Dallas makes a triumphant return to television Wednesday, June 13 on TNT, and a few weeks ago at a press Q&A in Beverly Hills, we had the opportunity to speak with the cast of Dallas in the time leading to the big premiere.
New interviews will be posted throughout the week, but today, we’re going to turn our attention to Josh Henderson, the actor tasked with playing the role of J.R. Ewing’s son, John Ross Ewing III. Is he a chip off the old block? Or is he a poor attempt at achieving the greatness of his father? Spoiler warning: Henderson is more than capable in the role, and plays the character so well that you feel for him the same way you feel for the original characters of the show. You can see for yourself on Wednesday.
The challenges and expectations faced by Josh Henderson are similar to the things that John Ross faces as well. “I think that for John Ross, he feels like he’s got a lot to live up to,” Henderson explains. “As much as he and J.R. didn’t necessarily have a great father-son relationship, he definitely admires who his father was as a businessman, and he wants to live up to that. He feels like it’s his duty and his birthright to carry this Ewing name to the next generation and really attack the whole oil game all over again. It’s very important to him. But he also cares about family. He learned from the best, in his mind. J.R. did business a certain way, and that’s all he knows, and if he can actually somehow do it even better, he’ll try,” he says.
“It was definitely intimidating,” he admits. “When I got cast in the role, I was very excited. It was a very surreal moment for me. Then it was like ‘Okay. Now I have to actually show up and do the work.’ I knew how much expectation there was, just for the return of the show in general and the anticipation of the original fans. I knew that there would be a lot of curiosity of who John Ross did become, considering he had such great parents in J.R. and Sue Ellen. Who is he now, and what kind of guy is he? Will he be like his father, or is he completely the opposite of his father? I knew there was a lot of weight on my shoulders but I was very, very excited for the opportunity to bring John Ross back,” he says.
Henderson did some research before starting to shoot the role. “Before we shot the pilot, I knew of the entire idea of what Dallas was, but I actually was too young to remember the details of the show, so I [watched] everything I could of J.R., and I quickly became – just like everyone else, originally,when it was airing – in awe of how he could walk into a room as J.R., destroy a man’s life in three sentences with a smile on his face, tip his hat, and leave. And I couldn’t believe it. That’s when I really started to understand that I’ve got to come up with something special to be able to play his son, because what he did was so amazing.” Josh admits being surprised that the original series was so racy as well, citing the early-episodes affair between Lucy Ewing and Ray Krebbs as an example. This comment inspired Hagman to point out the awkwardness of that storyline, as Ray was eventually revealed as Jock’s illegitimate child. “You never saw that again,” Hagman adds, relating that part of Dallas history that is probably best left swept under a carpet. (Ray and Lucy show up in the new Dallas pilot, but don’t expect them to mention their decades-old affair.)
You can see Josh Henderson taking on the role of John Ross on Wednesday, June 13. Come back to KSiteTV soon for more Dallas interviews!