Why Jason Trissop From Monarch: Legacy Of Monsters Looks So Familiar

Legendary Television

This article contains minor spoilers for "Monarch: Legacy of Monsters" season 2, episode 3, "Secrets."

For a show taking place in the MonsterVerse with Titan X on the loose and Godzilla looming, "Monarch: Legacy of Monsters" season 2, episode 3, titled "Secrets," sure is light on the monster action. That said, it does lay a lot of groundwork for human stuff we're undoubtedly going to be dealing with as season 2 continues to unfold. Most notably, it introduces a mysterious character who appears to have some importance.

The character in question is Jason Trissop, who reveals that he's the head of special projects at Apex Cybernetics. Recall that "Monarch: Legacy of Monsters" is filling in the gaps between two movies, namely "Godzilla: King of the Monsters" and "Godzilla vs. Kong." That includes links to Monarch and Apex, the company that ended up building Mechagodzilla in "Godzilla vs. Kong." As Apex's "head of special projects," Mr. Trissop seems like a guy who may well have a role to play in that deadly robot's development.

The character makes his brief debut in the latest episode of "Monarch" during a confrontation with Tim (Joe Tippett), who was heading up things at Monarch following the untimely death of Verdugo (Mirelley Taylor) in the season premiere. Jason informs Tim that Apex has now been given control of the operation to handle the newly introduced (and surprisingly realistic) monster Titan X. It's a quick scene, but it sets the stage for more to come in future episodes.

Despite limited screen time, Trissop has that "Boy, does he look familiar quality" to him. There's a very good reason for that, as he's played by none other than Cliff Curtis, a versatile character actor who's been working steadily for more than 30 years.

Warner Bros.

Cliff Curtis has over 70 acting credits to his name on IMDb dating back to the early 1990s with movies like "Once Were Warriors" and "Hercules in the Underworld" (which takes place in the same continuity as the hit TV series "Hercules: The Legendary Journeys"). Basically, if you watch a lot of films and TV, there's a great chance you've seen his work. It's just that not everyone is going to recognize him from the same thing. He's the opposite of Rowan "Mr. Bean" Atkinson.

Indeed, some people might recognize Curtis for his work in Martin Scorsese's "Bringing out the Dead." Others might know him from "Whale Rider" or "Runaway Journey." Others still may recognize him for starring opposite Cillian Murphy in the underrated sci-fi movie "Sunshine.". He even played small but memorable roles in "Blow" and "Training Day." The list goes on.

On the TV side, he's starred in shows like "Trauma," "Body of Proof," "Missing," "Kaos," and "Chief of War," in addition to portraying Travis Manawa across the first three seasons of AMC's "Walking Dead" spin-off "Fear the Walking Dead." He even voices the character Paul in Prime Video's animated comic book adaptation "Invincible."

More recently, on the movie side, Curtis played Mac in both "The Meg" and "Meg 2: The Trench." He also did motion-capture acting as Tonowari in James Cameron's environmentally conscious "Avatar" sequels "The Way of Water" and "Fire and Ash," and he showed up in person during "Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw," "Doctor Sleep," "Reminiscence," and "Last Breath."

We can't reasonably list his entire resume, but Curtis is understandably a very recognizable actor at this point in his career.

"Monarch: Legacy of Monsters" is streaming now on Apple TV.