'Westworld' star Leonardo Nam says Season 3 is 'a super exciting journey for Felix'
Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy’s philosophical science fiction magnum opus ‘Westworld’ has given us a slew of characters we have loved. And not just the protagonists like Maeve (Thandie Newton) and Dolores (Evan Rachel Wood) and Bernard (Jeffrey Wright) and Ford (Sir Anthony Hopkins). But also supporting characters who have been pivotal to the complex plot of the series. Of these characters, a clear fan favorite has to be Felix Lutz, the lab technician who nursed a soft spot for the Host Maeve. Like many characters on the show, Felix too was destined for things greater than being a lowly tech in the Delos theme park and the first two seasons of the show are evidence of that.
Actor Leonardo Nam, who plays Felix on the show, spoke to MEA WorldWide (MEAWW) about his character’s journey and future, Shakespeare and more.
“I think it's, it's a journey of love,” said Leonardo of Felix and Maeve’s relationship in ‘Westworld’. “It's a really unique relationship. I'm always interested to discover the different nuances of the characters that the creators have made with Felix.”
“I'm so appreciative. You know, for so much of my career, I've had an opportunity to play three-dimensional characters in a world that hasn't been always the most open and welcoming to diverse spaces,” the Argentine-Australian actor of Korean descent said, adding, “So it's been a real blessing to be on this journey in ‘Westworld’ where they have created and crossed at these different elements to Felix.”
So far, in season 3 of ‘Westworld’, viewers have only seen Felix appear only once and that too it really wasn’t Felix, rather it was a simulation of the man running inside Maeve’s head. It was a shocking twist for viewers.
Asked if he knew how this would play out on the show, Leonardo said, “No, not at all. I mean, when Jonathan and Lisa reached out to say ‘Hey, we know we're going into another season,’ I was thrilled. You know, super excited. And then, as it has been in previous seasons, they kept things very close to the chest. And I guess that's also part of the excitement too. So when I received the script, I devoured it straight away. And then I started thinking like, ‘Oh, hang on, what's going on here?’... you realize that these are monster filmmakers and storytellers and they had me at every page, so I was just as surprised as everybody else to find that twist in episode two.”
Asked if he has as important a role as the previous seasons this time, he said, “Like every other actor in the show, you're like, please don't die. Please don't die. Please don't die. I can't say too much about it, but I've got to say season three is a super exciting journey for Felix… I am hopeful that people will really enjoy this journey that Felix is on this season.”
MEAWW asked him (a few too many times) if his path on the show this season would cross with Maeve once again. Leonardo laughed it off and said, “In the world of Westworld, anything is possible.”
Explaining his character's arc more, especially in light of developments in season 3, Leonardo said, “You know, when we first started the project, we had very in-depth conversations with both Jonathan and Lisa about the world of ‘Westworld’, about what they were trying to say with the project.”
He went on to explain the show in the context of Shakespeare, especially the playwright’s iconic work ‘Hamlet’, a play that has been present in themes all throughout the show. “One of the discussions that we had was about ‘Hamlet’, and we talked in-depth about the journey of the characters that Hamlet encounters. And that is woven into ‘Westworld’ to some degree.”
About the characters of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern from ‘Hamlet’ -- childhood friends of the prince, who were summoned by King Claudius to distract him from his madness -- Leonardo said, “That's kind of the idea and world that I saw Felix in as the role of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. And we talked about the use of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern as a foil, kind of, to reflect back onto Hamlet, and his journey.”
The next episode of 'Westworld' airs on April 12 on HBO.
