Noah Wyle returns as bookish hero

Wyle credits the success of the first 'Librarian' film to family viewership during the holidays.
WASHINGTON POST
Imagine Don Knotts playing Indiana Jones.
That's how Noah Wyle describes his role in "The Librarian: Return to King Solomon's Mines," TNT's sequel to the 2004 film that introduced viewers to brilliant librarian-turned-adventurer Flynn Carsen.
With scenic African vistas, special effects and stylistic nods to the "Harry Potter," "Indiana Jones" and "Terminator" films, the story is an action adventure lightly seasoned with comical touches.
"It is not truly tongue-in-cheek, but it is also not oblivious to the fact that this is a comedy," said Wyle, who's also a producer. "The only way we differentiate from the movies that have done this genre extremely well is to make him relatable."
The ratings success of "Quest for the Spear," TNT's first "Librarian" film, prompted further exposure for the quirky character with 22 academic degrees who lives with his widowed mother (Olympia Dukakis) and safeguards a repository of legendary treasures.
Into Africa
The new adventure finds Flynn fresh from the mountains of Utah, where he snatched a crystal skull from the hands of marauders, galloping on horseback away from his pursuers over the edge of a cliff into a river. Now he's off to search for King Solomon's mines after receiving a mysterious package with a map to the legendary location. His travels to Morocco, Kenya and Tunisia are complicated by dangerous encounters and questions about his father's death at age 32 -- Flynn's own age.
Wyle, who cites family viewership during the December holidays for the success of the first "Librarian," said roles such as this are ideal for him.
"It's a throwback to the old Saturday afternoon popcorn flicks, and that's right in my wheelhouse," he said.
Director Jonathan Frakes called Wyle "a wonderful comedian who acts really confident in physical comedy."
"Flynn, the character, is very much a kid, who comes across as very young, and Noah does that well," Frakes said. "We're hoping this will be a franchise series."
Frakes and his team shot the film in 35 days in Kenya and in Cape Town, South Africa, with some scenes in Mexico City.
"Africa is breathtaking, and it wants to be a filmmaking destination," Frakes said. "It could be the next Canada. The price is right and they have great camera crews. There is such interest in TV and film; young people all over the world want to be involved in movies."
Supporting cast
The cast includes Gabrielle Anwar as an archaeologist who becomes Flynn's love interest, and Robert Foxworth, whose character, the avuncular best friend of Flynn's father, harbors a dark secret.
Jane Curtin and Bob Newhart, like Dukakis, are holdovers from the first "Librarian." Curtin plays Flynn's boss. and Newhart portrays the curator of the archives where Flynn works.
To Wyle, Flynn was "one of those characters you can't take too many missteps with."
"You can paint with a broad palette, you can play him like a hero or a fool or a nerd, and it all works in aggregate."