Josh Holloway Has Some Feelings About That <em>Duster</em> Finale Twist

It's been a long road to Duster for Josh Holloway. From Lost (where he starred as the conniving heartthrob Sawyer) to Colony (a sci-fi thriller whose fans still lament its demise) to Yellowstone, Holloway has fully carved out his niche as a TV tough guy of a certain type. His characters are usually capital-M macho dudes who drive cars like steeds and end bar fights with another round.

So, would it surprise you to learn that Holloway is a passionate yogi?

"It's been a journey," Holloway tells me over Zoom about his affinity for the meditative practice. He's calling from snow-frosted Montana, where he's shooting an unnamed Western. During our chat, Holloway rocks a glorious eggshell white cowboy hat; underneath it, a mile-wide pearly smile and a laugh that emanates from the depths of his abs. "I was [into] martial arts my whole life. I was so injured. I was like, 'I want to stretch and breathe.' I got into it for the physical part, but now I've been actually learning to breathe and be present."

Holloway's inner nourishment via yoga came in handy when, not long ago, he got a call "out of nowhere" from J.J. Abrams. (A "classic J.J." move, says Holloway.) Over the phone, his former boss on Lost pitched him a high-octane series that felt like a new starring vehicle.

Josh Holloway stars in the HBO Max series Duster as Jim Ellis, a mob getaway driver who links up with a rookie FBI agent to take down his boss.

"He was like, 'You got a minute?'" recalls the 55-year-old actor. "He proceeded to download this idea, a show for me. As soon as he said, 'You're a fixer for the mafia in 1972,' my mind blew up. I was born in '69 but I remember the '70s. I was in love—just thinking of the music, the fashion, the cars, the political situations. I was in, 100 percent."

Adds Holloway: "He's like, 'Don't take another show.' I'm like, 'You had me at hello, bro.'"

Duster, a funky new series that premiered on HBO Max in May, throws it back to the early 1970s against the backdrop of the sizzling American Southwest. The show follows Jim Ellis (Holloway), a mob driver who strikes up a partnership with an FBI rookie, Nina (Rachel Hilson), who happens to be the first Black woman employed as a federal agent. The two work together to take down Ellis' boss, Saxton (Keith David), who may or may not have killed Jim's brother.

While Holloway needed no convincing to sign on, it was harder to stick with it. The show's trimmed stylings necessitated Holloway stay fit, which made his time in quarantine unlucky. "The pandemic hit. Bam!" Holloway says. "We had to wait two years after that call before we revisited it. We shot a pilot, did some recasting, and waited another year." HBO's twice change in ownership further delayed production, as did the 2023 Hollywood strikes. "And the whole time, I mean, I'm 55—I gotta stay skinny all this time!" Thank the TV gods for yoga. "That was challenging. It forced me to stay tight. My wife's like, 'You would have been off the rails!'"

With the show's season finale now streaming on HBO Max, Holloway retraces the treadmarks left by Duster season 1—including that head-spinning plot twist—and whether the show has the right fuel in the tank to go for a second season. (By the way: This means spoilers are ahead.)

This interview has been edited for clarity.

"They really created the nostalgia of that world," Holloway says of Duster’s immaculate vision of 1970s era TV. "It’s just a groovy vibe."’

ESQUIRE: So I know you do yoga. But what is Jim Ellis' way of meditating? What's his yoga?

JOSH HOLLOWAY: He'd be cruising down the road at 100 miles an hour, sipping on a little tequila, going to see his next girlfriend with a big smile on his face. [Laughs.] He's me back in the day, before family and children and all that. I was breezy and more likely smoking a joint.

Take me to the start of Duster. What conversations did you have with creators LaToya Morgan and J.J. Abrams about shaping Jim Ellis?

J.J. gave me great references. He said to watch Bullit and Paper Moon. Ever seen Paper Moon?

Unfortunately I haven't.

It's about this con man. He has to pick up this little girl that ends up being his daughter, but he doesn't know it. She doesn't know it. They go across the country, getting into trouble and shit. It's amazing. It's like little Bonnie and Clyde. In the show, I have a daughter who thinks I'm the uncle. That was the heart of the show for me. I love the coolness and the swag, but without heart, it's empty. When J.J. told me that relationship was part of the show. I was like, "Oh, yes!" He's got a heart and he loves his daughter.

We talked about it: Izzy [played by Camille Guaty] divorced me when she got pregnant. I had a choice: Work for the mafia and be the "uncle," or we stay married and quit the job. I stayed in the mafia, so I'm the uncle. We came up with that. LaToya is groovy. She adds the cool element. She's always reminding me, "Bad shit's happening, but it's a Monday. Keep it breezy." It's not "Fuck!" It's, "Ah, fuck."

You have a distinct haircut for Jim Ellis. Where did that look come from?

When we had that [phone call], J.J.'s like, "What's your hair look like?" It was just a scraggly haystack. He's like, "Grow it." I tried, but it doesn't grow like it used to. [Laughs.] We had this amazing hair designer, Mike Ward. He's won Emmys, and that's his world. He makes wigs. He just said, "What do you want Jim Ellis's hair to look like?" My hair is long-ish, and more thin, so they just added pieces. Just clip, clip, clip. Now you can't even tell—my hair is all blended in with it. I couldn't believe it. I was like, Holy shit, I look 25 again.

Does the hair help with your performance as Jim?

Sure! It's like your mane. I just about threw my neck out doing a hair flip. Haven't done that since fucking Sawyer. [Laughs.] When you have the window down and there's a breeze blowing in the wind—the hair works. The beard was another thing. My beard's white now. I was like, "Let's not." Your co-star is young and beautiful, and you need to not be grandpa. I ruled out the big '70s beard. Let's just build him [Jim Ellis] on sex and swagger.

Central to Duster is its namesake car: a custom red Plymouth Duster 340 driven by Holloway’s Jim Ellis. "I’ve always loved muscle cars," says Holloway.

I can't talk about Duster without mentioning the car. Are you a car guy?

Yes! I freaking love cars. I used to work on cars. Because we were poor, so you had to keep your car running. I've always loved muscle cars and trucks. I'm a truck guy. I got three trucks because I'm camping and pulling Airstream and all that shit. I'm still that guy. I grew up with all these cars, no computers, and three brothers on dirt roads and pastures. We used to stunt drive all the time because the cars would let you do it. Now the computers click on. You can't skid.

But the Duster is a cool choice. Between the GTO, the Camaro, and the Charger, you have this obscure Duster 340. But 1972 cars are so quirky. There's four of them [on the show]. There's two for stunts and two heroes. The hero is an actual stick shift, which I love. I grew up with a stick shift. I know how to spin those fuckers easy. And then you got the stunt one which has a super-powered engine in it. You can hear it coming down the road—your hair stands up in the back of your head when it pulls up. It's a beast. I get to do stunts in that. But one's got spongy brakes. One I have to wiggle the thing before I can get it doing things. One won't go into gear. They're all quirky. And I have a relationship with all four of them.

What did your driver training look like for the show?

Immediately after I got off the phone with J.J., I got on the Internet and looked up stunt driving schools. I went to Rick Seaman's Motion Picture Driving Clinic. He's an old, crusty stunt man. He's had this school for years, taught all the guys from Fast & Furious. This guy's a legend. It's at Willow Springs, where they filmed Ford v Ferrari. I did a four-day intensive with him, and then you're a member. You can go for a tune-up, just you and the instructor going through every trick in the book. It's so much fun. It's everything they told you not to do in a car, you get to do. When do you blow a car full blast in reverse? Never! It's just fucking fun.

Jim is surrounded by so many different people, and he's almost a different person whenever he's with each of them. Which characters bring out the real Jim?

Izzy and Luna. He still loves Izzy, obviously. He is, in spite of himself, trying to be better, but they are what make him want to be better. I love the relationship with his father. I love Corbin [Bernsen] and working with him. Gail O'Grady is off the fucking hook, she's amazing. I love our "hate" relationship. She nailed it.

Let's talk about the finale. Now that Saxton is gone, what do you think are Jim's feelings towards him? Is it "good riddance," or something else?

It's not good riddance. He was one of his father figures, and it's tragic. He's very close with that family. He's been driving for them since he was a teenager. But it boils down to his family, or his mafia family. And Jim, like I said, what makes him want to be better is Luna and his blood family.

Jim learns through Nina that Joey is still alive, and that he's further at the top of the food chain than anyone believed. What is Jim thinking when he finds out about Joey?

When I find out Joey's alive, it crushes me. Saxton's dead, and I believed all this time that he did this thing that he didn't do. I would like to refilm that scene a hundred times, because I would take the baseball bat and destroy that car. Like, "Damn it, Joey! How could you do this?" My brother's alive, and I love him, and I can't wait to see him and then punch the shit out of him. Losing Saxton, and then finding that out [about my brother]—I wish I had more time, because it was important for me.

This was inevitable, but fans think Jim and Nina might become more than partners. What do you think their dynamic really is?

I'm not sure. Jim is attracted to her. She's a beautiful woman, and he likes beautiful women obviously. They've gone through so much shit together; they've developed a relationship and trust for each other. But it's tricky. I'm wide open wherever they want to go with that. I wanted to see on screen whether that would be weird because of our age gap. But it's the '70s, you know? It was freer love. I can see them having moments. I don't see them falling in love. Some sex here and there, maybe. [Laughs.]

"I’ve ripped my jeans so many times getting out of that car," Holloway says about the show’s stylish costuming. "The ’70s was about being sexy, and everything’s tight down there."

What do you know about the possibility of Duster season 2?

Honestly, I have no idea. I feel like it's a no brainer because the show is amazing. We got 92 percent of Rotten Tomatoes. We're killing it in the press. But I don't understand streaming anymore. I don't understand how they make their decisions. Artistically, it's a no brainer. But financially? I don't know. No one has contacted me about it. So I just go: You know what? That was some of the most fun TV I've ever filmed. I love it and I would love to come back. But right now I'm in Montana, about to go get in the snow.

If Duster returns, who would you like to work with as a guest star?

Walton Goggins. Baby Billy kills me! I see him showing up in Duster with some frickin' crazy character. I would love to see Walton Goggins in this.

Swerving away from Duster: We're coming up on the 10th anniversary of Colony, the sci-fi series you starred in. What do you think of that show in hindsight? Do you wish it could have had another season, or a proper finale?

Yes! I love that show. We were about to do the big war, finally. I was looking forward to coming back and being the super soldier, kicking ass. The way it ended was heartbreaking. But that's our biz. But there is a [fan] following because it was so well-written—it was like a real espionage kind of show. But I told them, "You got to show an alien soon." There's a reason there's a shot clock in the NBA. People are impatient. Show an alien so we don't get canceled! But we were a little late.

What's your favorite memory from your time on Duster?

The adrenaline rush of doing stunts. It added an element. It raises the stakes because I could crash or something like that. We're very safe. But it adds adrenaline to your day. Our memories are built around our emotions. It's an imprint. With Duster, I get a little charge.