A new agent has arrived on NBC’s Line of Fire. Tyler Posey, best known for his time on Teen Wolf, has joined the cast as NSA Agent Brandon Hayes in Episode 5 “Cul-De-Sac.” And in his first appearance of many, already we’ve learned a lot about his character.
In the October 19th episode Russ and Micah need some information about an old case really important to their dad Mike. And poor Russ, he’s nervous. He hasn’t talked to this contact for a while and he’s fiddling around with everything, trying to make sure he looks put together. That’s when Posey enters the picture as Brandon Hayes. Initially standoffish, you’re surprised to learn he’s playful and will get them the information needed. But he just has to play it up because he’s a spook and is wary of his own phone.
MORE: Line of Fire Season 1 Episode 5 Review: “Cul-De-Sac”
Fangirlish sat down to interview Tyler Posey to talk about his new character on Line of Fire. Because he’s got a multiple episode arc in the freshman season of the NBC series. And when it comes to Russ and Brandon, there’s more to come. But before that, I wanted to talk about his character Brandon, what kind of man he is, and what we can expect from him.
“What you can expect from Brandon and what you see in that moment [where he’s introduced] it’s very layered because he’s former Marines like Russell,” Posey started off with. “So he’s got that sort of discipline that you’re talking about, that rigidness, that serious guy. But he puts it on because he knows that people are listening. But he’s also skirting around that and potentially risking his job to help Russell and to help the family because I think that’s Brandon’s nature.”
Personally, that sets Brandon up for success on Line of Fire. Because the circle of trust really has been the Hollingsworth family with everyone else looking in. And Brandon feels like someone who can work with them, and not against them. “He likes to help people and he really wants to be a hero. And I think he knows that he’s good at it because he takes it from a perspective of kind of… he leads with love, you know?”
That’s not to say I immediately trust him. Because people surprise you on this show. And Posey agrees with that sentiment. “We also want to keep the audience guessing because I think what’s so great about this show is that we sort of do that. I think any good project, any good show, you want the audience to be a little sort of like, well, what’s going on here? Confused, create their own theories. Is he a good guy? Is he a bad guy? Is he doing this for his own benefit?”
And then there’s Russ, or like Brandon calls him, Russell. As a viewer, I’m not going to lie, the loyalty is surprising. Not because I instantly want to distrust Brandon. But because of how Line of Fire has built that circle of trust being only family. What I didn’t consider is the bond formed when you’re a Marine. That’s its own sort of family.
“[Brandon] is being extremely loyal by helping Russell. He hasn’t seen Russell in years, hasn’t really heard from him and is just immediately down to be there for him,” Posey said about the bond between these two men. “But I think the coolest part about it is that, being a fan of the show, you sort of want Russell to feel seen. […] He’s sort of floating in the middle of his family. You know, Micah has Mike. Clare has Jane. Russell’s sort of in the middle somewhere.”
Oh and apparently because of this, Brandon is going to bring out a new and surprising side of Russ in the upcoming episode “Cabin Pressure.” Or at least surprising based on what Russ has showed us [the viewer] so far. “What I love so much about it is that you get to really get to see them exercise their former military experience. And that’s something that, you know, everyone’s whipped out a gun on the show. And they’ve had high tension moments. And you’re kind of wanting to see that from Russ because he’s former military.”
As for the rest of the family, there’s going to be an opportunity there as well for Brandon to integrate himself. “There’s a lot to come from Brandon and it opens up new storylines. And he’s just a strong, dependable partner that you can rely on. And the family starts to rely on him as well. And so it’s really amazing.”
Line of Fire airs new episodes on Mondays at 10/9c on NBC, with episodes streaming the next day on Peacock.
