Over the course of three seasons of Warrior, we’ve seen that all characters have flaws. They try to do the right thing, but more often than not, it turns out to be the wrong thing. That’s certainly the case for Bill, Chao, and Lee.
As we get ready for Warrior to head to Netflix, I got a chance to talk to some of the cast. In the first exclusive interview, I chatted to Hoon Lee, Kieran Bew, and Tom Weston-Jones. We talks about Lee writing one of the episodes of Season 3 and how each of the characters have their flaws but their own beliefs.
Hoon Lee on writing an episode of Warrior Season 3
It’s very different for an actor to come into the writing room. While there is still a collaboration and the writers know the characters well, the actors tend to see other sides of these characters or they may have spent more time chatting with the co-stars. What was it like for Lee getting a chance to write one of the episodes?
"“It was an amazing opportunity. We’re a very tight group. Kieran and Tom, I believe you were actually my first scene partners for the entire show…so having that kinds of connection and history with everybody, it became a special and exciting thing to offer them.”"Hoon Lee
Chao is one of those characters who is relatively neutral, but he still has wants and dreams. More of his arc comes out in Season 3, and Lee shared a little about what it was like bringing this character to life.
"“A lot of that comes in the reflection from the other characters…I think a lot of the time I look at the other actors to find the humanity beneath Chao.”"Hoon Lee
Weston-Jones jumped in to share about how collaborative the series is.
"“I think it’s one of the only shows I’ve worked on where there’s so much discussion among the actors. For me, it’s the most detail I’ve gone into with the company ever…I often found there are certain qualities that Lee had that I didn’t realize I had until later on.”"Tom Weston-Jones
The idealistic qualities of Richard Lee throughout the series
Richard Lee is the newest member of the police force in Warrior Season 1, and we immediately see that he is nothing like what you would expect. He’s a Southern boy just after the Civil War, which should suggest that he was on the Confederate side, but that is certainly not the case. And you learn more about his idealistic views as the series goes on.
"“It was quite tricky in some respects, because he is quite ahead of his time in some aspects…I know one of the things that I do like to do is I like to find some real examples of people I can base things on, loosely…What’s interesting is I never really saw him being overly idealistic until midway Season 2 when Kieran and I were trying to find some nuance between the Lee and Bill dynamic.”"Tom Weston-Jones
A lot of the benefit comes from the writing and the actors. This is one of those shows that has a quality that is unmatched.
"“I think the show is so rich in so many different ways, so I do try to bed myself into the history of it. But the show has so much charm to it.”"Tom Weston-Jones
The multiple layers of Bill in Warrior?
When I talked to Bew about Bill, there was this focus on him being a relatable character. He’s possibly the most relatable as he has good and bad qualities. He has flaws, but he also has love for his family. What was it like for Bew to bring all that to life.
"“It was the best job I’ve ever had, is the short answer. To be able to try to play all those different things for a person, but as an actor, it gives you such a huge amount of range…He does intend to do well, he just has vices…He can’t help but make mistakes…because he’s coping…He is trying to do his best.”"Kieran Bew
He did also share about he way Bill is a different character for different people on the screen. It’s, again, a very realistic look.
"“The best thing about our show is Jonathan Tropper’s philosophy is that every character is the lead of their own show, otherwise the character’s not worth putting on the screen. We all individually come from the perspective of layers of facades and masks…”"Kieran Bew
Take a look at the full interview with the trio below:
Warrior is available on Netflix on Friday, Feb. 16. You can watch all three seasons on Max already.