‘Shelter’ is the latest installment from mystery novelist Harlan Coben into the world of television. For years, the American author’s works have transitioned from the page to the screen—with shows like ‘Safe’ and ‘Stay Close’—but this latest installment is the first of Coben’s Mickey Bolitar series. The popular character played by Jaden Michael goes through a life-changing event that splits his family apart, and while living with his aunt in New Jersey in a new town and new school, he befriends two other students—Ema (Abigale Corrigan), and Arthur, aka “Spoon” (Adrian Greensmith.)
With a mystery surrounding the disappearance of another student, and with some quite unique characters popping up into Bolitar’s life, the trio of friends soon embark on a whirl wind of a journey—all while trying to survive high school. To dive deeper into ‘Shelter’ and their characters, Michael, Corrigan and Greensmith sat down for an interview.
What do you typically look for in roles and why take on this project in particular?
Adrian Greensmith: I was in the middle of drama school when I got this role, and we had just done a clowning intensive. The kind of clowning we were doing was [asking], how do you always please the audience? You make an absolute full of yourself and everything goes, and the only thing [that] matters is constantly being in a state of appeasing the audience. When I got the audition for Spoon, there were many things about him that I found fun, but just in the moment, what was so interesting was he did feel like a character who had very clownish elements to him. Luckily there was a lot else going on with him, but initially, that kind of clowning nature was incredibly exciting.
Jaden Michael: I’ve always been attracted to stories that carry a deeper meaning. When I was growing up, my great-grandmother always said that I would be the person to carry the family name and raise the family up. So ever since I was a little kid, I always wanted to carry on that mission and whenever I look for a project, it’s always: Is this something that I would feel proud about in five or ten years?
I remember growing up, I learned about the world through films. I’m six or seven years old, and I’m learning about what it’s like to be in a brick-and-mortar school because I was homeschooled almost my entire life. I’d watch TV shows and I’d be like, oh, this is what people do and this is how people do these things. [So] I always try and make shows or films that 10-year-old me or 13-year-old me would feel inspired by and would maybe find something in themselves and want to be passionate about that and be inspired through it.
Abigale Corrigan: I think characters come into your life and you sometimes really connect with some, and there’s some that you don’t. For this character, I did feel a connection to her—I love that she’s queer, and I think with everything that’s going on right now in the queer community, it’s really important to have queer people on screen. I love her vulnerability, that was something I really connected to and when I read the book, I was kind of in awe of her radical acceptance of herself and radical acceptance of the people around her. It’s rare to see characters that know who they are.
I think it’s really cool that she’s like I’m gay, and that’s just what I am. Then we can get past that part of the journey and we can get into just the being a human part, you know?
Harlan Coben’s ‘Shelter’ takes place in high school, which is already a bit of a whirlwind time period in life. Now we throw in a lot more than what the average teenager deals with in this series—what was that like to film and now get to watch play out on screen?
AC: When I was a kid, I feel like it was what I wanted, or how I imagined high school would be. You wish there was a mystery to solve, or that you would be so special and something would happen upon you. I mean, I literally wore capes till the eighth grade…so good thing I’m in this industry, you know? I was constantly convincing myself of what kind of adventure I would have, and I think that in high school there is this limitless feeling that you get because you haven’t dipped your toe into the real world yet.
It’s so complicated because you’re like, oh my God, all these emotions, I’m feeling—what the heck is going on? But also this whole world of who am I? Oh, I could be this person or I could be that person and the world looks like this to me right now…That’s so fun. But our characters are very complex people of course, but they’re also kids. It’s hard to be a high schooler and be a detective at the same time.
JM: That’s one of the really powerful things about the show. Most teen dramas are going to be about one person and they’re going to have one arc, and everyone else just supports them in that journey. And this show is so complex and authentic that everyone has an arc. Ema is going through things and she has to learn how to become a better person to support Mickey. And everyone else works together to solve their problems, to help Mickey find his solution. Mickey’s going on this adventure through this mystery to help him survive high school and I think that’s a really important part. He could fly by through any high school, he’s done it at seven other high schools before his family was separated, but he’s stuck.
He’s stuck in New Jersey, he’s stuck in a home that he can’t escape and with people he doesn’t know and doesn’t trust. He has to learn to trust people and the only way he can is by putting them in incredible circumstances. When they stand up for him and they continue to show their true colors to him, he can open his heart and let them in. I think that it’s just like what Abby said—it’s exactly what you’d want in high school, to be put in impossible circumstances and find out that the people around you are a hundred percent trustworthy.
AG: To add, it feels like when you have so much stuff going on, one playing a character or just when living your life, I think both as an actor and as a person, it’s always the easiest thing to do to come back to the people around you and what’s going on there and bring it right down rather than all of the background noise of being in a crazy plot line or living a crazy life.
While there is a lot of crazy context to be playing, ultimately what all of our jobs were, was to just stand across from each other and work it out. And that’s very simple and very complicated and the most fun thing to do.
Catch Harlan Coben’s ‘Shelter’ when it drops on Prime Video Aug. 19.
