By Paul Salfen AMFM Magazine – Exclusive
Henry Ian Cusick doesn’t waste a second – “I think I’m in agreement with you,” he says, grinning. “It’s a fantastic show that keeps on getting more and more fantastic and fantastical. I’ve had a blast doing it. Season three is just out, and I believe we’ll be doing season seven. Hopefully I get to be in it all the way to the end.”
Cusick voices Peet the Sock Man, the eccentric wildcard who’s become a fan favorite. “Every time they call me and say, ‘Come on in,’ I’m always excited,” he admits. “I just wish I worked more sometimes.”
He’s been watching the new season and can’t contain his enthusiasm. “It just looks amazing. The show gets bigger—visually, emotionally. The world is expanding, themes are deeper, characters have more to say.” For Cusick, Peet’s journey is the real thrill. “My character has a great arc. Starting off as this crazy, eccentric character—we don’t know anything about him. Slowly the layers are peeled off. You identify, relate, sympathize, and hope that he will turn out to be the old awesome that he was. It’s a very cool role.”
This is Cusick’s first animation project, and the process still surprises him. “I go in, see Chris [Wall] and Ned, they show me rough sketches—this is what it’s going to look like, you’re going to come in speaking Latin. It’s all those little things.” He treats it like live theater. “How much it takes out of you when you’re just doing the voice—trying to project what you’re feeling. It really is a workout, vocally, emotionally.”
But the environment makes it joyful. “They give me such great notes, always positive, always encouraging me to try things. ‘Try this.’ It feels like being in the theater again—director saying, ‘Do this,’ and you go, ‘Okay, whatever you want.’ I trust you.” Cusick doesn’t mind direction—even line readings. “Chris is very good at it. He’s a very good actor. So I trust him.”
There are moments in the booth when the magic hits. “There are times when I’m sweating,” he says. “As an actor, I’m always pushing myself. That’s where I get the fun from—being challenged. When I push myself, that’s enjoyable.”
For kids dreaming of acting, Cusick’s advice is blunt. “We’re in a very precarious time in our business. Everyone told me not to become an actor—parents, everyone. ‘It’s too precarious.’ I didn’t listen. If you’re going to do it, you’re going to do it regardless of what people say. People who are going to be actors are going to be actors. You can say no all you want—they’re going to do it.”
He knows from experience. “I had a moment where my life completely changed. Late 30s, financial debt—about 100,000 pounds. Wife, three sons, nothing happening in the UK. I said, ‘Honey, I’m going to the States on this credit card. I’m going to get a job.’ That was my Hail Mary.” He landed in L.A., crashed on a friend’s couch, and within nine days booked a big arc on 24. Paperwork delayed it, but Lost followed. “That changed my life. I owe my whole career to getting that job.”
Family remains his anchor. “My wife is my biggest supporter and advisor. There’s very little I do without communication within the family. We talk every day—what feels right, what is good, what are we putting out to the universe. We lift each other when we’re down. It’s a constant conversation.”
That theme runs through The Wingfeather Saga. “At the heart of it, it’s a story about family,” Cusick says. “Sticking together, being there for each other. Loyalty, commitment, love through all the adversities. As you get older, you think, family is everything.”
Looking ahead, Cusick has projects lined up: Salvador (just premiered at the Original Film Festival), Fugitive for Master Od (a book-to-screen adaptation), and Los Vampiros, a film about the Spanish-language Dracula shot on the same sets as Bela Lugosi’s version.
The Wingfeather Saga Season 3 is streaming now.
