'Castle' guest Adrian Pasdar: Decidedly not gunning for his own series

On the Feb. 21 episode of ABC's "Castle," the first in a two-parter, Adrian Pasdar makes his first TV appearance since the unceremonious end of "Heroes" in 2010.

Playing Homeland Security agent Mark Fallon, Pasdar comes in to assist Castle (Nathan Fillion) and Beckett (Stana Katic) in uncovering a terror plot in New York. Head-butting ensues.

Pasdar tells Zap2it this isn't even his first opportunity to join the series. He was recently offered the role of Castle's friend (and murder suspect) in the Feb. 14 episode, "The Final Nail." He held out for something meatier, which happened pretty quickly.

"It just didn't seem appropriate," says Pasdar. "They came back a few weeks later with this episode. It was really well written, and it ended up being a two-parter."

From our viewing of the first part, we can confirm that it is one of the more suspenseful outings the show has ever put out, and a lot of that has to deal with Fallon's ominous presence. In one scene, he interrogates a suspected terrorist's wife, while she clutches a screaming baby and looks at a dumbfounded Beckett for support.

The woman, and all of the initial suspects, are Syrian -- and the assumed correlation between the Middle East and terrorism is something the episode is very candid about.

"There's a scene where Ruben Santiago (Montgomery) says to me, 'you're profiling,'" says Pasdar. "Well, that's what profiling is. This show catches itself. It never puts itself into a corner. It's very well drawn."

The profiling ends up making Fallon looking like a villain, but Pasdar says his second episode sheds light on his motives. "Anyone who's prejudice against him, that all kind of gets dispelled," he promises. "It clears the air a little."

Seeing Pasdar on TV again, we couldn't help but wonder what the future holds for him. And at this point, apparently, that does not include having another series of his own.

"I've tried it a couple times, and it always goes wrong," says Pasdar, whose run on "Heroes" was cut short without a proper finale, more than a decade after his iconic series, "Profit," was canceled after just 5 episodes.

"I think the supporting parts are more interesting," he says. "Being asked to carry a major show with the restrictions that are thrown on you is very limiting. I'd rather hit it hard, do it right, and walk away. I'd rather be Fallon."

Pasdar says that he can see himself carving out a career of supporting parts, but admits that while this pilot season isn't attractive to him, he's probably not out of the game for ever.

"I'll probably do it again," he admits, "but I'll hate it."

Watch the first 10 minutes of his "Castle" episode, "Setup," right now: