‘Magnum P.I.’ star Jay Hernandez talks new season, filming in Hawaii

this morning we're so excited to catch up with actor Jay Hernandez. He's taken on a variety of roles playing a single dad in the star-setting comedy Bad Moms. He also brought Diablo to life in 2016 that box office hit Suicide Squad. By the way really committed to that role because he shaved off his eyebrows. Well luckily he didn't have to do too much makeup. Well these days Jay stars in the Magnum PI revival which is saying Aloha to its new home on NBC. Jay playing Thomas Magnum a former Navy SEAL turned investigator who takes on cases with Juliet Higgins not always smooth sailing on the way.

Okay let's talk about what we two are doing here. Well Macy's wife hired us to investigate his death. Why would she hire a couple of privatized investigators. Macy died in a car accident there was nothing suspicious about it and yet here you are searching his office. Why? Well it was at least a little suspicious. He was an impeccable driver he had no moving violations because he was sad that he get into some kind of altercation. Wife just wants answers.

Alright Jay welcome. Another case. Another case. Love it. Love it. So Magnum's taken on the client as usual but we also get a chance to see Miggins which is this affectionate nickname that the fans have come up smashing your two characters together. Yeah.

So do the sparks continue. We've been in that relationship for a while and we had to sort of like pay that off and get to the audience and yeah it was about time. So now it's like this season that's one thing that differentiates it from the previous four. Yeah. I would love that you're paying it off now that the show is on NBC. It was on a different network. What I think is so cool is fans rallied around this show so much they banded together put up a billboard in Times Square and NBC picked it up in here.

Amazing. Yeah. Yeah. When I yeah when I heard about it I was like is this real because you see so much stuff on social media and you don't want to believe it. But what's what's pretty great actually is NBC is putting up another billboard to thank the fans. I think it's I think it's actually up today. I think today might be that cool.

Wow. How much does that mean to you. I mean the fans are everything when there's a show. Super humbling for show in his fifth season to find another network after being canceled. It's like just tremendously rare. And yeah it just shows that the fans really love the show and wanted to come back. Yeah.

Way to go fans. You saved the TV show. You know it's funny because I grew up watching the original with Tom Selleck and I always thought it just looks so cool. Come to find out it looks so cool because it's filmed in Hawaii. Yeah. Because it actually is cool. You picked up surfing.

I picked up surfing. I do it pretty much like three three four times. Any time I can because my schedule is pretty intense but when I got time off and there's waves I'm on the South Shore. I am always in the water. And I you know I didn't know anything about surfing two years ago. Really. Nothing.

Nothing. Let me tell you guys behind the scenes this guy walks and he sits down I go oh nice to meet you and then I go what's going on. Like he's like glowing and like this one and the I was like and then Craig asked him where are you from or where you live or to where's home. And he said Hawaii and we're like oh that's why I'm just chill baby. So I was just reading you're also going to be in a new film the Long Game which also has Dennis Quaid and you were in a movie with him before. Yeah we it's like this full circle moment. I did a movie called The Rookie with Dennis Quaid a baseball.

Great movie. Yeah. Really really great movie. And he was my coach in that film and in this film I'm I'm sort of the coach of the team and he's my assistant coach. So yeah it's pretty great. It was great to work with him again. So is it true that your acting career got started.

You were in an elevator with your folks and somebody saw you and thought oh you should be an actor. What. And your folks said oh yeah that's a great idea stranger. Well no never mind. My dad my dad was like who is this creep. Trying to hit my child. Yeah.

And my mom was actually the one that convinced me. It was like two weeks later. She's like you should call my guy. I was I think 17 or 18. Wow. I'd never acted in my life. Never you know high school play.

Nothing no theater. And you know 20 something years later. Turned up pretty well. That's where it's where that call you know. Elevator pitch. It literally was from like the 10th floor to the first floor. That's amazing.

You ever keep in touch with a guy. We were he was my manager for many years until he passed away. Oh my goodness. And it was crazy. He passed away. I was actually in New York in Union Square at the W Hotel. Got to knock on my door at like you know 2 a.

m. that he had passed away. But it was like he got my career going. I got crazy beautiful and you know the whole story goes from that. Well Jay we wanted to properly welcome you to the NBC family. We want to welcome you to the peacock. And so we spent a lot of money on this.

Thank you. Thank you. Oh look at that. Today I love it. I love how short baby. Look at that. That's awesome.

We're going to have to get this on the show some. Oh yeah. That's what I'm thinking on. Thank you guys. That's what I'm thinking. That's what I'm talking about. That's really pretty.

Yeah. Thanks so much. Thanks for having me. Appreciate it. New season of Magnum PI premieres with two back to back episodes on Sunday. Go in retro. That's the way premieres used to be.

A nice two hour thing. I love it. Starting at 9 p.m. Eastern 8 p.m. Pacific right here on NBC streaming next day on Peacock part of our parent company and BC Universal.

I love it. Yeah you were. We're with love. Hey thanks for watching. Don't miss the Today Show every weekday at 11 a.m. Eastern 8 Pacific on our streaming channel today all day.

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