Dennis Haysbert: New Kind Of Superhero

Starring Tonight In New CBS Series, 'The Unit'

(CBS)  Returning to TV in the new CBS series, "The Unit," Dennis Haysbert plays the leader of an elite special forces team, known as Delta Force, which tracks terrorists around the globe.

The series is based on the writings of a founding member of the Delta Force, which Haysbert described on The Early Show Tuesday as "unbelievably intense, super secretive."

Co-anchor Hannah Storm described the main character as possessing superhero-type powers, but Haysbert points out, though highly trained, this team is all too human.

"They do make mistakes and sacrifices. You'll see that as the season goes on," he said. "They rely a great deal on their wives."

And while the unit's counter terrorism work might sound highly glamorous, Haysbert says that's a far cry from the truth.

"It's not like James Bond and all these guys with the champagne and the caviar," he says. "These guys take no glory. They take no responsibility for anything that they do. They just hand it over to someone else."

Haysbert has most recently been known for his portrayal of President David Palmer in the series "24," until his character was unexpectedly killed off — a turn of events that Haysbert resisted.

"For the longest time, I refused to do it," he told Storm. "They called me up during lunch during the third episode I was back, in the fourth season, and said, 'We're going to kill your character.' And I said, 'OK, good luck with that. I won't be shooting it.' "

His objection to the plot twist was that there was simply no good reason for it.

"I knew David Palmer had really run his gamut. He's done what he was going to do," Haysbert said. But "I thought they were just going to let me out to pasture, having speaking engagements but bring him back for a couple of episodes here and there. When they said they were going to kill him, I said, 'Why?' "

"It didn't make sense. It was the first black president on national television with a three dimensional role. So why are you going to kill him? It just left a bad taste in everybody's mouth."

That sort of concern is typical of how Haysbert approaches his career, and the characters he chooses to depict.

"People that have integrity, that you can learn something from," he said. "Or someone that can totally entertain you. There are a lot of actors who will play villains, bit I'm not suited for that."

Many people will also recognize Haysbert from his Allstate commercials, for which he was recently ranked as one of the most trustworthy pitchmen in America, a ranking Haysbert says he was "stunned to see."

"The Unit" premieres tonight at 9 p.m. ET on CBS.