“Our whole lives were in that house.” So says Herrmann (David Eigenberg) when, in one of the most personal episodes of the series so far for him, it’s his home that 51 is called to for a devastating fire.
That fire does result in the Herrmann family’s house burning down, and 51 does what 51 does best and helps him find a temporary place and with supplies since they lose everything. (Herrmann worries he was responsible for the fire when it looks like faulty wiring he did caused it. It turns out that wasn’t the case. It was a problem with the stove, no one’s fault.) And thanks to Mouch (Christian Stolte), Herrmann is able to bring his wife Cindy (Robyn Coffin) her mother’s ring. Below, David Eigenberg talks about that major loss, that important moment at the end, and more.
Herrmann’s house burns down and this is a location that’s been on the show for years. So how does it feel to lose that for the Herrmann family for you?
David Eigenberg: Yeah, it is funny for the character, it was written much more devastating. Dave Eigenberg and one can only imagine, but I’ve been around long enough I think I can imagine rather accurately — I, Dave Eigenberg doesn’t give a s**t as long as everybody’s out. I’m not terribly sentimental, so I had to kind of fight against it. And a couple of times I was getting notes. All I wanted to do was, let’s go. They’re making me act, which is hard for me. I’m not a very good actor. I like putting on the s**t and then turn the fire up and then we do that. But yeah, losing the house, I think the character is devastated by it. Kids are going to college, and there’s a lot changing in Herrmann’s life.
It is wild Herrmann’s kids are old enough to go to college. How are Herrmann and his family doing going forward? Because I know they have a temporary apartment right now, but what is their housing situation? Do we see a new house this season?
I don’t know that answer. We’re always left in the dark, so I won’t say anything about that. The kids moving out and stuff is crazy. We were working with a young guy who’s a background actor yesterday, and he was like, I don’t know, 25, 28, and he was like, “I grew up with this show.” And you go, “Wow.” He started watching it when he was 10 or nine or something. Now they’re a full blown adult. They’re not just like a kid. They’re into life. And you go, “That’s crazy.” In some ways, it seems like forever; in other ways, it seems like yesterday. My kids have grown up and so much, it’s going on 14 years. So it’s crazy. And we’re really lucky. We’re really blessed and very grateful.
