(The others will air Tuesday and Wednesday.)
Huisman plays Walter Davidson, and he might be the perfect guy for it the guy loves motorcycles.
We spoke to him about the series, his character, and his affinity for vintage Harleys.
Credit: Keith Bernstein
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: What drew you to this role?
MICHIEL HUISMAN:First of all, I was so surprised by the story.
And Walter Davidson turned out to be an amazing character to play.
What was Walters role in the companys founding?
They were all very different, but complemented each other in a perfect way.
Harley is the brains behind the machine.
Arthur is the genius when it comes to selling them.
But they need Walter to give them that last little push.
And Walter is the one who becomes the first president of the company.
Tell us about the time period depicted in the series it begins in the early 1900s.
How far does it go?
This story covers a 30-year period.
And thats such an amazing arc in itself to be able to portray.
My character begins in his mid-20s, and at the end, Im in my mid-50s.
He cant just follow his guts anymore.
So that was great, great fun to play.
On top of that, its also very much a slice of Americana, Id say.
You get all these historical events that are intertwined with Harley-Davidsons history.
So I think its not just a story for people who like motorcycles.
Obviously, there are a lot of really old vintage bikes in the show that you end up riding.
As an enthusiast yourself, what was that experience like?
And did it change the way you look at motorcycles now?
Yes, very much.
We had, like, 80 bikes built for our show.
After riding those, it would be so much fun to imagine Walter Davidson stepping on a 2016 Harley.
Harley and the Davidsonspremieres Monday at 9 p.m. A version of this story appears in the new issue of Entertainment Weekly, on newsstands now.
