A Heroes Star's Secret Identity

Michael Buckner / Getty Images Greg Grunberg talks about his all-star band, the killer iPhone app he created, why his 15,000 Twitter followers could be choosing his next role—and his character’s death watch.

Greg Grunberg is keeping his day job but is not above a little moonlighting. He currently plays telepathic good-guy cop Matt Parkman on Heroes, the dark and complex “Save the cheerleader, save the world” show that, in recent years, invaded viewers’ minds and invited parodies everywhere. Grunberg is also well-known for his characters on Alias and Felicity (he was childhood friends with creator JJ Abrams) but possesses an entrepreneurial spirit not seen in those who already have plum roles on television—in the last year, Grunberg has also started a band and built a popular iPhone application. He talked to The Daily Beast about Parkman’s slide to the dark side, his cameo in Abrams’ upcoming Star Trek movie, and how his 15,000 Twitter followers could choose his next starring role.

This season of Heroes feels like a restart of the entire franchise. All the heroes were captured and are now involved in one central storyline.

Ever since the show started there’s this sense that it would be cool if they all worked together as a team where we each have our specialties and together we can defeat the bad guys. The stakes are so high and all of our lives are going to turn upside down, and any glimpse at a normal life is thrown out the window. My character just wants a family, he doesn’t want any of this.

“So far they’re keeping me around. I’ve always been thrilled to be on the show, but the storyline they’re giving me now is just amazing.”

First you were telepathic and now you have the ability to draw the future. Any downsides to your new talent?

In one episode, we’re in a ravine ditch with jagged rocks, and I wanted to be able to do something physical when I’m wearing [the white contact lenses] because it looks even creepier, but I couldn’t see anything. The last guy [Isaac Mendez] who had this ability ended up dead on the floor, so I’m hoping that doesn’t happen to be me.

You’re not breaking the news of an untimely demise for Matt…

So far they’re keeping me around. I’ve always been thrilled to be on the show, but the storyline and what they’re giving me now is just amazing.

Željko Ivanek, who plays The Hunter, is leading soldiers to track down you and the other evolved humans.

He won an Emmy last year for [the FX series] Damages and he’s such a great actor. I’ve been working very closely with him the last couple of episodes and it’s the most intense stuff I’ve done on the show. Working with a guy like Željko is like playing basketball with an NBA star—you have to bring your A-game.

So is Matt going to start roughing people up?

I get really dark out of necessity so it’s not like I’m going crazy—I’m trying to save my own life and defend the people I care about. What’s great about my telepathic power is it’s a very powerful thing and I can use it, not for evil, but in a desperate way. The ultimate thing is not letting it get out of hand like my father did. He used it for destructive purposes and went out of control, trapping people in their own dreams.

Rumor-mill time: Is it true that a cast member wants to leave the show?

I haven’t been able to find any truth to that. You always hear about things like that when actors renegotiate their contracts because you always want to get paid what you feel you’re worth, although it’s a weird time because we’re all lucky to have jobs. You don’t want to rock the boat, but at the same time you want to be on the nicest boat you can.