'Will Trent' Star Ramón Rodríguez on His 'Complicated' Role and ABC Show

Karin Slaughter's bestselling crime novels Will Trent are being brought to life on the small screen, and Ramón Rodríguez relished the opportunity to dig into the "compelling, complicated" character the author created, he told Newsweek.

Rodríguez takes on the titular role of Special Agent Will Trent, who works for the Georgia Bureau of Investigations (GBI) in Atlanta and who is tasked with solving a grisly murder and missing persons case.

Will isn't afraid to seek out justice on his own terms, though. This puts him at odds with his new partner, Faith Mitchell (Iantha Richardson), whose mother was caught up in Will's past investigation into corruption in the police force.

Rodríguez reflected on taking on the role, and how Slaughter's books helped him embody her famous character, in a conversation with Newsweek.

'Will Trent' Star Ramón Rodríguez on His 'Complicated' Role and ABC Show

Rodríguez said that Will felt like "a very compelling, complicated guy" when the actor was first approached to star in the drama, so much so that the role was impossible to pass up on.

"Knowing what he'd been through, overcome and persevered and, despite all of that, how he's been able to succeed at his job. There was just something about him. He just felt very intriguing," the actor said.

"He's someone that's a loner, who had to survive some difficult circumstances, and I guess somebody that is protected and is careful about who he lets into his life."

Rodríguez read Slaughter's crime novels, of which there are 10 so far in the Will Trent series, to understand his character's origins.

"When they started talking to me about the project, that just made me want to know more about him," the actor said. "What makes him tick? What specifically happened to him that sort of got him to where he's at and where we meet him in the present day?

"So, that was a lot of the draw, for sure, just this very complicated human-being that also had a lot of heart, a lot of resilience, and had a lot of spirit. There's no way to go through what he's been through and be able to function without having a very strong spirit."

It's not just Will's personality that proved interesting to Rodríguez, but also his relationships, particularly the ones he has with co-worker Faith and his other half, Angie Polaski (Erika Christensen).

"That was one of the other things that really draws me to the character, the fact that he is very different in different relationships," Rodríguez said.

"You've got Angie. They've got a very deep history embedded with each other from their foster care home and still, to this day, is [an] on-and-off, tug of war relationship where sometimes it's working and other times it's not. It's very complicated.

"I love that. I thought that was really interesting. And then you have this other relationship that is being initiated, and they're on different sides of the spectrum where one has very deep roots and the other one is just beginning, and is probably beginning with a lot of reluctance because Will doesn't have the best social skills," Rodríguez added.

"He's not the most interested in having a ton of friends and relationships. He knows what he knows, and he likes to lean into that in a lot of ways, and so when Faith is kind of forced upon him, he's not thrilled about it.

"That tension of conflict is interesting, and we slowly see where that relationship with Faith goes, but it's great to see another [side of Will] with Faith, and then you see another side of him with Angie. I love the different facets we show."

On Karin Slaughter's Books

Although Slaughter is an executive producer on the series, Rodríguez said that "there wasn't a ton of conversations" between them when it came to his interpretation of the character, because her books were already a valuable source.

"The beauty is, I had the books so that source material was really all I needed," Rodríguez added. "It is a great foundation that's laid in her books, that really describe and tell you about this character so, for me, just having that source was incredible.

"To be able to go to that, it's sort of like a well that I get to continue to visit if I ever have questions about the character, instead of going to Karin.

"There's something about going to what you she put down on the page and I think she did a great job of really fleshing out this character and what he's been through, what makes him tick," Rodríguez added.

"From the details of his scars to his relationship with Betty [the Chihuahua that Will adopts], all of these different, really fascinating colors when they're in the books. That to me was a really great resource; [it] was fantastic to be able to have that."

Rodríguez went on: "The beautiful thing about adapting something is you want to honor what's been written on the page, but you also are interpreting it and you're making it a your own, and so being able to add additional colors to him has been a lot of fun."

Will Trent premieres on ABC at 10 p.m. ET on Tuesday, January 3.