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Found Star Arlen Escarpeta On Playing Agoraphobe Zeke Wallace & What's Really in Those Shot Glasses
Mosely & Associates would simply not exist without the technological wizardry and funding of Zeke Wallace.
Without Zeke Wallace, there would be no Mosely & Associates. The agoraphobic tech whiz on NBC's Found is both the firm's brain stem and its bank account.
Zeke — portrayed by Arlen Escarpeta — keeps the lights on via his sizable trust fund, and he also knows how to hack into everything from security cameras to mobile devices. This technological expertise isn't exactly legal, but it allows the team to circumvent warrants and other legal red tape that would stall a traditional missing persons investigation in its tracks. Moreover, Zeke's line of work couldn't be father from that of his influential father (Dwight Hicks), a Senator on the Subcommittee overseeing criminal justice.
Created by Nkechi Okoro Carroll, Found centers around a tight-knit crisis management outfit started by Gabi Mosely (Shanola Hampton), which specializes in tracking down individuals who have gone missing — either because they've been ignored by the system or because the trail has gone cold. Each member of the firm, Zeke included, grapples with trauma as the victims of kidnappers, abusers, and hostage situations.
RELATED: Everything You Need to Know About NBC's Missing Persons Show Found Before Season 2
With the show returning to NBC for its second season on Thursday, October 3, NBC Insider sat down with Escarpeta to learn how he gets into Zeke's headspace, what's really in those shot glasses during the "Welcome home!" toasts at the end of each episode, and why he sees Gabi and her crew as a team of Avengers-like superheroes.
Found star Arlen Escarpeta takes us behind the investigative escapades of NBC's hit missing persons drama
How was the character of Zeke initially described to you?
Arlen Escarpeta: The description of Zeke was that he was a part of a very special team. He was obviously agoraphobic, but also [they didn't want] to lean into any preconceived notions of what that means. One of my main things with Zeke, even when I read the script and character breakdown, I was like, ‘I don't want Zeke to just be a talking head. Zeke needs to be a fully, fleshed-out character from from top to bottom — from his demeanor, to his energy, to his hair, to his clothes. I want to see a full character.' And God bless [series creator and showrunner Okoro Carroll] and NBC. They’ve given me nothing but the space to make Zeke just that.
What was the process for getting into the head of a character with agoraphobia?
Getting into Zeke's headspace for me wasn't necessarily hard. I'm very much a homebody, but what I realized, doing some of my research, is that agoraphobia does not always mean you're just afraid to leave the house. It can manifest itself in many different ways. It's as simple as, "Oh, I can't drive down that street," or "I don't do this," or "I don't do that."
It's different for everybody, and truth be told, I think we all carry a little piece of something we do for ourselves to feel safe. That was my main thing, finding a safe place for Zeke. A lot of my safe place is my childhood; my childhood cartoons for me are safe, Nintendo was safe. Things of that nature that made me feel feel safe and comforted as a little kid. Tapping into Zeke was very much tapping into his childhood and allowing for the unhealed trauma and the little boy that is still there. As long as I take care of Zeke's younger self, I feel I'm always very much connected to the unhealed part of him.
RELATED: Will Sir Get Redeemed on Found? Mark-Paul Gosselaar Teases "Ridiculous" Season 2
The show has gradually revealed information about Zeke’s background and the trauma that drew him to Moseley & Associates. Did you get the whole story up front?
I got pieces of the story, and I was also very careful. When I was speaking to Nkechi and [co-showrunner] Sonay [Hoffman], I told them I didn't want to know too much too soon. As an actor, you don't want to play the end. Zeke is still holding a lot of what happened close to the vest, close to the heart, and I don't think a lot of folks know exactly what happened as of yet. Just to protect myself as an actor, I didn't want to know fully just yet.
I'm actually very excited to find out when we get to that point, the nuances, the details of what truly happened with Zeke. For now, I get to play Zeke with the mask; the mask that he wears to protect himself; the mask he wears to do the job that he does; the mask he wears to fit in and be a part of this team. Then I also get to play with those moments when the mask is off and Zeke is having those quiet moments by himself; when he's watching everybody at M&A toasting 'Welcome home!' and he's there by himself. Or the moments where he can't get out the house to be helpful. Those are the times where I get to take the mask off and play with the nuances that I have been aware of.
Speaking of the “Welcome home” toasts at the end of each episode, what’s actually in those shot glasses?
[Laughs] It’s funny, I don't drink at all. I think I’ve got some iced tea. They're sweet with it. They'll ask you, ‘What do you like?’ For me, it's either iced tea or it's just some cold mint tea. It's whatever's clever.
Zeke is obviously the resident hacker at Moseley & Associates. How tech-savvy are you in real life?
Let me be honest [laughs], I'm decent. There are times where I do have to reach out to my fiancé and say, "Hey, how do you do this?" Because she's very much on her phone and her computer all the time. There are times where I gotta tap her for some of these things. But I will say, I am extremely handy. I will YouTube and DIY something that [snaps his fingers] fast. If there is a way to get something done, I'm not afraid to take something completely apart and build it back up. So, in that sense, Zeke and I very much the same.
RELATED: Found's Shanola Hampton Teases Wild Season 2: "We Come Out of The Gate Swinging"
Do you hang out with your co-stars a lot?
We hang out when we can. Obviously, we all have family, so everyone's always on off time [or] we're traveling and moving, but when we are working, we are a unit. When I'm filming at Zeke's, everybody will pop over [to that set], even when they're not supposed to be over there just to hang out. If I'm in between takes, I'll shoot over to Mosley & Associates to hang out with them. We have a really, really good time.
How similar are your fellow actors to their characters on the show?
I think we all bring a level of ourselves to our characters. Shanola [Mosely] is definitely the boss. There's no question. And when I say "boss," [I mean] the boss, because she is a phenomenal number one. She leads by example. The things that she's able to accomplish in that small amount of time and still come to work ready to go is mind-blowing. The same way we're enamored and just amazed by what Gabi does, we are the same with what Shanola does.
Karan [Oberoi; Dhan Rana]…it’s crazy, because he and Zeke don't always get along, but in real life, we clicked just like that. He is clearly my offscreen best friend throughout the entire cast.
Gabrielle [Walsh; Lacey Quinn] and I click like nobody's business. We will battle each other for anything and everything. If there's a race to be had, we’re racing. We're very, very competitive.
Kelli [Williams; Margaret Reed] is the sweetest. She cares. She's quiet, but she's very observant — just like Margaret.
Brett [Dalton; Detective Mark Trent] is kind of the wild card. He’s a father, he's a phenomenal actor. And then when he comes in, he really does make you feel at all at home. I think Brett's character disarms you sometimes with his niceness and you don't know what's there behind-the-scenes until you get to know him. Then you peel back the layers and get to know a great person.
What about Mark-Paul Gosselaar?
Mark-Paul [Sir] carries the best kind of weight. You’re thankful to have him there. Anytime that our show gets a little bit too floaty, he comes in and levels it down. He’s interesting to watch onscreen, he’s interesting to speak to in person; he’s full of information and knowledge. And obviously, I think a lot of us grew up watching him on TV, so it's a blessing to have him there.
Do you have a favorite case from Season 1?
I don't know if I have a favorite case. I will say this, one of the best moments that we all share are those moments of discovery when we are piecing things together like a puzzle as a team. I feel like [we're] superheroes, I feel like we are assembling this team of Avengers, and we all get to bring something different and special to the table. It's just a great process, especially for actors. We get these however-many-page scenes, and we start cooking. You watch each of us nail the moment. It’s mixing in a bowl and then we get to the end of the scene and you hear Shanola say, ‘Boom! That’s it! I don't know if we can do it any better!’ That is probably my favorite thing being on this show — just working with a great team.
Found Season 2 premieres Thursday, October 3 at 10 p.m. ET on NBC. Stream all of Season 1 on Peacock right here!
