Garret Dillahunt’s literally bared all in the Sep. 6 episode of Lanterns when the character, William Macon Sr., confronted John Stewart (Aaron Pierre) and Hal Jordan (Kyle Chandler) in his birthday suit.
The semi-full-frontal encounter came shortly after the two members of the Green Lantern Corps sneak onto William’s heavily-armed compound in an effort to discover a definitive link between him and a suspected Manhunter hiding out in Rushville, Nebraska.
Aware of the fact that John has a talent for illustration, William insisted the young man draw him in the nude. It was a power move meant to establish William’s authority ’round these parts, while giving him a chance to extol the benefits of having a Manhunter around.
Garret Dillahunt Explains William Macon’s Nude Scene in HBO’s Lanterns
“This benefactor has made our town a safe place to live, a healthy place to live,” Dillahunt exclusively told SYFY Wire over Zoom. “The hospitals are empty. I [had cancer] and was probably going to die, but he saved me and I became this super-fit, young senior citizen. We owe this guy a great debt, and we’re all very protective of him. Our ideas about who should live on the Earth are based on our benefactor’s safety.”
There’s also the awkwardness of John sleeping with William’s wife, Zoe (Poorna Jagannathan). While John had no idea she was married at the time of their little indiscretion, “it seems to be slightly threatening to William,” explained Dillahunt. “And so, I think he wants to show off his own physical capabilities…It was just a way to throw [John] off balance.”
He continued: “What I love about the scene, is that I’m just walking around, playing records and having a normal chat with [John], my daughter-in-law and anybody else who comes in the room [while I’m] bare-ass naked. It was a bit of surprise that it was going to happen at this stage of my life. I thought those days were over…But I did appreciate that I had a few months to get in shape.”
In his quest to get swoll, Dillahunt called up friends like fellow actor Frank Grillo, who could advise him on the best way to work out.
“I just wanted to go the extra mile,” Dillahunt said. “I’d never done the diet thing very well, and I trained as if I was going to do a posedown on the day of shooting. I said, ‘What do I eat on the day when I’m hungry?’ And [my bodybuilder friends said], ‘Just sip some water on the day. If you’re really hungry, have a rice cake with a little honey on it.’ I was just like, ‘Damn, this is serious!’ These bodybuilders are weak as kittens on posedown day, I’ll tell you that. But it was fun to know I still could.”
Lanterns drops new episodes Sundays at 9:00 p.m. ET on HBO and HBO Max.
