NBC's Found is the place to be in the 2025 TV schedule to find Brett Dalton, currently in his second season as Detective Mark Trent. He's also had arcs on Chicago Fire and The Equalizer in recent years, but superhero fans likely still know him best as hero-turned-villain Grant Ward. Even though the big reveal that the team's most strait-laced agent was secretly Hydra happened more than ten years ago, the actor recently shared with CinemaBlend that some people assume that his characters are going to break bad after S.H.I.E.L.D.
I spoke with the Found cast on the red carpet of SCAD TVfest in Atlanta, with one star weighing in on Season 2 landing Law & Order: Organized Crime's old time slot and Shanola Hampton and Mark-Paul Gosselaar hyping one particular episode. As an Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. fan, I had to take the chance to ask Brett Dalton: does Ward's betrayal follow him around in roles since the character was finally definitively killed off? He shared:
There's been a couple of things that I've been a part of that people are like, 'Oh, I know who the bad guy is!' Even if I start off as a good guy, they're like, 'I see where this is going.' There's a little bit of that.
In a way, it's a compliment to Brett Dalton's performance as Ward (and later Hive) that some people were so convinced by him playing a bad guy that they apply it to other roles. The character's Hydra reveal was also part of the biggest twist of the entire series to date when it aired in 2014, back before the split between S.H.I.E.L.D. and the larger MCU. (You can find the series streaming with a Disney+ subscription now while Found can be streamed with a Peacock subscription.)
Found's Mark Trent definitely isn't Grant Ward 2.0, and the detective hasn't broken bad in any way, shape, or form. Sure, he's been conflicted at times over his loyalty to Gabi and M&A vs. his duty as a cop, but that's to be expected for a character in his position. His new love interest doesn't even seem to be evil, even if Danielle Savre's character was mysterious somewhat in her first appearance. Dalton went on:
What I like about this character is that he's one of the good guys. I mean, I think even Sir, who really doesn't like Heavy Boots, will probably have to at least agree that he's a good man. He's a solid man with a moral compass. He would probably say he's smarter than Trent, whatever, but I think he will even agree that he is a good, solid person who always is trying to do the right thing. That part is great.
Trent had to compromise his morals a bit to get information from Mark-Paul Gosselaar's Sir shortly after he was finally locked up behind bars, but he did it for a good reason when there were no appealing options. Besides, if the person who hates him most is the villain of the series, I think that's a testament to his status as a good guy! At the time of writing, NBC hasn't yet renewed the drama for another season, but Dalton was ready to speculate about what another batch of episodes could hold for Trent:
I don't think there's a twist unless there's something in Season 3 where we find out he's a sleeper agent, but I can't imagine that would be the case. He's a straight-up good guy.
There are undoubtedly plenty of twists yet to come on Found, but fans shouldn't hold their breath for one of those twists to be a reveal that Mark Trent has been a bad guy all along. Increasingly stressed? Sure. Evil? Not so much. Of course, based on the promo for the new episode that will air on Thursday, February 27 at 10 p.m. ET, Sir's help may be needed yet again, which could put Trent in a tricky situation. Take a look at the promo:
If you've missed any of Found Season 2 so far or just want a refresher on the first season, you can find every episode that has released to this point streaming with a Peacock subscription, as well as new episodes streaming next day after airing live on NBC. The network's Thursday night lineup has felt quite different with Found instead of Law & Order: Organized Crime Season 5, but that would have been the case with any show that took over that 10 p.m. ET time slot after Law & Order: SVU.
You must confirm your public display name before commenting
Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.
