Netflix Streams 'Longmire' Starring Lou Diamond Phillips Javascript must be enabled to use this site. Please enable Javascript in your browser and try again. × Search search POPULAR SEARCHES SUGGESTED LINKS Join AARP for just $9 per year when you sign up for a 5-year term. Get instant access to members-only products and hundreds of discounts, a free second membership, and a subscription to AARP the Magazine. Leaving AARP.org Website You are now leaving AARP.org and going to a website that is not operated by AARP. A different privacy policy and terms of service will apply. Close

Longmire Is Back — on a New Network

Lou Diamond Phillips talks fan loyalty fickle TV execs and losing 18 pounds for his new movie

Lou Diamond Phillips' breakthrough came when he starred in the film 'La Bamba' as Ritchie Valens way back in 1987. Armando Gallo/ARGA Images, inc. , having put its rabid fans through a 13-month hiatus after execs rashly dumped the show in August 2014, returns to the screen on Sept. 10. That's when savior will make all 10 episodes of Season 4 available for streaming. Not that the first three seasons lacked followers: Longmire, based on 's mystery novels, was averaging 5.6 million viewers per episode when tone-deaf A&E pulled the plug because the median age of the viewing audience was 60. The network hadn't reckoned on the wrath of fans, who took to social media as the #LongmirePosse to demand the show's revival. Get instant access to members-only products and hundreds of discounts, a free second membership, and a subscription to AARP the Magazine. Crowd favorite plays Henry Standing Bear, a bar owner — and the show's moral compass — who develops a deep friendship with the wounded main character, widowed Sheriff Walt Longmire of Absaroka County, Wyo. We asked Phillips what he's looking forward to in Season 4. Q: What attracted you to Longmire back in 2012? A: "This is something special," I thought when I first read the script. There was so much between the lines, and you had the feeling that these characters had lived, you know? Henry Standing Bear just jumped off the page at me. I was in love with him from page 3. It was a contemporary western, but it had this retro feel to it. It spoke of things like or . This kind of show wasn't on the television landscape, which tends to homogenize everything, so I thought, "That's exactly why it's going to fail! Because it's so good and so different!" Q: Were you surprised by the intensity of fan reaction to Longmire's cancellation? A: I was more surprised by the decision [to cancel]. For A&E to say, "We don't want that kind of [older] demographic" is just offensive. The fans proved their loyalty — "We'll follow Longmire wherever it goes!" — and I know that had an impact on Netflix's decision to pick us up. Flowers & Gifts 25% off sitewide and 30% off select items See more Flowers & Gifts offers > I flew up there and got to know the people. I visited the high school and talked to the kids. I visited retirement homes and spoke to the older people, many of whom still walk in the Cheyenne way. And I soaked up the landscape — we're talking about sacred land, which was important for me to absorb to even approach the role of Henry. I was adopted into the Cheyenne Nation — the family of Tiger Scalp Cane. I did sweat with the brothers, went through a naming ceremony — I have a Cheyenne name now — and spoke at the Lame Deer High School graduation. Q: What specifically about Longmire do you think has inspired its fans to demand its renewal? A: It's part and parcel of the novels — there's a rabid fan base for the books. I did a panel at the Tucson Festival of Books with Craig and Robert Taylor [who plays Sheriff Longmire], and it sold out in 10 minutes! AARP Members! Q: The show portrays a strong but nuanced and multilayered friendship between two men — kind of rare these days, no? A: Well, I think that's just another facet of the show that speaks to a real audience — to the heartland of America, to American values. I think a cycle of cynicism went through television in the last 15 years or so, but Longmire is clear-eyed, it is objective. It knows there are gray areas in the world, that there are even dark areas, but it tries to rise above that. AARP NEWSLETTERS %{ newsLetterPromoText }% %{ description }% Subscribe , and me to the camp for a day, just to jump-start us. I swear to God, they almost killed us! I'm in pretty good shape, but I thought I was going to die. They put us on 1,300 calories a day — [though] I shaved it down to 1,000 — and two to four hours of constant cardio [workouts] per day. Before the shoot, I lost 15 pounds in three weeks. Then I get this phone call from Patricia saying, "Stop the diet! One of our sets just burned down, so we have to change the schedule. We need you to put the weight back on." So I put it back on before we started shooting, then had to lose it [again] over the Christmas break. Q: I can't imagine you losing 18 pounds. How low did you go? A: I got down to 154 — normally I'm 172, 173, and I'm 6 foot! Q: What's next? A: Well, I'm of an age now [53] where I'm doing projects that have to touch my heart. I want to put things out there that have something to say — things that transcend entertainment, that speak to the human experience. I've had a wonderful history of being involved with projects like that. You put out a certain energy to the universe, and oftentimes it's answered. 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