Warning: Interview contains spoilers!
Oliver Stark talks about his hit show Into the Badlands, the show’s diversity, his character Ryder and last night’s episode, Palm of the Iron Fox.
SB: Into the Badlands has been well received by critics and fans. What has it been like to be a part of such a groundbreaking show?
OS: You never quite know when you’re making something how it’s going to be received and I think you go, as with any artistic work, through different phases. “This is brilliant, this is great, I don’t know what I’m doing” and it changes throughout the process so to have it come out and to have people react so positively to it is a relief in some sense and just a real honor to be a part of it.
SB: In your opinion what is it about the show that resonates with fans?
OS: I think its commitment to pushing boundaries and trying to be at the forefront of movements. It’s such an inclusive and diverse show and it’s committed to being top quality in terms of the action, moving things forward and a positive influence. That’s what I think people are really responding to.
SB: What was it like training for the fight scenes and has the training helped to bring the cast together?
OS: Sure! I mean it’s amazing to learn off these guys. They really are some of the best stunt guys and choreographers in the world and getting to spend time and learn off them is incredible. It was intimidating at the beginning and yet it absolutely helped the cast bond especially for Season One. We all had a six-week fight camp together and you know you’re either all going to hate each other or love each other by the end and thankfully it was the latter of the two. We bonded through our suffering. Yeah it created a feeling of community among the cast which is an important thing to have on a television show.
SB: Palm of the Iron Fox is a bittersweet episode for Ryder fans. We literally get to see him at his highest and his lowest.
OS: You’re right and it was a lot of fun to be able to go from the conclave, where he’s really in his element, to then having to square off against what he thought was his dead father. It was exciting and I’d known for a long time that it was heading in that direction so I was very much prepared for it and I just hope people are with him until the end.
SB: Although Into the Badlands is renowned for its fight sequences it’s also a show with a great deal of humanity. Can you elaborate on how Ryder’s complicated relationship with his father highlights that?
OS: Yeah, I think it’s an incredibly complex relationship as relationships are in real life. He hates and resents his father and he loves his father and just wants that love to be returned. It’s kind of a contradiction on every level and I think that’s something that people have been able to relate to because that’s what real relationships are like. We hate people that we love and love people that we hate and it’s all mixed up. So being able to play that out on a show and do that, especially with Marton (Csokas), who is a fantastic actor, was really fulfilling for me as an actor to go through that with him. The relationships were ever changing as well so we were always kept on our toes with them and its been a ride.
SB: In a strange way Quinn wants the best for his son and Ryder wants to please him but their true natures keep getting in the way.
OS: It’s kind of a catch 22 where Ryder wants Quinn’s love but the only way to truly get that is to kill him and Quinn wants Ryder to step up but essentially that means for him (Ryder) to end his (Quinn’s) life. So I don’t think there’s ever quite a happy outcome. You’re right, Quinn by his nature is certainly a warrior and Ryder, I’m not sure he quite knows what his nature is, but it’s not the warrior that Quinn is.
SB: It’s almost like they are forged differently with Quinn being a cog and having that experience and with Ryder being a man of privilege. They’re almost coming from two different ends and it’s hard to reconcile what the son wants and what the father wants.
OS: Ryder was born with a silver spoon in his mouth whereas Quinn had to work his way up so their experiences were very different. I think because of that Ryder was never going to be the son that Quinn needed and is now the son that Quinn is trying to forge out of baby Henry.
SB: I guess there’s an irony there because if Ryder ever was the son that Quinn wanted the outcome for Quinn would have inevitably lead to his own death.
OS: Yes but I almost feel that Quinn would have been all right with that on some level because his legacy and family would live on whereas what was so disappointing to him was that his son was so seemingly feeble and pathetic and it was an embarrassment to him that he could have produced such a lackluster Baron.
SB: I totally agree but one thing that struck me was in the final moments when Quinn misidentified the statue as Cronus, Ryder corrects him and it’s almost as if that’s his shining moment. It’s as if he’s saying “I’m not a warrior, I’m an intellectual”.
OS: Yeah.
SB: It’s as if he’s a man from another time, where he would have been better suited to be a scholar as opposed to being a warrior. He, like a lot of us, tries to fulfill his destiny but finds himself on a path that isn’t his own.
OS: Absolutely. I think you see Ryder’s strengths in that moment and in the conclave he’s good with his words. He can play that game and in that moment with Quinn it’s like, “You know what? Take everything else away and in this moment I’ve got you. You made the mistake. I know this and you don’t.” It’s one last hurrah of power before it’s all taken away.
SB: For sure. So it’s no secret that Palm of the Iron Fox was your last episode. What are your feelings and do you have any moments that stand out from your time on the show?
OS: For me the whole thing has been an incredible experience. Being part of a show that’s so unique has really been an amazing experience for me and is something that I feel very lucky to have been a part of. Looking back getting to work with all of the actors on the show, particularly the more experienced ones like Stephen Lang and Lance Henriksen and Marton himself, that was really an amazing opportunity for me.
SB: I guess also missing that feeling of family that you forged for the last season and a half.
OS: Yeah a really messed up family (laughs).
SB: (laughs) As most are when you really get down to it.
OS: Exactly! (laughs)
SB: What can fans expect from you moving forward?
OS: Right now, I think the most important thing for me I want to make an intelligent decision about what comes next. I don’t want to just jump into anything. Into the Badlands is a very progressive show and I want to be a part of a project that is equally as important. For me it’s just about taking time and choosing the right project.
SB: Into the Badlands has a passionate fan base. Anytime you’re part of a project that elicits that sort of reaction is really rewarding.
OS: Yes, I think it’s important in this day and age because of social media where everything is so immediate that you have to approach your projects with that kind of passion. If you don’t, you’ll get called out on it and I think that’s what Into the Badlands has done so well so far.
SB: Before we wrap things up I’d like to get back to the topic of diversity. It’s not just in front of the camera that we have diversity on Into the Badlands but it’s also behind the camera. I’d like to get your thoughts on how that maybe has helped to make it stand out and connect with the audience.
OS: Everybody has different experiences. Everybody from different backgrounds, whatever your story is has led you to be who you are. That means that the more diverse a cast and crew that you bring to something brings along a multitude of different experiences that can influence the work. That allows it to speak to so many more people and you’re handcuffing yourself if you don’t try to add that to your project. That’s why I think Badlands has flourished as it has because they’ve never been afraid of diversity and reaping the benefits of it. This season especially with the Master having women of color in incredibly powerful positions and different Barons I think it’s speaking to people. It’s about representation and allowing people to see themselves on screen. There’s no excuse not to be pushing forward on that now.
SB: I guess underneath it all, we have the same challenges. Whether it’s father/son or mother/daughter relationships, friendships those are still the core bonds that connect us all.
OS: Absolutely! And the more that we can try and find that within each other, regardless of what we look like or how we speak or anything, I think that the closer we get to finding some peace.
