For many years, Dr. Bruce Ivins is one of the main suspects from the FBI concerning the anthrax terrorist incidents of the 2000s. In National Geographic’s The Hot Zone: Anthrax, Ivins was a complicated person of interest as someone first assisting the government in the anthrax investigations to having psychological and personal issues around him. It takes the acting talent of Tony Goldwyn to portray this complex character to the point of not being recognized.

Here is the official synopsis:

In the limited series that depicts the plight and eventual triumph over a national threat, The Hot Zone: Anthrax takes place in 2001, just weeks after 9/11, when the United States was rocked by another deadly act of terrorism. Letters containing anthrax were sent to unsuspecting victims in Florida, Washington, D.C., and New York. The anonymous assault claimed five lives and caused panic throughout the U.S. Despite many false leads, a team of FBI agents and scientists slowly closed in on a shocking prime suspect.

While many of us can remember the breaking news headlines and widespread fear that arose during the anthrax attacks, there are many layers to this chilling and unbelievable crime story that have not yet been told.

ALSO CHECK OUT: Harry Hamlin on Channeling His Tom Brokaw for NatGeo’s The Hot Zone: Anthrax [Exclusive Interview]

The Hot Zone: Anthrax, inspired by true events, follows parallel stories of Matthew Ryke (Daniel Dae Kim) and Dr. Bruce Ivins (Tony Goldwyn). Ryker, an FBI agent with a specialty in microbiology, risks his career to convince his superiors of the unthinkable just three weeks after the 9/11 attacks: The United States is under attack again. Ivins—a brilliant microbiologist who becomes embroiled in the hunt to find the 2001 anthrax killer—works closely with the FBI to uncover who is behind the deadly anthrax letters, while his growing instability and paranoia give way to even deeper and unnerving discoveries.

LRM Online’s Gig Patta spoke with actor Tony Goldwyn in his transformation into Dr. Bruce Ivins in both physical and mental forms.

Tony Goldwyn made his debut in 1986 as Darren in the slasher film Friday the 13^th Part VI: Jason Lives. His breakthrough performance came later as Carl Bruner in Ghost, which earned him a nomination for the Saturn Award for best-supporting actor. He starred as Harold Nixon in 1995 that earned him a Screen Actors Guild Award nomination. His other roles included Neil Armstrong in HBO miniseries From the Earth to the Moon, voicing the main character in Disney’s Tarzan, playing Colonel Bagley in The Last Samurai, and as Fitzgerald Grant III in ABC’s drama Scandal.

The Hot Zone: Anthrax currently is playing on National Geographic Channel and also streams on Hulu.

Watch the exclusive interview below. Let us know what you think of the interview.

Source: LRM Online Exclusive, National Geographic, Hulu