In the original Hawaii Five-0, James MacArthur appeared in 11 of the hit show’s 12 seasons as Danny “Danno” Williams, the second-in-command of the fictional Hawaiian State Police squad. He also had a significant role in the unsold pilot for a new series starring Gary Busey. And now, as the last surviving original castmember, MacArthur has agreed to appear in the newest version.
According to WENN, MacArthur’s a big fan of the new version that stars Alex O’Loughlin, Daniel Dae Kim, Grace Park, and Scott Caan. He’s also been approached to make a guest appearance.
MacArthur recently said, “This one’s going to be a hit. It’s got a good cast and good plots. They’ve asked me to appear in the new show. I’ll do it when the time is right.”
What do you think? What role should MacArthur play? Perhaps playing Danno’s father or maybe even a bad guy?
the new “dano’s” daughter couldnt pronounce “danny”, but instead it came out as “dano”. was somewhere in the pilot. a lame explanation, but whatever. this new series is great. the only thing i would have possibly done different id the chracter of mcgarret should be a bit older than the rest. to give him more of the leadership quality.
I can’t wait to see him; any role he plays will be great.
It’s very gracious to ask him to make an appearance. By the way, I think you’ve got a 3 year old photo of him. A more recent one on his site from earlier this year shows him as markedly thinner.
I think he could play Danno’s grandfather, or even an older father. He could also play some elder statesman, as he has that look now.
I think he should play macgarrette uncle or brother
Danno as the father of a eurasian child why not, actually if mc arthur was up to it, perhaps a hands on role during the first episodes assisting young steve just as he helped the original steve run the force. I watched the pilot of the original and didnot notice or hear anything about the origin of the nickname.
I don’t see how he could play the father since the current character is from New Jersey and only came to Hawaii because of his daughter. However there could be a multi-episode build up of a back-story: Dan-o 2’s mother divorced Dan-o 1 when the former was an infant dropped out of sight in NJ. So Dan-o 2 never knew his father or his whereabouts. Alternately MacArthur’s Danny Williams could be the uncle of the current Dan-o
I’ll agree with the other posts–he should be cast as Danno’s father–an older , crankier version.
definitely playing Dano’s father would be great! I don’t remember why he was called Dano in the original version. Was it ever explained like it was in this pilot? By the way, great pilot episode, I’ll be watching!
I think that James MacArthur was the son of the very famous Helen Hayes. I read it in some magazine during the time of the original “Hawaii 50”. Can you verify this for me.
My wife and I followed the original show and have started following the current show. The first episode was great but I was surprised with the animosity between the two lead actors.
I think that James MacArthur would make a fine actor for the new show. He could be Dano’s father but I think that he should be included in the cast for many episodes.
@George Robicheau: He’s Helen Hayes’ adopted son actually. She guest-starred on an episode of the original Hawaii Five-0 as his aunt. Wonderful actress.
I think he should play the govenor, if they don,t have a regular charator yet. I ment Richard Denning in 1969 and thought he was a neat guy. so maybe James would look the part now.
Without a doubt….Danno’s Father.
Retired State Senator perhaps? Owner of the largest Pinapple plantation?
He should definitely play Danno’s Dad !!!
him playing the Dad of the character would be good! This way, he could make more than one guest appearance.
I agree!
I think he might as well play Dano’s father as anything. He’s one heck of an actor but the best possible contribution he could ever possibly make to this show by far would be to play Dano’s father.