'Jack Ryan' Season 3 Interviews - John Krasinski, Wendell Pierce, Nina Hoss
The stars of ‘Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan' Season 3 including John Krasinski (Jack Ryan/Executive Producer), Wendell Pierce (James Greer), Michael Kelly (Mike November), Nina Hoss (Alena Kovac), and Betty Gabriel (Elizabeth Wright) discuss their Prime Video series in this interview with CinemaBlend's Sean O'Connell. They dive into what makes season 3 bigger and better than those that came before it and much more.
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00:00 I'm lucky to have, to count these two as my lifelong friends and it's the thing I'll miss
00:04 the most but it's also the thing I'm most proud of that I have going forward.
00:07 Jack, if you've got a plan, the time is now.
00:10 And gentlemen, how are we?
00:18 Good, how you doing?
00:20 Good to see you.
00:21 John, I want to start here with you.
00:22 We've seen the Jack Ryan character go through a massive evolution throughout the first two
00:27 seasons and I'm curious how you as a performer continue to keep him grounded in the face of
00:32 what have to be constantly raised stakes.
00:35 Yeah, wow, it's a great question.
00:38 I mean, keeping him grounded is always an easy thing because of who I get to play with.
00:43 I mean, I think these characters and what he needs to do to trust people and to rely
00:48 on people is what makes him a human.
00:50 You know, I think that him trusting his gut and having someone say that it's dangerous
00:53 to trust your gut is what makes the character interesting rather than, you know, like other
00:58 heroes able to go off and do whatever he wants.
01:00 There's consequences to what Jack does.
01:02 So as far as raising the stakes, I think we raised the stakes in every single way we could
01:06 for season three.
01:06 We actually had the fans in mind when we came up with the idea for season three because
01:11 we knew once we were pushed and clearly the pandemic is what delayed us and once we knew
01:16 that there would be that much time between the two seasons, we wanted to create something
01:20 that the fans, you know, it was worth the wait for them.
01:23 So I thought, you know, having the CIA be the one that's chasing Jack and actually he's
01:29 being hunted down by his own agency is pretty good for as far as raising the stakes goes.
01:35 And for me, it was probably the most fun season to shoot because of that.
01:38 I think that, you know, getting to, you know, when you're red noticed and on your own, you
01:43 have to do things very, very differently, like asking him for help and hoping that your
01:48 best friend back at the agency is taking care of you, even though it's against the law for
01:52 him to do so.
01:53 So I don't know, it was definitely, I think this is the most action packed we've had.
01:57 And I also think it's the most beautifully, beautifully intricate story we've had in
02:02 the show as well.
02:03 If you don't come in, you will be recalled.
02:05 I come in now, a whole lot of people are going to die.
02:08 Betty, I'm curious, what are some of the challenges that come with joining a show
02:12 midstream?
02:14 Well, there are a lot more benefits than challenges, but definitely I was challenged by how much
02:23 intelligence gathering this character has to do and has to deliver.
02:29 She's got a lot of things to explain.
02:35 So that was challenging, but it was really great to, and it is intimidating to come into
02:41 a world that's already established people that are already really know who their characters
02:45 are, but they couldn't have been more generous.
02:48 John and Wendell, who I do most of my stuff with, couldn't have been more generous and
02:53 open and connected with me.
02:57 And that's such a blessing.
02:59 So it felt easy to join.
03:03 Nina, just your association with the Tom Clancy books, what was your history with them?
03:08 And do you look at them any differently now that you've lived in the world for a little
03:11 bit?
03:11 I must admit, I wasn't a big Tom Clancy reader, but I've seen before, but I've seen,
03:20 you know, my story with Jack Ryan starts with, what is the John Connery film?
03:27 The Red.
03:28 Oh, Hunt for Red October.
03:30 Hunt for Red October, exactly.
03:32 So that is a film that really stuck with me.
03:35 And that's where I entered the Jack Ryan universe, you know, and then going through
03:40 all the films that have been made with several great actors, you know, and then having seen
03:46 all the two previous seasons with John, where I think he brought, I mean, I love him as
03:53 Jack Ryan, you know, I was really a fan.
03:56 And yeah, so that is my, I can't really talk about the books, to be honest, but I love
04:03 the whole universe of Jack Ryan always, because it brings together the action world with the
04:10 politics of it all, the politics within an institution like the CIA, but also, you know,
04:18 it takes you to all different cultures and countries.
04:22 So you learn about that.
04:24 And it's just a very fascinating, exciting character, yeah, that you get to travel the
04:33 world with, basically.
04:34 And save it, save it also.
04:37 We hope.
04:37 Yes, we hope.
04:38 Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, we hope.
04:40 Jack, every second matters.
04:43 Wendell, from what fans have seen in the trailers and the commercials, it looks like you're
04:48 doing a lot of monitoring from afar.
04:50 So I'm curious of how your relationship with Jack is changing going into this season and
04:54 how your role is changing going into this season.
04:56 Well, I am a part of the leadership of the agency.
05:01 And so my relationship is as strong as it ever was with Jack, because he saved my life
05:08 and I'll be forever indebted to him.
05:10 And I trust him.
05:11 And so, so much so that when he breaks out of his lane and the agency is actually in
05:20 pursuit of him, that I will do everything to protect him.
05:23 I will help him from the minute it happens.
05:26 I know that I have to protect him.
05:30 And you see that in the first episode right away.
05:32 And so it's illumination of our trust, the loyalty that I have to him and making sure
05:42 that I'm protecting him, protecting his six, you know, at the agency and outside the agency
05:49 and making sure he's getting to where he needs to go.
05:51 Nina, what is a quality or maybe a skill associated with your character that audiences are not
05:58 expecting to see?
05:58 That's a good question.
06:02 I think with having an idea of what a politician should be or is, you might be surprised of
06:12 how human she is.
06:14 Oh, good.
06:15 You know, yeah.
06:16 Maybe I leave it at that.
06:19 Jesus.
06:24 Betty, I want to get your take on binging a television show versus giving yourself a
06:29 week to breathe, especially on a show that can be as intense as Jack Ryan has been.
06:33 Yes.
06:35 And, you know, I've been on a couple of bingeable TV shows.
06:39 I don't recommend it, honestly.
06:41 I think there is such a thing as TV fatigue.
06:45 And I would caution audience members to be mindful of that.
06:49 And I don't simply because there's such great depth to these characters and there's a lot
06:56 of things going on.
06:58 So I think just a little bit of a break after, you know, three or four episodes is advisable
07:03 to so that you get everything.
07:05 So what are the odds this is a one way trip?
07:09 80, 90 percent.
07:10 It's my last fight.
07:11 Won't be in coach.
07:12 John, it's comforting going into a season when you know the season four is going to
07:16 end your story that you can sort of dictate where it goes.
07:18 What are you going to miss the most about playing this character?
07:20 These two people right here, you know, all the all the times that we have off camera
07:26 are as exciting to me as what you get to see on camera.
07:31 Shooting the show was thrilling and getting to work with them as actors.
07:34 But the time that we had off camera together and still continue to, you know, it's very
07:39 rare that you end a job and you usually have acquaintances at work.
07:43 You never have lifelong friends.
07:44 So I'm lucky to have to count these two as my lifelong friends.
07:47 And it's the thing I'll miss the most, but it's also the thing I'm most proud of that
07:51 I have going forward.
07:52 It's amazing.
07:53 Thank you guys for your time.
07:54 I really appreciate it.
07:55 Thank you.
07:55 Thank you.
07:56 You're about to cross the line and there may be no going back.
08:00 Because I'm trying to do the right thing.
08:01 [Music]