Secret Service agent Mike Ritter (LaMonica Garrett) finally tracked down the White House traitor during Wednesday’s “Designated Survivor” Season 1 finale, but the work is far from done for President Tom Kirkman (Kiefer Sutherland) and his team.
The ABC political series’ episode showed Ritter identifying Jay Whitaker (Richard Waugh) as the mole, and actor Garrett tells TheWrap that he was glad his character redeemed himself by ID’ing the traitor.
“It’s gratifying because after last week, he walks right past me,” Garrett says of Whitaker. “So in the finale, I finally get my hands on him, and I think it’s that moment that the audience will really gravitate towards, and I really loved to work on that scene.”
The “Sons of Anarchy” alum acknowledges that with villain Patrick Lloyd (Terry Serpico) now on the loose, there are “tons of places” where Season 2 can go.
“He’s free in the world now, so it’s kind of a highest-bidder thing — who will the next enemy be, who is he working for throughout this whole season,” Garrett says. “That’s where he ends up, and I think that opens up a whole new can of beans.”
The actor says that playing Ritter makes himself feel at times like Neo in “The Matrix,” as Garrett is constantly discovering unexpected traits and skills that his character possesses.
“You just learn more about yourself,” Garrett says. “It’s like, ‘Wow, Ritter’s a nerd. He’s great with a computer. Oh wow, Ritter’s a good bowler. He never knew his dad.’ Those are fun pieces that get to unveil each episode. [But] I’d like to see more of Ritter away from the White House to see who he is as a person. Some private-life Ritter would be nice to see — along with some ass-kicking Ritter, too. Let him put his hands on somebody!”
Garrett calls it an “eerie coincidence” to be shooting a show about the White House at a time when the Trump administration is so polarizing, with the actor saying that Tom Kirkman’s principled president represents “the way that it should be.”
And how would Garrett feel if he found himself on Trump’s real-life Secret Service detail?
“The Secret Service have been put in awkward positions in reality with Trump’s White House, as far as just stretching them thin — networking in New York, they’re down in Florida, he has family all over the country, the eastern board,” he says, pointing out the high cost required to keep Trump safe. “It’s got to be challenging, it’s got to be tough. It’s unique in every aspect.”