COVER STORY
up shortly after last season’s shocking finale.
Dolores finally came to understand that her
‘damsel in distress’ life-on-a-loop was a lie
and she killed the theme park’s inventor,
Dr Robert Ford (Sir Anthony Hopkins). Joy
adds mysteriously: “Let’s just say that once
Dolores shoots Ford, that is the opening
salvo to a game that you can’t turn of.”
What Joy can reveal is Westworld’s
fantastic ability to successfully balance the
female and male storylines will shine through
once again. Key to that is the incredible
performances of the cast, especially that of
Wood and her co-star Thandie Newton – who
plays android brothel madam Maeve Millay.
Once again, Dolores and Maeve will be at
the centre of the action, and Joy explains
she feels extremely proud of the upcoming
female-driven plots.
“For me, the first outing was the story of
these women finding their voices and their
identities,” she explains. “This has a new
thematic bend to it because once you’ve
found your voice, once you understand
what the world is and you’ve seen the bits
of evil inside it, what do you do now and
who do you become?”
Joy continues: “The first season was
about coming of age and the second is
a war story that marks the birth of more than
one leader, frankly. They’re all exploring the
moral choices and sacrifices they must face
in order to do what they need to do, and
create the world they believe they must.”
Newton says portraying a fierce, brave
and highly-intelligent woman in Westworld
has been one of the many joys of being
involved in the acclaimed production.
“She is easily the smartest character I’ve
ever played and, when I started the project,
I had no idea how fascinating she would be,”
the Line of Duty star says. “The premise is
where I started and then it just unravelled
into this extraordinary gift, for the narrative,
for women everywhere, for men by extension
and for me as an actress.”
The actress is careful not to give much
away about the motivations of Maeve, but
Wood hints that the moral choices Dolores
faces this time around are going to throw
up a great challenge for her character.
“She’s in a place where she knows what
she has to do, but it doesn’t mean it doesn’t
pain her to do it,” she says. “In Westworld,
you walk a fine line between being powerful
and being free, and those are going to be
interesting dynamics to play with.”
There’s also a fine line to navigate between
using nudity to better serve the storyline or
for the sake of being gratuitous. Fans know
seeing flesh is the norm in Westworld, with
many of the actors who play androids stripped
for Body Shop work. Wood says she’s made
her peace with taking of her clothes.
“My first day working with Anthony Hopkins,
I was completely nude doing a scene with
him and I wanted to pretend it was a dream
I had about being a robot in the future and
Anthony Hopkins was there – but that was
actually my job that day!” she laughs.
While she can freely crack jokes at her
predicament, the feminist insists that nobody
on Westworld feels exploited.
“It was explained to us at the beginning
that the nudity was never gratuitous but very
sterile and not even the most flattering all the
time,” she adds. “Everyone is so professional
and respectful and wonderful that you feel
Bernard/Arnold’s
(Jerey Wright)
self-awareness
changes everythingThe Man in Black
(Ed Harris) has
become the hunted“[Maeve] is easily the smartest character
I’ve ever played... I had no idea how
fascinating she would be” – handie Newton
14 Foxtel APRIL