The Wheel of Time has a huge cast. There's the heroes from Robert Jordan's book series, like Rand, Mat, Perrin, Nynaeve and Egwene. There are Aes Sedai characters like Moiraine and Siuan Sanche and villains like Lanfear and Moghedien. It sprawls in a way that nothing else on TV does right now.
"It’s such a massive show," star Taylor Napier — who plays the warder Maksim — told Queerty. "I mean, this season, there are 22 series regulars on the show, and I like to joke that we’re the U.N. of casts, because I do think there’s almost every continent represented? It’s such a lovely place to come and work and get to know acting styles from all over the world, and get to know just how other people do it."
"And, far and away, the coolest is when you’re doing a big fight sequence, because we do so much of it practically, so there’s very little green screen work other than set extensions and stuff like that. So, in the later part of this season, you’ll see a massive fight, and there are men in these prosthetic Trolloc costumes and all of these other extras— like, five or six hundred people, and we’re all fighting. It makes my job really easy because it does feel you’re at war; when one of those things comes charging at you, you’re like, 'Oh, I have to defend myself or it’s going to kill me!' [Laughs.]"
Fans will get to to see the battle scene Napier is talking about soon enough; Maksim is heavily involved in it. "And unfortunately I think [the industry is] moving away from having background artists and extras, you know?" the actor continued. "With AI and all that—when we were filming, I remember we were just trying to take it all in, in between takes just looking at everyone standing around or working. And I don’t know—even if I’m the most successful actor ever, and do tons and tons of projects going forward—that I will have something quite like this again, because it’s just so massive in scope, and it felt really special. So I knew I had to take a mental picture and remember this forever."
Polyamory in The Wheel of Time
Despite not being a major player in The Wheel of Time books, Maksim has gotten a good amount of screen time in the third season. We've seen how he and his Aes Sedai mistress Alanna (Priyanka Bose) have dealt with the death of Ihvon, Alanna's other warder. The three were previously in a polyamorous relationship, and Ihvon's death has been hard on the partners he has left behind.
"I’ll be honest: I’ve never been in a polyamorous relationship myself, but it’s been an interesting journey to explore that and to see what that means," Napier said. "But, ultimately, what you take away from it—at least with our characters—is that, no matter what the relationship is, it’s about the communication and honesty between those characters. And I think our relationship on the show really works—and, in my opinion is one of the most functional relationships between any of the characters—because we are so open and honest and value each other’s needs and wants and, and we do talk to each other."
"And there’s a lot of different dynamics within that relationship—in terms of it also somewhat being a work relationship, too, and being subordinate to the Aes Sedai in some ways. So I think it’s really beautiful testament to the idea of some alternate relationships, some non-traditional relationships—that ultimately they’re all the same. They live or die by the commitment to honesty and being trustworthy within that relationship, and communication within that relationship."
Alanna and Maksim have been struggling in the wake of Ihvon's death, but you do get the idea that they'll pull through. Meanwhile, The Wheel of Time has gone further than a lot of other shows, especially fantasy shows, in depicting alternative relationships and taking them seriously. "I think it’s nice to shed some light on these relationships, but not do them in a way that—I have seen polyamorous relationships on shows before, but it’s often just a little sprinkle of like, 'oh, aren’t they crazy and fun?' Or just using a beat to make those characters pop in a different way, but you don’t really go into what the dynamics between them very much," Napier said. "And so I think we get to do a little bit of that, and we’re doing it more this season in a different way. But I think that’s really lovely and beautiful."
The Snack Warder cometh
Beyond all this serious stuff, Napier is a working actor who cheerfully embraces his role as a token hunk on the show; apparently, fans have been calling him the "Snack Warder," which he appreciates. "It's all very flattering stuff." By his own admission, Napier is fond of posting "thirst traps" on social media, so the nickname may have been inevitable.
New episodes of The Wheel of Time drop Thursdays on Amazon Prime Video.
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