{alltv} 4 Things to Know About Hawaii Five-0's Scott Caan

Monday, September 20, 2010

{alltv} 4 Things to Know About Hawaii Five-0's Scott Caan

Fans of the original Hawaii Five-O know all about the setting, the theme song and that famous catchphrase. But they don't know the new Danno ... yet.

Following his recent turn on Entourage, Scott Caan steps into the iconic role of Danny Williams on the rebooted Hawaii Five-0, premiering Monday at 10/9c on CBS. The 34-year-old actor injects a new dose of humor into the character first made famous 42 years ago thanks mostly to the line, "Book 'em, Danno."

Here's a few things Caan and series' producer Peter Lenkov think you should know about their take on the classic character.

Don't ask Caan about the original: "I purposely didn't go back and look at too much of the old show," Caan said. "I wanted to start fresh, and I didn't want to have any old ideas. I just kind of wanted to start fresh. "

Caan isn't afraid to infuse himself into the role: "I think that I was able to do better work on this than I had done in the last ten years in movies," Caan said. "And I think it's just — you're getting to see a little more of my personality, and a little more of what I can bring."

This isn't the McGarrett show anymore: "The Danno character really felt like it would be a good foil in some ways ... you get some good drama out of the relationship if you have someone who is a fish out of water," executive producer Peter Lenkov said. "So really by design originally, it was that these two guys would be front and center in the show, McGarrett (Alex O'Loughlin) clearly leading the unit and Danno being his right-hand man, but really being an equal in terms of his experience and what he brings to the table."

His character is far from perfect: "What makes Steve McGarrett and ... Danny Williams so interesting is that they are a little gray, and I think there is some flaws in them. I think that's what makes them so watchable," Lenkov said. "They make mistakes and they're human. Them being real comes across, and I think that's why you gravitate to these guys and I think that's why it really clicked."