This Is Us' Justin Hartley Is Ready for Action With 'Tracker' on CBS

"I'm executive producing and starring in a show on CBS that airs right after the Superbowl because of the opportunities This Is Us afforded me. I owe so much to that show."

Finding that next great character after a blockbuster series like This Is Us isn't easy, but Justin Hartley figured it out with his new CBS drama Tracker (February 11). "As an actor, to get to play someone so different right after playing someone I thought was so special, it's the time of my life." Hartley plays Colter Shaw, a survivalist who travels the country in his Airstream looking to help people who have posted rewards. "Colter's environment doesn't really happen to him, he happens to his environment." Considering the series is an action drama, the physicality required of Hartley is much bigger than This Is Us. "You definitely get your steps in. [Laughs] I have realized that if something is scripted, like Colter arrives and knocks on the door, something's gonna happen where he's gonna have to be running. So, a lot of stretching. It's a very active show." But he knows he owes all of this to This Is Us. "I'm executive producing and starring in a show on CBS that airs right after the Super Bowl because of the opportunities This Is Us afforded me. I owe so much to that show."

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Editor's Note: This conversation has been edited and condensed for publication.

How did Tracker come about?

My friend Ken Olin, who was a producer on This Is Us, we were talking about doing something together after This Is Us. This was before This Is Us started the final season. He gave the book to me to read. He goes, "You gotta read this book. It's incredible." I read it and fell in love with the character. We kind of looked at each other and we were, "This is the thing, this is what we have to do. We have to figure out a way to get this on TV." Now we still had the whole entire season of This Is Us to shoot. So there's really nothing we could do except look for a writer and get geared up. We went out and pitched it, and we ended up at a great place at CBS. We were able to shoot the pilot, and I thought it was in really good shape. It's a kind of show I would watch. CBS ended up loving it so much they gave us a Super Bowl spot.

How would you describe the show?

The elevator pitch?

I'm ready.

Okay. Okay. You have this character who grew up with very, very smart, sophisticated parents who were professors at Berkeley. Very strong people. His father got ill and became an increasingly paranoid conspiracy theorist: "People are trying to kill me, government people are after me, we have to get the hell out of here, we're going to become survivalists. This is the only way we can survive." So Colter, as a kid, learns all these survival skills. He learns how to hunt, how to rock climb, how to shoot, how to track, how to do all that, everything. Cut to however many years you want to say later, he's using all of those skills to go around the country and help people who are in need, people who posted rewards for missing people, missing objects, even could be art, could be anything, mostly people. He lives in his Airstream, so he's mobile, he can just go wherever he wants. And then all of these rewards he chooses to take, a lot of them harken back to things he went through in his childhood. He had a rough childhood, so it kind of touches his heart. He goes the extra mile and has a lot of heart. Yeah. I think we live on the 100th floor, that was a long elevator pitch.

And because he's so mobile, each episode he encounters a new adventure, it makes the show exciting.

Every episode, we're in a different place. And then, of course, along the way we pepper the backstory in throughout the series. So you get that as well. It's not just a procedural case of the week thing, you learn more about him as you go. And some episodes are really heavy in that regard. And some are lighter.

Considering so much of this show is outdoors, does that part of it excite you?

Yeah, I mean, I don't think I would want that permanently. I also enjoy AC and I also enjoy putting my feet up on the couch and stuff like that. But the landscape becomes sort of a character in the show. We were on set in the middle of a forest in the middle of the night, and they had it all lit up. It looked unreal and it's a very controlled environment, right? So I don't know, if I was out there in real life, and there were bears and stuff, I don't know if I would really be into that.

The scope of the production of this show seems massive, much bigger than anything you did on This Is Us, right?

I think they both have their challenges. With This Is Us, you look at it, and it's this beautifully written, gorgeous piece of art. Most of it, though, is people in a kitchen talking or in a living room. So you've got to figure out a way to make that as that visually as interesting as it is when you read it, when you just fall in love with it on the page. And you're like, "Okay, now I guess the job is to make sure that that is as interesting on camera when we don't have stunts." But in [Tracker], that's one of the challenges. This is awesome, what they've written, [but] the scope is so big, how do we do this? This is massive. Helicopters. It's incredible. But we've been able to pull it off so far.

There's also the physicality of the show. Do you just treat it as your gym membership?

You definitely get your steps in. [Laughs] I have realized that if something is scripted and it's like, Colter arrives at so-and-so's house and knocks on the front door, something's gonna happen where he's gonna have to be running or something's gonna happen. So, a lot of stretching. It's a very active show.

Does that physicality appeal to you?

It's so funny. I guess you go in cycles. Right? When I was on Smallville, we did a lot of that. And I loved being on that show, but I was also very happy to take a break from it. And then immediately after that, I started to miss it. Yeah, I love it. I'm thrilled every time I see a stunt or something. I love doing that stuff.

The other thing about the character is that because of his upbringing, he's kind of clueless when it comes to anything pop culture or modern, which leads to some funny moments. Did you see that as an opportunity to shape the character more?

Huge. I think it's very cool to see this guy who's obviously an adult learning those things. He's like, "Oh, maybe I can use that then to get what I want? Oh, wait, maybe that'll work. I don't really get it." I think it's funny.

Because he's kind of complicated, how do you find the way to play a character that's almost so not relatable?

I have a thing that I do, it's just a process that I that I do, I try to figure out the nuances of these different guys, it could be a physical thing, like the way he walks and why does he walk that way? Well, maybe he was injured, and he's always had that problem. And now he's got a balky knee. So there's just a certain way that he walks, it's a little bit different, just a little bit, you might not even notice it. I do. And I think that's all that matters, right? That helps you get into the character, much like a wardrobe. But he's got a really interesting childhood, a story that is, I think, hard for anyone to believe, and kind of heartbreaking. Here's this guy who uses all that stuff to go help other people. There's something really noble about that and uncommon about that. It makes him a very interesting character.

There is also something timely about a show like this. Like, considering the news and the state of the world, I'm sure there are many people out there who would like to just go off-the-grid.

Ken always says to me, Colter's environment doesn't really happen to him, he happens to his environment. And that's one of the main differences between the character I'm playing now and Kevin Pearson [on This Is Us]. [Colter] is very strong willed, confident, sometimes probably too confident, but he doesn't really second-guess. As an actor, to get to play someone so different right after playing someone I thought was so special, it's the time of my life, an absolute treat. I feel like I could wake up every day and pinch myself, this is a dream come true for me.

You've also been with this project in every iteration as a producer, something you've been doing more and more of over the years. Do you want to do more of that?

I just want to do stuff that's great when I read it, and I think it's great and the character is great. And if there's an opportunity to participate in something like that, I will do it. I just love what I do. I love producing, I love directing, I love acting, I love actors, I love movies, TV, any stage, doesn't matter. If it moves me, if I'm compelled to do it, then I can't wait. That said, it would be cool to do and fun to do [more comedy].

I'm glad you brought that up. Now usually it pisses me off when attractive people excel at comedy, like leave something for the rest of us, you know what I mean? But I have to admit, you do comedy very well, and I think you should do more of that.

I just enjoy it. I love it so much. I think an action comedy would be a blast. A straight up rom-com. I think those are fun. There's always a place for those. I like everything.

Even though it's only been a short while since This Is Us ended, there's already talks of a reunion. Would you be open to that?

Sure. I mean, if it says Dan Fogelman, yeah, sure. And a chance to get to work with those brilliant actors again, of course. That'd be great. After This Is Us, that experience was so great for me, and I think for everyone. The only thing that matters is if the script is great and the character development is great and all that stuff. Wonderful. One thing it really does have to have is the people, I will only work with great people. The people on Tracker are so dedicated and so good at what they do, but also kind and aware of other people around them. The environment is the culture that we had on This Is Us, that wonderful, warm environment is the same thing that I brought over on Tracker right now. And we're doing a bang-bang, shoot 'em up show where there's action, and people are getting their a** kicked and there's guns and there's fighting, but the environment that we have when we're not shooting, there's no drama, in other words, just a bunch of really great people doing art. It's fantastic.

Considering how big This Is Us was, do you have any concerns not being able to get beyond that character or being typecast?

Not until right now. [Laughs]

Sorry, just doing my job.

No, it's given me so many opportunities. I'm executive producing and starring in a show on CBS that airs right after the Super Bowl because of the opportunities This Is Us afforded me. I owe so much to that show. I mean, what a blessing to be on a show like that. I gotta be honest with you, people still will come up and share stories, personal stories, intimate details of their life. Sometimes very sad stories, sometimes very uplifting stories, because they recognize me from This Is Us and they want to share those stories with me. So it's sort of everlasting. It's been amazing.