Jupiter’s Legacy: Ian Quinlan is the Mysterious Hutch
Ian Quinlan finds himself right in the middle of the superhero family drama of Jupiter’s Legacy as "Hutch" Hutchence.
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Generationally speaking, the character of “Hutch” Hutchence is in an interesting position on Jupiter’s Legacy. He’s another bridge between the generations of heroes.
The man who plays Hutch is Ian Quinlan, who has appeared in the films City Hall and Music of the Heart. On television his credits include episodes of Lifestories: Families in Crisis, The Carrie Diaries, The Family, Gotham, Sneaky Pete, and Orange is the New Black.
WHO IS HUTCH?
NAME: “Hutch” Hutchence
ALTER EGO: None
POWERS AND ABILITIES: Possesses the Power Rod which allows Hutch to teleport himself and others anywhere simply by naming the location. It also emits energy blasts.
NEED TO KNOW: Son of George Hutchence. A complex, charismatic wild card who prefers the company of young villains. Hutch didn’t inherit his dad’s superpowers, but relies on his Power Rod, which enables him to navigate life as a con man with a conscience.
What was shooting this show like?
It was a freaking blast to film. Like shooting three movies at once. We go back in time, then in the present we have the superhero side of things that feels like Christian Bible Camp, and on the other side is Hutch and the Hutch Gang, which is like The Sex Pistols meets Guardians of the Galaxy.
It sounds like you’re having a great time with it.
Yeah, it’s really awesome. With all the action sequences and the subject matter and the character and the crew that I get to play and play with it’s just a blast. And I get to basically be like a version of Sid Vicious meets Tyler Durden.
What attracted you to it?
When I read the script and realized it was Mark Millar, it blew my mind. I read all of his stuff growing up — The Ultimates, Civil War, The Authority. Once I knew it was him, I was, like, “Oh, I know what this guy wants.”
Which is what?
When he did Civil War for Marvel, it asked, “What are our values? Where are we going? Do we want to adopt a new set of codes of conduct?” I found that very similar to The Union, when their children are getting ready to take over and don’t necessarily subscribe to their code. And what happens when they want to make changes and there’s nobody really to hold them accountable?
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How does Hutch fit into that?
Well, he doesn’t really subscribe to heroes and villains or capes and spandex. That’s what felt like Mark Millar: he’s always talking about this theme of superheroes and how they would fit into the real world and what society would actually have to say to them. I found that very cool and very exciting.
How do you view Hutch as a person? What is your take on him?
I think Hutch is definitely an iconoclast. I think he’s a guy who had to grow up fending for himself and fighting for everything he could ever get. I think he simply got a chip on his shoulder. He’s the black sheep of this super family.
He’s the son of the world’s greatest supervillain, but he’s never met the man. Not only is he the black sheep, but he’s also got this stigma attached to him. I think he’s feeling like an outcast and he sort of adopts and lives in that world of the outlaw. He’s looking for his own authenticity…and he has made his own family and they sort of live outside of the law. He protects those he loves and he doesn’t really let a lot of people in.
What I really like about Hutch is that, and what I like about stories like this in general, I like antiheroes. I like people who do bad things for good reasons and have to live with those choices.
His weapon of choice is very cool.
The Power Rod is so freaking cool. It looks really great. I can’t wait for you to see it.
What is Hutch’s journey like as the show goes on? How do you think he changes from where we meet him to where we finish with him this season?
He’s trying to figure out who he is to some degree and that’s because he doesn’t know his father. I think part of that is the search for identity. He finds a kindred spirit…Mark sees them as Romeo and Juliet, but I see them as Sid and Nancy a little bit. They find this interesting romance of challenging one another to figure out who they are and to break away from these traditional roles. So I think this guy’s going to find that he’s maybe not as alone as he used to be.
Is it annoying or is it a relief that you don’t have to wear an intricate superhero costume?
Let me tell you something, Lizz Wolf, our costume designer, is brilliant. Whenever I work on a show, I always want to talk to the designers because they’ve been doing this way longer than I have and have so many better ideas than I do. Lizz Wolf showed me her vision board for Hutch, and it was these very kind of transient, rich clothes, found items, very thrift store-y, found items. Things to reimagine to fit new purposes. And she’s like, ‘I think in this world where people have these symbols and these uniforms that the counterculture movement wears ridiculously mix and matched stuff as a sort of F-U to authority and to that sell-out culture.’
She had me in these really awesome pants and she had me in all this found jewelry, sort of like Johnny Depp in Pirates of the Caribbean. Here comes the Utopian in his big cape and his chest logo and spandex, and you got me in a Hawaiian t-shirt and a shark tooth necklace and a power rod. This is my uniform… I’ve thoroughly loved my outfits.
There’s so many different superhero universes out there right now. How do you feel Jupiter’s Legacy stands apart?
Mark said it best. I think superhero movies and shows are like Shakespeare and he does too. It’s really cool to see different versions of these things and different styles of these ideas in different ways. We’re dealing with superhero family and the trials and tribulations they face both as superheroes, but also the toll it takes on their family while they’re trying to navigate this world. I think superhero shows are always about the belief in something greater than the individual and a collective belief. That’s really cool, so I think they’re always going to be around. There’s always something new to imagine and discover.
Jupiter’s Legacy premieres on Netflix on May 7. Read more about the series in our special edition magazine!
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Ed Gross is an entertainment journalist who has served on a variety of editorial staffs throughout his career, among them Cinescape, Movie Magic, Cinefantastique, closerweekly.com and…