When you got the final scripts, was there any particular scene or sequence that you were most nervous about as an actor?
I think the first long scene I have with Stellan’s character. The first scene in the warehouse one day when he’s trying to sell the startup unit, and he realizes he came for another reason. It was one of the first scenes I shot period in the shoot. And it was so demanding and so complex, and it had so much going on. The writing on that one was quite tricky. But as soon as I started working with Stellan, I went from worry to just pure enjoyment and fun and excitement. He’s such a generous actor, and yeah, he’s just always bringing something new. He was beautiful, but I was freaking out.
It’s surprising to say this for a “Star Wars” series, but when it first was released, it was sort of a slow-build show. There was an audience at first, but it was very much a word of mouth, especially in the industry. When you received accolades like the PGA nomination and the critics lists at the end of the year and a Peabody nomination, did that give you confidence going into season two? Or is that just sort of icing on the cake?
I think confidence is not the word. I think just the relief, I would say, came, but way before the nominations. I remember when I got the news of the Golden Globe nomination, I was already shooting season two, so excited to be back. I think the great relief and the beautiful feeling came right after the first two or three weeks of the show being aired. I think the first great move was to release the first three episodes. We were improvising. It’ll be very nice to say, “Yeah, when we were shooting, we knew the three episodes were going to come out at once,” but it’s completely not true. And I think it was a great, great call because, in a way, the first three episodes show you the aim of the show. It’s a show that, yes, asks for patience, but because of its complexity, there is no other way to get there. And once it delivers, once it gets to that climatic third episode, you are so invested with these characters because of what’s going on. You understand that you are part of it, and you need time to get there. So, I think that was a great call. I think when those first three episodes came out, and we started listening and to the reaction because today, there’s no way to hide for good and bad; you get it. It was beautiful. For me, it was a great relief because not just people were liking the show, but people were celebrating the show for the same reasons I decided to do the show. It was like, “Hey, you guys are very realistic. It’s dark; it’s complex, it’s unexpected. Characters are ambiguous, and it feels gritty. It’s challenging for audiences.” All of that. The people were celebrating the designs, the music, and the acting. I was like, “Wow, this is great! This is great!” Because many things I started reading in reviews, for example, it’s the stuff we were reminding ourselves of every day on set.
Yeah.
And then, when the nominations came, I think we were all ready. It was beautiful. It was beautiful to share also because it’s really important for the whole team. When a nomination happens in a job that is all about collaboration, it’s very important because it’s a boost of energy for everyone. But I would say that we were already very pleased and ready to go on the second opportunity to deliver even better. Hopefully.
I’ve read that every episode, or almost every episode, in the second season, is a year time jump. That it covers a much wider period of time. Does it feel like essentially you’re making a different show because of that in that way? Or does it feel so similar to the first?
No, it’s different for many reasons. It’s different because of the structure, basically. We are breaking this season two in four blocks. Each block has a director, and each block is three episodes. So that’s what it gives every three episodes. Kind of like the integrity of a film. Because it is the voice of a director behind it. We talk very little about directors, but they matter a lot. They’re very, very important in the process, and they bring their visual language, their voice, and their sensibility to the show. So now what Tony did is he did structure the show into four blocks, and in between each block, there’s a jump of a year. So you have three episodes that are a few days in this year that are really important. Then we jump a year, and then you arrive to another week, and three episodes happen on that week, and you jump another year. And with those jumps, we get all the way to “Rogue One.” So it is a different show because of that. I mean in terms of what it demands of from you and for production and from you as an actor. You have to fill in the blank spaces. You have to give that time path, and the character changes dramatically. Well, the first season happens in a short period of time. Here you have an opportunity to create a bigger arc. And then the one other thing that makes the show different is that it’s the last one.
Yeah.
Therefore, there’s a need to close. There’s a need to close. We opened up so many stories, and this is it for those stories. This is a beautiful thing because it makes the show not just different from the first season but different from every other show. Because it suddenly has the rules of a miniseries, you know? Because for us, it’s 12 episodes. We have to finish the story of all these characters that we introduced to you. And therefore, there are different needs structurally, and that’s going to make us deliver something different, which is, I think, what people would want. No?
Of course.
Why would you ask for another season the same way? We’re hoping we can bring something else, something different, and finish the journey of Andor in an unexpected way for audiences. The only thing they know already is what the end is.
Yeah, the only thing we know is that you’re alive at the end of the series.
So, That’s the only thing we know. Yeah, exactly.
One last question for you. You have spent so much of the past couple of years on this project. Do you know what you want to do next when this is done? Do you just want to do a tiny movie like in Mexico somewhere or in Europe?
I’ve been since, for the last, I would say, 15 years, I’ve always been switching from acting to producing, directing, and doing theater. And it’s been difficult to direct because there is no time. I mean, I’m involved as a producer, and I keep producing in my company stuff, but I am hoping to direct something and, as an actor, to look for something very, very different. Just before doing this second block or second season, I went and did a theater monologue. I did it in Madrid, and it was lovely. It was delicious to be in a tiny little room with 200 people, just one light and the text and myself, and that was it. Very simple. And I enjoyed it so much. And then I came here, and I am enjoying what I’m doing, but I want to go as different as possible from what I’m doing at the moment.
“Andor” is available on Disney+.
