Rabbit Hole: Charles Dance and Meta Golding on Their Characters, Filming Tricky Scenes
Charles, Ben is a walking conspiracy theorist, and his theories are subsequently confirmed. What's the most fun about playing a character like him?
Charles: Well, it's the same fun about playing any character that's really well written and is as intriguing as that character is because I, like most of us in the cast, weren't given all the information from day one.
And it was a very interesting journey when somebody says, "Okay, you're going to turn left here, but we're not going to tell you what's around the corner, but you are going to turn left." And you know, think, "Right, okay." So off I go, and I turn left.
I think, "Oh my God and I can't go back." I've got to go on, and now you're going to turn right, you know? Does that make sense to you?
Absolutely, given the story. Of course.
Charles: And it's a really fascinating exercise because some of the jobs we do as actors, and I can only speak personally, although I'm using the royal "we" here rather presumptuous.
Meta: No, it's true.
Charles: Do you know that there are times when… Here's the job, there it is, this is either a one-off film or it's a television series — perfect example, Game of Thrones. We knew what was happening at the end of the season from day one at the beginning of the season, there were 10 episodes right through. So you know what's happening.
This, it's really intriguing because you are not quite sure, you have a fair idea. But these writers are very, very clever, and it certainly keeps you on your toes as an actor when you're doing something like that.
So you're saying you received it script by script versus having it charted out for you?
Charles: Well, yeah, so I'm not saying that we had absolutely no idea at all. I mean, we knew the general direction that our characters were going to go in, but not 100%, no.
But whenever John kind of confronts him about, "Hey, you pretended you killed yourself, and it changed the entire course of my life." He kind of plays it off. What do you think Ben's really feeling at that point where he sees his son again for the first time?
Charles: That's a very, very good question. I think Ben is taking an enormous risk. And I felt he was pretty confident about the outcome of giving his son that kind of information. I mean, it's shattering. I mean, really, it's quite extraordinary.
And I like to think that my character decided that, "Okay, there's no getting around this. I actually need the help that my son can give me, and I'm going to have to confess to something that has caused such trauma in the last few years of his life that I'm just going to take the risk."
And if, having given him that information, he just promptly tells me to get out of his life and, really, I want absolutely nothing to do with you, then that's something I would've had to have accepted. It was quite a gamble for Ben Wilson to do that.
Rabbit Hole’: Charles Dance Warns ‘Don’t Trust The Finale’
This episode, more than any other, plays with how much we should trust Ben and how much he might have been hiding from John and doing that he and the audience haven’t seen. How much did you know about his arc for the season from the beginning? All of it? Some of it? Did you question him at times?
Charles Dance: From the beginning, I knew some of it. [Laughs] Glenn [Ficarra] and John [Requa] are unbelievably talented, wonderful people, but they kept us in the dark a fair amount of time, which means that as an actor, you’ve got to be kind of open to all kinds of options. I’ve got an idea, I think, “OK, this is what this character is going to be doing next, or maybe he’s going to be doing this,” and you don’t really know until pretty close to starting to shoot that particular episode. So it’s a very interesting way to work.
Then we get those great scenes with John playing out the possibilities in his head, with Ben at the center of them. And that one where John kills his father. Talk about filming that sequence.
Kiefer and I just tried to be as believable as possible. Right from the outset, I had to consider Kiefer in terms of a father-son relationship, not just a fellow actor playing a character. When there’s that filial relationship to consider… The fear that you’re going to be shot is one thing. The fear that you’re going to be shot by your son, that’s kind of magnified. So we just tried to make each version of those different versions of that particular moment, in Kiefer’s mind, as real as possible so that as we’re progressing through those different variations, the audience is not quite sure which is real and which is not. So they’re inside Weir’s head. Does that make sense, Meredith?
It does. But they seem to be on kind of solid ground, at least the most solid ground that we’ve seen them by the end of the episode because they have a clock ticking. Is John and Ben’s relationship the best it can be at that point?
I would think so, yeah.
Episode 7 is all about how much John should and can trust Ben, but how much does Ben trust John?
I trust his ability. I’m doubtful about his state of mind.
Yeah, because if he doesn’t know what’s real and what’s not, it’s hard to predict how he’s going to react to something.
Yeah, and obviously, there’s a limit to how much I know him. I know of him. I think in my mind, although nobody says this in the script, I’ve been kind of like a guardian angel living in a brownstone just down the road from him. I’ve known where he is. He hasn’t known where I am. He, in fact, hadn’t known that I was alive. So as far as my observation of him goes, I have a little knowledge of my son, having spent 30 years away from him. There’s a great deal of his character and personality that I’m having to catch up on during the course of this drama that we’re involved in.
What about the rest of their team, Hailey (Meta Golding) and Homm (Rob Yang)? How much does he trust them? Because we’ve already seen Ben suspicious of Hailey.
Oh, I don’t trust Hailey, but Homm amuses me and Rob amuses me. I have to say, I think we’re a great team. I’m inordinately fond of Meta, but her character, I can’t allow myself to trust her. I don’t know what’s going on between her and my son really ever. I’ve got a fair idea. But I don’t know completely, and I don’t know very much about her backstory.
There’s almost a little comedy in the duo of Ben and Homm, which I like.
I love it. I love playing that. And he’s terrific to work with. Rob’s a very clever guy.
At the end of this episode, Ben stresses just how important it is to stop Crowley. How far is Ben willing to go to stop him? Does he have a line he won’t cross or something he won’t risk losing, like his son?
Losing his son, I think that’s a line he would not cross.
That’s the only line?
He’s sacrificed his family and his happiness for the last 30 years, and I think he would be prepared to do it again if it came to it.
How would you describe Ben and Crowley’s dynamic?
Even as children, their relationship was more competitive colleagues than affectionate childhood friends.
Do you think Ben has been as truthful as he feels he can be with everyone up to this point?
Yes.
Heading into the finale, what is the most important thing we should be keeping in mind about Ben?
That he has integrity.
What can you tease about the season finale?
Don’t trust it. Don’t trust the finale. Don’t accept any conclusion that’s offered [to] you.
Is your most intriguing scene in the finale with John or someone else?
Someone else.y
Is it Crowley?
I’m not telling you.
What else should fans be keeping in mind going into the finale?
To concentrate. All the information you need is there, but you really have to concentrate.
.PNG)
.PNG)
.jpg)
