Hunters fans can expect to see a very different-looking Logan Lerman when the show returns to Prime Video for its second and final season on Jan. 13.
Lerman, who has always appeared younger than his age (he’ll turn 31 on Jan. 19), sports long, wavy hair and a beard as Jonah Heidelbaum, who joins his fellow Hunters in trying to bring Adolf Hitler to justice… or just plain-old kill him. Whatever works.
Josh Radnor, Tiffany Boone, Carol Kane, Louis Ozawa, Kate Mulvany, and Jerrika Hinton play Jonah’s fellow Hunters, while Lena Olin is back as Eva Braun, Al Pacino returns (in flashbacks) as Meyer Offerman, and Jennifer Jason Leigh joins the cast as a mysterious new character. Much of the action unfolds in South America, where Hitler (Udo Kier) and Braun are in hiding.
Above the Line recently jumped on Zoom to catch up with Lerman, who was in Romania to shoot a Hulu miniseries. The actor — whose feature credits include Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Fury, and Bullet Train — eagerly discussed Season 2 of Hunters, his shift into producing, and the possibility that he’ll direct a movie in the near future.
Above the Line: Hunters is such a different show. How surprised were you that anyone was ever willing to make it in the first place?
Logan Lerman: I wasn’t surprised about that. I was surprised about the project when it was brought up to me initially. It was just a cool team of people. I was more surprised that they were hitting me up. I was flattered.
ATL: Jonah’s love for his grandma is what drove him throughout much of Season 1. What would you say drives him in Season 2?
Lerman: What drives him? It’s more of an obligation to finish what needs to be finished. I know that’s a little vague, but he’s thrust into a position where he has certain information that is so important and valuable that he needs to pursue it. If he doesn’t, it could have terrible consequences.
ATL: How does it feel to lead a cast that includes Al Pacino, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Carol Kane, Lena Olin, and Josh Radnor? It must be crazy to be number one on a call sheet with all of those folks, no?
Lerman: Yeah, I guess it is. I don’t know. It’s a great group of people. Like you were mentioning, they are terrific actors [who] I love dearly as people, but also respect so much in terms of what they’ve done in their careers. It is a bit trippy; you have a bit of a different responsibility, in a way. I’m happy to wear that hat, go in, and lead it. It’s just a tremendous group of actors, and I love them all. They’re great.
ATL: I didn’t even realize it was you for the first few minutes of Season 2. What ran through your mind when you looked in the mirror that first day back on set?
Lerman: It’s a trip to see Jonah, especially Season 2 Jonah, and to see images, or to look at myself in the mirror, [during] that period of time. I was like, “Who the hell is this guy?” I’ve never had the opportunity to just let things grow — to play with some facial hair, long hair, and things like that. (Hunters Creator and Showrunner) David Weil and I were talking a bunch during the pandemic. We would meet, he would see me, and he would say, ‘Let it go. It’s inspiring me. It’s something I’m using in my head when I’m crafting the scripts for Season 2.’ It was never my intention to change Jonah so much, but it’s something that we used… something that inspired David that just felt right. Ultimately, it worked. He’s a bit different this season than he was in Season 1. I was excited about playing with that time gap and the changes to his character.
ATL: Season 2 has also been announced as the last season of the show. How satisfied are you with the series, and do you think the audience will be satisfied with the way Season 2 wraps it all up?
Lerman: I’m satisfied. It has a definitive ending. There are always ways to [keep] going. We could continue with these characters, but it always felt like the natural ending from our initial conversations. This was always the plan from the beginning when I first met with David and Nikki [Toscano], who was the showrunner for Season 1. This was a two-season plan from the get-go. It was ambitious and big. It was like, ‘We’ll see what we can do. We have ideas of where we can go after that if we want to,’ but it wasn’t a part of the core idea. I’ve always seen it that way. I’ve always seen it as just two seasons, and it seems right.
ATL: Well, you’re also a producer on Hunters, and you’ve begun moving into producing in a big way with several other projects. What do you find interesting or most challenging about producing?
Lerman: I wouldn’t even say I was a producer on this show. I probably got some sort of tiny credit, but I think it’s some contractual thing with the projects that I’m producing and the things that I’m working on with my producing partner. It’s an incredible journey with any project — it could take years — but I love working with writers, supporting them, and giving them the opportunity to pursue getting their scripts made. It’s a lot easier when you have [fewer] cooks involved. You don’t have to deal with the bureaucracy of some of these studios. I enjoy working at my own pace with a writer and developing a script. There could be as many drafts as we need to get there, but that’s the core of it. The foundation is the words on the page and getting them to a place where [me], my producing partner, and the writer are happy [and] then send it to the talent and build the project, whether it’s a feature or a television show. I love that process, and working with writers.
ATL: This is probably more of a “when” question rather than an “if” question, and it goes back to when I first met you as a teenager and you told me you wanted to direct someday. So, when will you step behind the camera?
Lerman: That’s the goal. It’s always been the goal for me. I got caught up in getting so busy, fortunately, with everything else that I’m doing, between acting and producing, [but] there are projects that I’m working on, that I’m eyeing as vehicles to direct. I’m ready. I’m just taking my time. It’s also unfortunate that I’ve been so busy as an actor. I’ve had good things to focus on, but I can’t divvy my time up too much. You have to give 100 percent of yourself to one thing and that’s what’s holding me back right now. Once I have the time, I will direct.
ATL: And what is next for you?
Lerman: We just started production a month ago, but I’m shooting in Romania. I’m doing a miniseries for Hulu called We Were the Lucky Ones (with Bullet Train co-star Joey King). I’m so in that process right now that it’s almost trippy to talk about anything else, but I’m excited. It’s a project that means so much to me. That’s where my head is at, at the moment. There are so many other things going on, but it’s hard. My brain is jumbled because all I’m thinking about is my character, Addy, in that one.
Season 2 of Hunters begins streaming Friday, Jan. 13 on Prime Video.
