Luke Hemsworth recently sat down with Monkeys Fighting Robots and other members of the press for a round-table intervew promoting HBO’s Westworld, which returns tonight. Hemsworth plays Ashley Stubbs, Westworld’s head of security, and talked to us about Stubbs’ role in the coming season, working with Jonathan Nolan, and a roomful of naked extras. Here are the highlights from the interview:
On his castmates:
I’m excited to see the performances as well. I’m a big fan of all of this, all of this cast. Just incredible, there’s not a bad note there. They’re all incredible human beings, not just actors, um, as beautiful to watch them when you stand next to them and then it’s, you know, it’s another, it’s another facet again, when you, when you see it on tv, you know, when you get to watch it back.
On-screen, the inactive hosts in the background scenes of labs, they look so real. What do they look like up close and what was it like when you first saw one?
Most of them are real. There’s a few like prosthetics, the ones that are a bit mangled, but the ones that are whole are usually, yeah, extras lying on the ground and you know, on the cold floor covered in blood and flies. One of the first days, I think was in cold storage. There was about a hundred extras all completely nude. We had to worm our way through it, pun intended. Eyes up, you know and I’m thinking “What have I gotten myself into?” (laughs)
On Westworld‘s story:
It’s so, it’s so rich and complex. Every script I get I have to read three times.
Regarding Stubb’s role in season two:
There’s definitely a cool journey that, yeah, you will find out things.
On working with Jonathan Nolan:
He’s the most generous giving, knowledgable person I’ve ever met, I think. He’s so, he’s a joy to be around like the days when Jonah’s there it’s like “Aw, fuck yeah. Thank god.” because he always, he has every answer.
If you and the rest of the cast found out tomorrow that you were hosts, who would lead the revolution?
Jeffrey Wright for sure or nah, probably Evan (Rachel Wood). I think she’s just, she’s a crusader. Yeah. Yeah. She’s definitely a crusader. Not me, I just follow. Nah, I’d be there just so long as I could, if I could wear a sword, then I’d be up there.
Can’t get enough Westworld? Check out our interview with Angela Sarafyan here.
