Westworld: Jeffrey Wright on the challenges of season 2

Jeffrey Wright spoke to Gold Derby about season 2 of Westworld presenting the most difficult challenges of his career–and we love him even more for it.

Westworld is prepping for the upcoming Emmys and with 21 nominations under their belt, there is a lot to be excited for. In an exclusive interview with Gold Derby, Jeffrey Wright, who has been nominated for Lead Actor in a Drama Series for Westworld, spoke about the challenges that season 2 brought for his character.

During the video interview with Gold Derby, Wright mentioned that “Season 2 of Westworld was one of the most challenging exercises I’ve taken in my career”. We’d have to agree with him there given the rollercoaster season his character Bernard had this season. Not only were there multiple timelines to deal with, but Wright had to adjust his character’s glitches as he dealt with scrambled memories.

Wright truly deserves to be in the running for this year’s Emmys and it’s a welcome change to see him bumped to the Lead Actor category this year. Between both seasons of the series, Westworld has snagged a total of 42 nominations at the Emmys. Last year Wright was in the category for supporting actor so things have changed quite a bit on his end over the last year.

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Wright’s Bernard has continuously gone through the wringer over the two seasons and perhaps the most dramatic moment for his character and the fans was learning that he himself is a host. The second season presented a unique challenge with the robot revolution in full swing and Bernard at the center of all the confusion.

"“What has emerged for him is a new sense of self and sense of freedom. Ultimately the journey for him is one toward agency and one toward self-determination. For that reason, Bernard’s story is a metaphor for the existences we all enjoy or don’t enjoy right now. The construct allows us a lot of deep exploration into the human experience.”"

As mentioned on Gold Derby, Wright submitted the season 2 finale, “The Passenger”, as his submission for the Emmys. This is quite the fitting episode in our opinion considering the drama that unfolded throughout it. According to Wright, “Trying to manage that math of his dysfunction and his awakening was pretty tough”. Tell us about it.

The pressure is at an all-time high when the actors are fans of the show themselves, and it is essentially up to them to deliver the story in the best way possible that is satisfying for the fans. And while season 2 may have been confusing to follow, Wright was most definitely the best part of it.

Here’s to wishing the best of luck to Jeffrey Wright as the Emmys approach, and if you’re looking to predict winners for the award show, definitely visit Gold Derby to cast your votes!