‘Fargo,’ ‘Utopia,’ ‘NeXt.’ One Steppenwolf ensemble member has roles on all 3 of these new Chicago-filmed TV shows
Turn on a TV this fall, and there’s a good chance you’ll spot Tim Hopper.
The Steppenwolf Theatre ensemble member has roles on the new series “NeXt” and “Utopia” and the fourth season of “Fargo.” The Chicago-filmed projects premiere within days of each other.
“I think I realized they were all going to be happening within a span of a couple of weeks just about two weeks ago when I saw all the premiere dates, and I was like, Oh wow. It’s kind of funny, but it’s nice too,” Hopper said by phone.
Amazon’s “Utopia” dropped first, on Sept. 25. Hopper plays Dale Warwick, a disciple of Dr. Kevin Christie, a billionaire CEO who has some unusual ideas about how to combat world overpopulation. Warwick is a father figure who finds himself at a crossroads when he doesn’t fully agree with Christie’s plans.
“I felt like this is the best writing that I’ve ever been able to get to do on screen. A really interesting character with a deep backstory and a lot of twists and surprises,” Hopper said. “I’ve been excited about ‘Utopia’ ever since I got the gig.”
Hopper filmed Gillian Flynn’s conspiracy thriller here with John Cusack and Rainn Wilson last year. He said he shot scenes for FX’s “Fargo” earlier this year, shortly before major productions were shut down statewide because of the coronavirus. Season 4 premiered Sept. 27, but Hopper doesn’t appear until much later. He plays aluminum siding salesman Hunk Swindell, who crosses paths with one of the sons of Chris Rock’s mob boss character.
“He has really bought into Dale Carnegie’s book, ‘How to Win Friends & Influence People,’” Hopper said about Swindell. “So he’s kind of an acolyte for that.”
Filming of the 1950 Kansas City crime story recently wrapped here. The season was supposed to premiere in April, but the date was pushed back because of the pandemic. Fox’s “NeXt” was also slated for a spring debut. It’s now scheduled to premiere at 8 p.m. Tuesday.
Hopper plays a member of the board of the tech company Zava, which was once run by two brothers (played by John Slattery and Jason Butler Harner). Slattery’s character is kicked out of the company, and he focuses his efforts on tracking down one of his creations — a powerful artificial intelligence that has gone rogue and tries to harm anything in its way.
A Steppenwolf ensemble member for more than three decades, Hopper said his next projects are on stage, including Yasen Peyankov’s adaptation of “The Seagull,” which is expected to open Steppenwolf’s new theater next year. There are plans to bring Bruce Norris’ play “Downstate” to New York in the fall of 2021 as well. Hopper said the team behind “Chicago Fire” also has checked his availability for November.
He has a recurring role as a fire captain on the NBC series. Hopper — who returned to Chicago for good in 2013 after living in New York — has quite the Chicago TV resume. He has acted on “Chicago Med,” “The Exorcist,” “Empire” and “Proven Innocent.” He would like to land a role on “Chicago P.D.” and wished he could have appeared on Showtime’s “Shameless,” which is filming its 11th and final season.
Hopper — who is represented by Stewart Talent Agency — said every job feels like he’s starting over and he has so much to learn. He typically doesn’t tell his family and friends to check out his TV performances until he can judge for himself whether he wants them to tune in. “I’ve had jobs where I shot something and then I’m on the cutting room floor, so you hate to tell people, ‘Hey, watch me in this show,’ and they’re like, ‘We didn’t see you.'” Spoiler alert: He made the cut on all three shows.
tswartz@tribpub.com
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