“The creator of the show is a right-wing Republican. He loves the fact that Rush Limbaugh is a big fan of this show.”
ANY similarities between Richard Nixon, George W. Bush and the villainous President Charles Logan on “24” are purely coincidental.
But JFK? That’s a different story, says Gregory Itzin, the actor whose intense portrayal of the troubled, tragic and ultimately duplicitous president on the Fox suspense series has emerged as one of the season’s great performances.
“I’m a child of the Kennedy era,” said Itzin, who will turn 58 tomorrow.
“So in the very first shot of me in the very first episode of [last season], I tried to re-create in my own body language the black-and-white photos of Kennedy that are embedded in our memory from Life magazine – you know, when he’s talking to his brother, or sitting in his rocking chair,” Itzin explained in an interview at The Post yesterday.
“I tried to do that because at the beginning, I had high hopes that I would be a president to admire,” he said with a laugh.
Itzin said viewers shouldn’t search for covert political commentary in the show’s portrayal of the Logan administration. For one thing, neither Itzin nor the show’s writers know which party Logan belongs to, he said.
“The guy who invented this show, the creator of the show, Joel Surnow, is – and this is no secret – a right-wing Republican. He loves the fact that Rush Limbaugh is a big fan of this show.
“And the other gentleman who is now the show runner, Howard Gordon, is a liberal [which is] also well-known. So there is an evenhandedness to the story that’s being told,” Itzin said.
Itzin, born in Washington, D.C., and raised in Wisconsin, describes himself as a liberal. He lives in Los Angeles with Judie, his wife of 27 years. They have a daughter, 23, and a son, 20.
On “24,” his character started out as vice president but was elevated to the presidency last season following the crash of Air Force One.
This year, President Logan at first came across as an ineffective, indecisive, hand-wringing worrywart until a few weeks ago, when he was revealed to be the mastermind behind this season’s series of terrorist attacks.
In person, Itzin is, of course, the spitting image of President Logan, except for the three studs he wears in his left ear. Yesterday, they were red, white and blue.
“About three or four or five episodes ago, [the pierces] were hugely visible in a closeup on the left side of my face, and prior to that, they hadn’t been,” Itzin said. “And then the next week, one of the producers said, ‘Would you please cover those up?’
“I wear them all the time when I’m not working,” the actor said, adding, “I’m an artist – I’m allowed to adorn myself!”
Itzin is a veteran actor with dozens of movie and TV credits (mostly in guest roles), but he acknowledges that his role on “24” is the biggest he’s ever had.
For the first time in his career, he is being recognized everywhere he goes. He reports that “24” fans seem to like him even better now that President Logan has emerged as the villain of the show.
“Just before I got in the car earlier, somebody came up to me and said, ‘Don’t let them kill you! You are so great!’ ” Itzin said.
“As an actor who longs to be loved and approved of, I am finding this very gratifying.”