Virginia Sherwood/NBC
Leading man Sullivan Stapleton previews a "lighter" Weller and a "bigger and better" second season of the NBC drama.
When viewers last left Blindspot’s Kurt Weller (Sullivan Stapleton) at the end of season one, he was in a pretty dark place. Between watching his father die, Mayfair (Marianne Jean-Baptiste) going missing and finding out that the real Taylor Shaw was dead, emotional turmoil only began to describe what he was going through. It was only natural that he arrested Jane Doe (Jaimie Alexander) the second he saw her.
When the NBC drama returns for its second season in its new night and time Wednesday, three months will have passed since Weller and Jane (Jaimie Alexander) have seen one another thanks to some CIA interference. But it won’t take long for them to reunite in “In Night So Ransomed Rogue," thanks to the arrival of The Good Wife grad Archie Panjabi’s Nas Kamal. And when Weller and Jane finally come face to face again, it’s fair to say that tensions will be plenty high.
To find out more about their altered relationship, what Weller as the FBI’s new assistant director looks like and what kind of changes are in store for season two, THR turned to Stapleton to get the scoop on season two of the Martin Gero-created series.
What’s it been like playing Weller in this second season compared with the first?
Toward the end of the first season there were a few twists that happened and then we found out about Kurt’s dad and about Jane. That’s really affected him. It has driven a wedge in between Jane and Kurt and that friendship, but also finding out about his father — those are hard-hitting events. We start the second season trying to answer those questions. It was great to play that and to try and mend bridges and clear those questions up. But also in this season we’re seeing a bit of a lighter side to Kurt, which has been fun to play.
How is he lighter?
In season one we introduced those characters and it was very story driven but now we’re actually exploring these characters and what affects them. How they are together and you’ll see a bit more humor with him. But then also maybe he’s lighter or more sensitive.
Are there plans to bring his family back into the fold?
Yeah, I hope so. We’re on the fifth episode but we have the whole year to go.
What does Weller in charge as the assistant director look like? Does he have to deal a little bit more with politics?
He’s sort of been a leader from the start, but it works well into real life. He deals with it a little bit; obviously we’re introducing a few new characters and that sort of draws a bit of a leadership battle or power struggle between them.
Is that between Weller and Nas, specifically?
Yes. That’s just at the start; it’s like introducing a new member to the family. So it’s us trying to find where we fit in and how to work together. It’s awesome [having Archie]. She’s a great girl. We have a lot of fun and she’s an awesome actress and she fits right in.
Is there still hope for Weller-Doe fans out there?
There’s always hope. It’s like, they hurt each other and they’re disappointed … but they can apologize. It’s always possible.
What was your reaction to some of the bigger storyline twists in the premiere?
That’s the great part of this job; it’s exciting stuff. It’s exciting to find out what’s going on and follow these characters and these emotions. I love it. To have that opportunity as an actor and to explore these characters is always great. The premiere is great stuff; it’s even bigger and better than the first season.
There were lots of physical scenes in the premiere, did you have to beef up your training?
I’m always trying to keep up my strength just to get through the year and also so that you can do these fight scenes. We have a great coordinator and that’s the fun part of the work. No injuries yet. Some bruises and scratches or whatever but that’s fine. You’re fighting, it’s expected.
Rich Dotcom is coming back this season, what’s it like working with Ennis Esmer?
It’s great; they’re very different episodes. He’s a funny, scheming little character and I can’t wait to have him back and see what we get up to. He should work for the FBI.
Blindspot returns Sept. 14 at 10 p.m. and moves to its regular time slot starting Sept. 21 at 8 p.m. on NBC.
Twitter: @amber_dowling
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