robert Patrick, who plays the hard-edged Chief of Boat Joseph Prosser on the ABC submarine drama, is well aware of the troubles aboard the vessel. In recent episodes, hints at an old friendship between Prosser and Captain Marcus Chaplin (Andre Braugher), not exactly the best of friends at the moment, have been teased throughout.
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"You’ve just stolen a sub, you’ve got all these people you’re responsible for and now you’re on this island, questioning whether or not he’s making the right decision – and it’s hard to know if you’re making the right decision or not," Patrick tells The Hollywood Reporter of Marcus' actions thus far.
For Prosser, who Patrick describes his alter ego as a Navy-loving patriot, Marcus' actions are difficult to comprehend. "Prosser is witnessing what he's doing and he's flabbergasted at this guy not reacting the way he thought he would under pressure," he explains.
As Patrick says, Prosser and Marcus' past history could be ripe with drama. "They were friends, and [up until this point,] you don’t get to see that part of the relationship. So we’ve got that to go back to. Prosser is very defiant and very clear on what’s right and wrong -- and he knows that he’s right," he says.
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Prosser's biggest beef may not be with Marcus, but with Lieutenant Grace Shephard (Daisy Betts) -- mainly because of her gender and connection to the admiral (Bruce Davison) -- and with Marcus' second-in-command, XO Sam Kendall (Scott Speedman).
"I don’t think he’s got a lot of time for the XO, he doesn’t really dig the Lieutenant. That’s the reality of Prosser’s [point of view]," Patrick says. "You compound that with the fact that not only Grace is a woman, which is a whole new deal for an old salt like him, but she’s the admiral’s daughter. It’s a case of nepotism."
If Grace ever wants to get on Prosser's good side, it'll take a lot on her end. "I think it's Grace's duty to prove that she's worthy of that position in every aspect of Navy life -- and that's where the line has been drawn with her," Patrick says.
Last Resort airs 8 p.m. Thursdays on ABC.
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