Steve Howey on ‘True Lies’ Character Similarity: ‘I Know the Marriage Route’

Like-minded? Steve Howey exposed whether he can connect to his True Lies character, Harry, after his divorce from Sarah Shahi.

The Texas native, 45, plays a computer system salesperson called Harry who is really a global spy on the brand-new CBS series. While Howey is neither a salesperson nor a spy, he solely informed Us Weekly on Friday, February 24, that he got in touch with Harry’s function as a “dedicated married man” who “loves his kids” regardless of tricking them and his spouse, Helen (Ginger Gonzaga), for 17 years.

“I’m a dad … I know the marriage path,” Howey informed Us of the connection in between his life which of his character. “Harry is a protector. I seem like I’m a protector, specifically when I’m with my kids. So, there’s a great deal of resemblances there.”

The previous Shameless star shares 3 kids — boy William, 13, and twins Violet and Knox, 7 — with Shahi, 43, whom he was wed to for 11 years prior to calling it stops. Us exclusively confirmed in June 2020 that the Sex/Life actress declared divorce one month prior after separating from her partner in April of that year.

“After much idea and factor to consider, we have actually chosen to end our marriage,” the exes stated in a joint declaration to Us at the time. “As we participate in this brand-new stage of our lives, our top priority will stay co-parenting our kids with a lot love, shared regard and relationship. And though our relationship is altering, we are dedicated to continuing our lives as a caring household.”

Us solely verified that Howey and Shahi finalized their divorce in January 2021. While the L Word alum moved on romantically with her Sex/Life costar Adam Demos in late 2020, Howey focused on the last season of Shameless, which ended in 2021, and the start of True Lies, which premieres on Wednesday, March 1.

The Reba alum described to Us on Friday that he has a couple of more things in typical with his True Lies character because they are “both the very same individual” in method.

“I’m a star … Harry is a star too,” Howey stated. “I’m not as an excellent of phony as Harry is, since I put on’t even know if it’s lies or it’s just dishonest truths. You can say true lies [is] lying truthfully.”

The Something Borrowed actor further explained that his TV alter ego “knows how to compartmentalize,” confessing, “I put on’t know how to do that.”

While Howey has found TV success before, he told Us that this role is a little bit different because of all the action.

“I wanted to do my own stunts. I’ve always wanted to do it, like, this has been a dream come true,” the Making Babies star revealed, noting that he had to train really hard to become a spy. “Two months before we started production, I was simply running up hills, getting my body conditioned. And I just started looking at material for clandestine operations and work and it’s not as glamorous as you think it is.”

The Bride Wars star’s costar Gonzaga, however, made the work a little more bearable. “There’s a lot of chemistry between Steve and Ginger, so there’s gonna be chemistry between Harry and Helen,” he teased, explaining that on the show Harry’s wife learns he’s a spy when they are kidnapped in Paris. “And that was just luck, destiny, I don’t know. But I adore Ginger. I think she’s one of the funniest people I’ve ever met, and I know a lot of funny people.”

Howey added: “She made me laugh every day when we were working together. It was awesome. And she’s also a good person, so her humor doesn’t come from a bad place or a negative place. Her humor is making fun of herself [and] making fun of me, which I love.”

True Lies premieres on CBS Wednesday, March 1, at 10 p.m. ET.

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With reporting by Leanne Aciz Stanton