Jason Clarke on The Last Frontier: Embracing Old-School Adventure and Emotional Depth

Apple TV’s The Last Frontier takes audiences deep into the Alaskan wilderness and even deeper into the soul of Frank Remnick, the small-town lawman at its heart. The show, from showrunner John Bokenkamp (The Blacklist), blends the sweeping scale of ‘90s action thrillers with the intimacy of a human drama. For actor and executive producer Jason Clarke, that combination was irresistible.

“When I first read it,” Clarke recalls, “it felt massive, a big adventure with huge action sequences and this wild landscape. But underneath all that, there was this small-town warmth, a sense of community. That contrast really hooked me.”

Clarke’s Frank is both a man of action and a man burdened by history. As Clarke describes, the character felt like “an old-school Jimmy Stewart type,” grounded, imperfect, but deeply human.

“He’s not hiding behind a character,” Clarke says. “It was about just being present every day as Frank leading this ship through the storm.”

The show’s physicality demanded as much commitment as its emotional weight. Clarke worked closely with director Sam Hargrave (Extraction) and stunt coordinator Daniel Hargrave to perform as many of his own stunts as possible — including a six-minute continuous action sequence.

“It was one of my favorite things I’ve ever done,” he admits. “It strips out the acting and pretense. You’re just in it, focused, trying to get it right. It’s exhausting, but it’s pure.”

While The Last Frontier delivers high-octane spectacle, Clarke insists that its emotional core is family. His on-screen wife, played by Simone Kessell, adds depth to the show’s moral tension between duty and home, protection and obsession.

“Family’s at the heart of any great story,” Clarke says. “You see the cracks that can turn into chasms if you don’t take care of them. Simone and I have known each other for years, so we could explore that comfort and that tension honestly.”

That sense of family extends beyond Frank’s household as it’s what fuels his need to protect his community, even at great personal cost.

Haley Bennett stars alongside Clarke as Sydney, a complex CIA agent whose presence both aids and destabilizes Frank. Their partnership is a constant test of trust.

“Haley played it so beautifully,” Clarke says. “You can’t ever get a line on her. One minute she’s empathetic, the next she’s dangerous. Frank cares for her, but she keeps him off balance and he needs her just as much as he fears her.”

Unlike traditional action heroes, Frank bleeds, falters, and doubts. Clarke was adamant that The Last Frontier stay true to that vulnerability.

“Frank’s not some superhuman,” he explains. “He hurts, he gets cut, he doesn’t always do the right thing. He’s more Unforgiven than Die Hard. Gene Hackman’s character in that film was a big influence — it’s about who’s prepared to do it, not who’s the fastest gun.”

Bokenkamp’s writing gave Clarke the roadmap to build Frank’s evolution — from steady marshal to man pushed to his limits.

“John laid everything in so well,” Clarke says. “Each episode stands alone but builds toward something bigger. It’s got that old-school serialized thrill — the cliffhangers, the emotion, the tension. I’m really proud of it.”

Watch the full conversation below:

Q&A on the Apple TV+ series The Last Frontier with actor & executive producer Jason Clarke. Moderated by Mara Webster, In Creative Company.

Follows Frank Remnick, a U.S. Marshal in charge of the quiet and weathered barrens of Alaska, as he needs to deal with a prison transport plane crash full of violent inmates inside his jurisdiction.