The Westworld season 3 premiere is just a couple of days away, and one of the show’s stars — Leonardo Nam (Felix Lutz) — sat down with us to discuss the new season. Obviously, Nam didn’t reveal any spoilers for what’s to come, but he did provide some insights into the show and what fans can expect.
Nam plays Delos technician-turned-android-ally Felix Lutz. In season 1, he helped Maeve (Thandie Newton) transform from the tortured madam of the Mariposa saloon to an empowered avenging angel. In season 2, Felix continued his friendship with Maeve by helping her find her daughter and get them to the Valley Beyond, safe from the humans trying to stop them.
By the end of season 2, Felix and his reluctant accomplice Sylvester (Ptolemy Slocum) were tasked by Delos to gather the bodies of the hosts who died trying to get to the Valley Beyond and choose which ones were salvageable and which ones were meant for the scrapyard. Maeve, Hector and Armistice were included in the pile of dead hosts. With such an ominous ending, is Nam looking forward to watching fan reactions to season 3?
“Oh my god, I’m completely excited,” he said. “Every time this mega-show comes round, it’s really exciting to be part of something that has so much swell around it. I knew that coming in from the first season, you know, you saw the caliber of the show, the caliber of the people involved…it was exciting back then, and then you see how the showrunners have evolved the show and you get super excited because you spend so much time devoting your life to creating this show, so when it comes around, you’re like ‘Oh yeah! I’m so excited to share this with the world!”
"And then you have fantastic new cast members that are involved and not everyone works with everyone in every storyline, so it’s always exciting to see people at the premiere and at events like that because you get to kind of see face-to-face, stuff that you’ve read on the page to finally be able to ask them inside questions because you can’t really ask anyone else but them. It’s exciting."
Aaron Paul is one of those new cast members. He plays Caleb, a seemingly regular guy who works construction and struggles to get through each day, until he meets Dolores and his life is altered forever.
Caleb. Westworld official. Photograph by John P. Johnson/HBO
Now that the show is venturing outside of the park, can we expect the convoluted time jumps from season 2 to be toned down? “This season is super-exciting because we’re going in a new direction, and keeping up with the same heart and intentions the show has had in previous seasons,” Nam said. “It’s definitely more linear and it’s taking us in a new direction that’s kind of opening up the lid of what Westworld is and the world that Westworld exists in.”
Nam knew going in to read for the role of Felix that he’d be part of something special. “When HBO comes round with a project, you know there’s going to be a certain caliber of work that you’re being presented with,” he said. “So it’s always exciting, you know?” Because of his compassion toward Maeve, Felix quickly became a fan-favorite character, and Nam is happy to be part of that storyline.
"I think it’s important that you continue to do good work. At the end of the day, it’s your work that stands, and I’m so thrilled and honored to be part of Westworld and it’s a wonderful moment when you recognize that the show and the character really connected with audiences around the world."
Nam also noted how Westworld always seems to reflect the problems that we are facing in today’s world. In seasons 1 and 2, characters struggled with the ever-advancing awareness of artificial intelligence. If you watched those episodes and then had Alexa or Google suggest things based on your recent searches and inquiries, it might have made you a little uncomfortable. Season 3 will continue to explore these sorts of issues. “I think you’ve seen the trailer,” Nam said. “They have these isolated outbreaks that are happening globally . And it’s uncanny, they talk about the parallels we are having here with the corona or the Covid-19 virus and how the world reacts. It’s very interesting, and I think people are going to have a lot to say about that.”
Moving on, Nam discussed what it’s like working with an Emmy-winning actor like Thandie Newton. “She’s such a generous person, and that’s reflective in her work,” he said. “The character of Maeve is someone that she has dedicated so much of her life to crafting, and to be in the presence of anyone of excellence is always an honor.”
"Every day on set, you understand that everyone is bringing their A-game, and to have Thandie with you and to support you along the way…you know, season 2 was so much about her — she was such a driving force, so much of the heart of the show — and to work with her is a real blessing and an honor. I learned from her so much every day when I was working with her, and because she is in so much of the show, she understands it more, so we would be able to have these conversations about what’s actually happening in the show, and have these sort of philosophical conversations about life and what that means for the world we live in now. It’s one of the most enjoyable times of my life, just working with her."
Nam went on to say he believes audiences will be “pleasantly surprised” with what happens with Maeve and Felix in season 3. “ Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy are master storytellers,” he said. “They have wonderful, wonderful, wonderful stories that happen this season, so I can’t wait for everyone to gather around and talk about it.”
With guidance from Nolan and Joy, Nam created a backstory for Felix, whom he sees as a kind of compassionate gardener. “In the world of Westworld, everything is cold and sleek and modern, and I always saw him as organic…like a plant that he is constantly taking care of.”
"I’m excited to see what people think of the evolution of what Felix is in Delos. Felix is also a worker. Part of his journey was also to survive. So, can you survive by only being kind? That’s the question, and we’ll have to see what you guys think."
Perhaps you’ve seen the news that Game of Thrones showrunners David Benioff and Dan Weiss have a cameo in Westworld season 3 as Delos technicians, but even though Nam plays a Delos tech himself, he didn’t even know the pair had parts in the show until recently. Nam likes to watch the show unfold one episode at a time — he found out that Bernard was a host in season 1 at the same time the rest of us did — and also because Benioff and Weiss’ scenes were kept secret and filmed on a separate set. Oooh, mysterious.
Finally, we asked Nam four rapid-fire questions to be answered as quickly as possible. Hit it:
- Who’s your favorite actor to work with on Westworld? “Oh, Thandie! The other actor I want to work with is Ed ”
- Who’s your favorite character on the show? “Um, Felix! No, I’m such a huge Dr. Ford (Anthony Hopkins) fan. The mystery surrounding who he is and why he made it and how he made it…you know, there is still so much to be dug out there.”
- What’s your favorite episode of Westworld? “Season 3 is really exciting, and there are a couple of episodes where I go, ‘Oh, that’s really great!’ But in seasons 1 and 2 I really did enjoy episode 7 where it talks about Bernard says ‘What door?’ I thought that was a fantastic episode. And for me personally, I really enjoyed episode 6 in season 1 where I was showing Maeve the underbelly of Westworld…and the bird. That to me was so wonderfully liberating to work on as an actor.
- Is Felix a host? “Ohhh…you know, I am just as interested in that one as you are.”
As for what’s next for Nam, he has a recurring role in MacGyver on CBS, where he plays Aubrey, “the newly introduced love interest of Riley (Tristin Mays).” He will also appear in the upcoming fourth season of HBO’s Room 104. His episode “will center on a bittersweet reunion of a friendship following a deep family loss, painting a funny, poignant and retro tale of love, friendship and moving on.”
As for the big screen, Nam stars in Phobias, a movie that is “set in an alternate, contemporary world” and “explores human instinct and the real phobias that everyday people must live with. The movie is “comprised by six short anthology pieces, which are woven together through the lens of Johnny (Nam), who is fighting his robophobia to avenge his father’s wrongful death.” Finally, the actor is starring in the indie comedy Marvelous and the Black Hole, which is set to premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival in April 2020…hopefully.
We appreciate Leonardo Nam taking the time to talk to us! Westworld season 3 makes its long-awaited debut this Sunday night, March 15, only on HBO.
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