9-1-1 Season 8 delivered a Halloween episode that was haunting, hilarious, heartbreaking, and ultimately hopeful—one that allowed Oliver Stark to embrace his goofy side.
While Episode 5, “The Mask,” gave Hen (Aisha Hinds), Karen (Tracie Thoms), and Denny (Declan Pratt) genuine scares, the show also took a decidedly non-serious turn when the mummy Buck (Stark) rented from a props vendor turned out to be… a corpse.
When Buck believes that the late bank robber, gunman, and outlaw Billy Boils cursed him with a face full of pimples, the firefighter sets out to make amends with the dead. Along the way—as is often the case in the world of 9-1-1—he finds deeper meaning amid the madness.
“[The plot] is a little bit silly, but in the way that 9-1-1 is silly, which I think is one of its strengths. We can indulge in the silly, but it can end up being quite realistic and teaching these characters a lesson,” Stark told Decider over Zoom. “For the late Billy Boils, Buck still wants Billy to feel like he’s being treated with respect, and he treats Billy right. Buck always goes out of his way to make sure everyone feels comfortable. In this particular case, it happens to be with the dead.”
Nearing the end of the mustache era Before Buck’s impressive props shut down 118’s haunted house, he happily served up tricks and treats in a cowboy outfit—but not just any cowboy! Paying homage to his co-worker and best friend Eddie Diaz (Ryan Guzman)’s famous mustache from Season 8, Buck’s costume features a large, bushy mustache.
“I had a lot of fun getting into the mustache act. I don’t think I could grow a mustache as thick as the one that Buck has in costume,” Stark said with a chuckle. “It’s fun to have a fake beard, because it changes the way you speak a little bit and you can’t laugh too much. I don’t really mind if it starts to fall out in a scene… I think it would be really funny if we suddenly switched to Buck and the mustache was half way down his face.”
Since 9-1-1 never shrinks, Buck isn’t the only character sporting facial hair this Halloween. When Stark rewatched the episode and realized the fake mustache was the entire outfit of 911 dispatcher Josh (Bryan Safi), he thought, “That’s a lot of mustache action!”
Since Guzman debuted his new mustache ahead of Season 8, Stark said, “The mustache has become a character for the online community.” While showrunner Tim Minear confirmed that Eddie’s mustache is “a manifestation of something going on inside him” and will be shaved off in a major upcoming episode, Stark noted that the return of Guzman’s clean-shaven face wasn’t a big deal on set.
“I think we overdid it at first, but because it suits him so well, it just became normal. I forgot that it was different from what he used to look like. And then when he shaved, I thought, ‘He’s going to look weird without it,’” Stark said. “Turns out, he’s still really handsome.”
Speaking of Guzman, Episode 5 also sees Eddie spend more time with Buck and his boyfriend Tommy (Lou Ferrigno Jr.). They say two is friends, three is a crowd, but Stark told Decider that he and Guzman are excited to welcome their new co-star into the fold.
“It’s always nice to have some energy to throw around. Ryan and I have been doing a lot of scenes together for years, so we get along really well,” Stark explained. “It’s nice to have a fresh energy come in and another actor to throw around and play with. I love the scenes between the three of them. And as I think often happens when you have two partners and a third person in a situation, one of the partners is going to be part of most of the jokes. In this particular situation, that’s the role that Buck has to take on.”
