‘Constantine’ star Harold Perrineau discusses his ‘warrior angel’ and yelling ‘Walt!’

Since he was first cast in NBC's “Constantine,” Harold Perrineau has had a consistent refrain regarding his angelic new role: Manny, dapper winged consigliere to demon-busting Constantine, is no Clarence.

It's not a wonderful life in the world of “Constantine” and, in fact, it's Manny's responsibility to make it clear to the title character that dark days are coming and to impress upon Constantine the need to keep humanity on the map.

Earlier this week, Perrineau stopped by HitFix's video studio to discuss Manny's role in this universe, a role the actor has described as both “an angel of questionable intent” and also, in this interview, a “warrior angel.” 

Without spoiling the NBC drama, which premieres on Friday night at 10 after “Grimm,” we got down to the nitty gritty on Manny's agenda, who he reports to and whether or not this angel has performed a similar role with any humans in the past. We also talked about the origins for the particular posture and vocal cadences that make Manny enigmatic-yet-intimidating. 

Check out that full conversation above. It's a fun one, because Perrineau is a veteran of teasing show mythology without ruining any twists and turns.

One of the shows on which he honed that gift was, of course, ABC's “Lost” and since this fall is the 10th anniversary of that beloved series, we talked a bit about the “magical” first season of “Lost” and how frequently people come up to him and yell “Walt!” Hint, it's a lot.

That “Lost” snippet is below.

And, again, “Constantine” premieres on Friday, October 24 at 10 p.m. on NBC.

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