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"I missed being out here. I lived here six months a year for six years," he says. "And every single day driving out here I was in awe of what mother nature can do."
Nearly two years after production ended on the CBC series North of 60, Jackson is on the Bragg Creek set which is the fictional town, reprising his role as community leader Peter Kenidi.
"People I know came up with that question, 'How can they shoot North of 60 without Peter?' As long as Peter's talked about, he's still alive and that was the case with In the Blue Ground."
Blue Ground -- a North of 60 thriller -- aired on CBC this winter as the first of what is hoped to be many such telefilms based on the show.
"The ratings were wonderful," says Doug MacLeod, a producers. "Over a million viewers, which is good in this day of many choices."
While Blue Ground concentrated on RCMP officers played by Tina Keeper and Peter Kelly Gaudreault, Trial By Fire brings Jackson back.
Kenidi is now an MLA with ambitions of being a premier. His campaign hits a snag, though, when he is implicated in a deadly arson at Lynx River.
"It's probably easier to believe (he could be guilty) just from the perspective he's not around Lynx River that often because he's in Yellowknife," the Calgarian explains.
Further complicating matters is his current ally, Walter Pearce. Oscar-nominee Graham Greene plays the shady politician and if you think you remember seeing Greene on North of 60 before -- you're right.
"Back in Lynx River, back in the saddle, but a different character this time," Greene explains.
"The last guy was a bit of a charmer, this guy's a real sleazeball. He's definitely floating around everything that happens."
Greene marvelled at how much the town has grown since his five episode stay: "I brought my wife out with me because she'd never seen the set and went, 'Ah, wait a minute ... Um, yeah. Now I know where I am...'"
The veteran actor did a similar return engagement in a different role on two episodes of Murder, She Wrote. And is there anything one does specifically to accomplish the task?
"Of course. Change clothes," he deadpans.
Greene's reputation for on-set levity proceeds him. Luckily, Trial By Fire director Francis Damberger has worked with Greene twice before.
Perhaps Damberger has learned how to channel Greene's energies after the film Heart of the Sun and the pilot Beyond the Barbed Wire.
"I suppose he can do that if he tries hard enough and I let him," Greene answers.
Greene was in Calgary last summer filming another Canadian production, Bad Money. In between, he worked on the larger flicks: The Green Mile, a prison drama, with Tom Hanks and Grey Owl, starring Pierce Brosnan and directed by Sir Richard Attenborough.
"As long as you've got time in between to decompress from one film to another," Greene says, jumping around such varied projects is manageable.
"Green Mile was extremely depressing -- I was electrocuted in the electric chair. Eight hours in a electric chair? Those things are not built for comfort."
His stay in Lynx River has been especially comfortable considering a longstanding friendship with his co-star Jackson.
"I've worked with Graham for years and years on all sorts of projects," Jackson says of his friend. "There's a chemistry with Graham because we're so familiar with each other."
Jackson is even developing a pilot for a series titled Warriors for the duo. His company, Dream Catcher, is involved in a multitude of projects in and out of the entertainment industry.