David Boreanaz on The Rockford Files Reboot: Retro, Fresh Take

Reviving Jim Rockford proved difficult for years: a 2009 pilot starring Dermot Mulroney never aired and a planned Vince Vaughn feature was shelved. This time, NBC has cast David Boreanaz in the role James Garner made iconic from 1974 to 1980, and the revival has reached the screen.

At the Monte-Carlo Television Festival, Boreanaz said the reboot leans into the show's retro texture rather than scrubbing it away. The Pontiac Firebird is back, Rockford still lives in a beaten-up trailer home, and the central premise remains an ex-con turned private investigator who finds a case almost as soon as he is out of prison; the scripts balance that nostalgia against a fresher take.

Stepping into such a well-worn part did not faze him. Pointing to the long line of actors who have played James Bond, he summed his approach simply: "How can I make James Garner proud?" He also sought the blessing of Garner's daughter Gigi before signing on, and she handed him a set of her late father's worry beads.

Monaco, Monte Carlo

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