Wilson Bethel Didn't Know ‘Full Extent' of His ‘Untamed' Character Before Finale Reveal: ‘Huge Payoff'
'When I first started auditioning for the character, I didn't know the full extent of his motivations and what was guiding him,' Bethel explained to Us Weekly about his new Netflix show, which premiered Thursday, July 17. 'In that stage where I'm initially putting together the character and figuring out who he is, I'm making some educated guesses that weren't entirely accurate.'
Bethel noted that he enjoyed the mystery surrounding the role.
'One of the things that I think is fascinating about this show in general is how deftly they tease out the information to really keep it obviously twisty and in line with what this kind of genre of show should be,' he said. 'But they do it in a really graceful and interesting way."
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While reflecting on the limited series, Bethel teased how it 'really culminates' with the big reveal, adding, 'It's a huge payoff as a viewer. It's a huge payoff in character terms. We've been getting these really interesting dynamic performances from all these different actors in the show. Suddenly that one little twitch that one character did in this previous episode or that one look that was shared by another character [becomes], 'Oh, that's what that meant.''
He continued: 'If you go back and watch it a second time, what a cool thing to be part of one of those shows that potentially rewards rewatching certain moments. You can see those things with different eyes on that second watch.'
Untamed, which also stars Eric Bana, Sam Neill, Lily Santiago and Rosemarie DeWitt, is set in Yosemite National Park where a woman's death draws a federal agent into lawless terrain, where nature obeys no rules but its own.
'One of the amazing things about doing a show on location, it just deepens the value of everything in the show,' Bethel shared. 'Shows [usually] shoot on windowless soundstages in very safe places because you can control everything. But when a production is willing to take the risk of confronting some of those challenges — whether they be weather or insects or bears — there are benefits of really setting a show in a place and especially a place that is so beautiful and so wild.'
Throughout the season, Kyle (Bana) investigates a death that leads him to secrets he didn't know existed in Yosemite. All signs pointed at Bethel's character, Shane, being at fault after he previously helped Kyle's now-ex-wife Jill (DeWitt) by killing the man who murdered their son.
Shane ultimately dies in a shootout with Kyle, but it isn't until the finale that Kyle realizes his coworker Paul (Neill) was the one responsible for the woman's death. Though Shane wasn't at fault, Bethel doesn't think his innocence will change how the audience sees his character.
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'One of the things that I think I love about this character is that I don't think he would give a s*** if he felt like he was misunderstood or not. He completely inhabits his own moral universe, and I really truly don't think he gives a f*** what other people think about him,' he quipped. 'That's pretty cool. I am not sure that I played that kind of character before who lives in the world in that way.'
In fact, Bethel isn't sure Shane has any regrets about the last moments of his life.
'I don't think it's a matter of being misunderstood. He was going to kill Kyle because that's what he had to do because things had gone pear-shaped and that's the way the cards fell, and then he got killed instead,' he continued. 'There are other aspects as morally questionable or as weird as this Shane McGuire character is on Untamed. There are other aspects of this character that made a lot of sense to me too.'
Bethel concluded: 'Obviously any role requires you to do a lot of thinking about where this character is coming from. But it wasn't some crazy reach to me because I did feel like I knew who this guy was from some combination of things that live inside me and just observations about the world. Additionally, as it happens, I also am a lifelong backpacker and I love the idea of being deeply immersed in nature, and having that be a fundamental part of your life is not scary or weird to me at all. That's something I totally understand.'
Untamed is now streaming on Netflix.
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Yahoo
3 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Meet the 9 different personalities of a fantasy football draft — which one are you?
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Fox News' Kat Timpf wades into Sydney Sweeney controversy in return to Gutfeld! after planned absence
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USA Today
4 minutes ago
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This former Friday Night Lights star may make a cameo in series reboot
#TaylorKitsch confirms he won't be returning for the new Friday Night Lights project — but he's focused on something bigger: building a healing space for veterans and those battling addiction in Montana. Clear eyes. Full hearts. Can't lose. Those six words are permanently etched into the brains of every fan who ever watched the hit TV show Friday Night Lights and they may hear them again soon. Back in December, fans of the show learned that a new adaptation of the series is currently in development at Peacock (which beat out Netflix) and Universal Television. The new show takes place after a hurricane as a Texas high school football team attempts to compete for a state championship. We don't know much about the show yet, but here is what we heard from Peter Berg, who will return as director and executive producer of the show (via Esquire): "It's a complete reinvention of the show. We want to do it with a whole new cast, but obviously there'll be football in it. But the original show was done a long time ago ... There's just so many new elements, so we want to look at that. And if certain cast members come back, have appearances, that's great. But if Friday Night Lights works, it'll be because it works as a reinvention.' So which of these "certain cast members" might come back to have appearances? Connie Britton, who played one of the lead roles Tami Taylor, told Vanity Fair earlier this summer that she would be willing to have a "real tight little cameo" in the reboot. Taylor Kitsch, who portrayed star player Tim Riggins, said in the same interview that he "won't be a part of it" this time around. During a recent interview with The Wrap to promote The Terminal List: Dark Wolf, it once again seemed that Kitsch did not seem particularly interested: "I was asked to do it. Yeah, I'm not going back. No." Based on that answer, it seemed unlikely fans would see Riggins in the project. During his conversation with Access Hollywood, meanwhile, Kitsch added that he had not spoken to Kyle Chandler about it. But he seemed more willing to participate. "[Expletive] I'll do a cameo. I would do one. It's got to be out of control, though. I don't know. We'll see." Then, when asked how he thought Riggins was probably spending his time these days, here is what he said: "Where would Riggs be? Probably [expletive] having a cold one on the lake with a couple girls waiting for him in the cabin." So perhaps Kitsch would actually do a funny arc (perhaps as an opposing coach) in the new version of the show in an episode "for like eight seconds" after all. Meanwhile, in addition to Berg as director and executive producer, Jason Katims will return as the showrunner and executive producer. Brian Grazer will return as an executive producer. Kristen Zolner from Imagine Entertainment will also join as an executive producer.
