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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00:00I'm lucky to have, to count these two as my lifelong friends, and it's the thing I'll miss
00:04the most, but it's also the thing I'm most proud of that I have going forward.
00:07Jack, if you've got a plan, the time is now.
00:17And gentlemen, how are we?
00:19Good, how you doing?
00:20Good to see you.
00:21John, I want to start here with you.
00:22We've seen the Jack Ryan character go through a massive evolution throughout the first two
00:27seasons, and I'm curious how you, as a performer, continue to keep him grounded in the face of what
00:32have to be constantly raised stakes.
00:36Yeah, wow, it's a great question.
00:38I mean, keeping him grounded is always an easy thing because of who I get to play with.
00:43I mean, I think these characters and what he needs to do to trust people and to rely
00:48on people is what makes him a human.
00:50You know, I think that him trusting his gut and having someone say that it's dangerous
00:53to trust your gut is what makes the character interesting rather than, you know, like other
00:58heroes able to go off and do whatever he wants.
01:00There's consequences to what Jack does.
01:02So as far as raising the stakes, I think we raised the stakes in every single way we could
01:06for season three.
01:08We actually had the fans in mind when we came up with the idea for season three because
01:11we knew once we were pushed and clearly the pandemic is what delayed us.
01:15And once we knew that there would be that much time between the two seasons, we wanted
01:19to create something that the fans, you know, was worth the wait for them.
01:23So I thought, you know, having the CIA be the one that's chasing Jack and actually he's
01:29being hunted down by his own agency is pretty good for as far as raising the stakes goes.
01:35And for me, it was probably the most fun season to shoot because of that.
01:38I think that, you know, getting to, you know, when you're red notice and on your own, you
01:43have to do things very, very differently, like asking him for help and hoping that your
01:48best friend back at the agency is taking care of you, even though it's against the
01:51law for him to do so.
01:53So I don't know.
01:54It was definitely, I think this is the most action packed we've had.
01:57And I also think it's the most beautifully, beautifully, beautifully intricate story we've
02:01had in the show as well.
02:03If you don't come in, you will be recalled.
02:05If I come in now, a whole lot of people are going to die.
02:08Betty, I'm curious.
02:09What are some of the challenges that come with joining a show midstream?
02:13Well, you're it's there are a lot of there are a lot more benefits than challenges, but
02:19that definitely I was challenged by how much intelligence gathering this character has
02:26to do and has to deliver.
02:29She's got a lot of things to explain.
02:34So that was challenging.
02:36But it was really great to and it is intimidating to come into a world that's already established
02:41people that are already really know who their characters are, but they couldn't have been
02:46more generous.
02:46John and Wendell, who I do most of my stuff with, couldn't have been more generous and
02:52open and and connected with me.
02:56And that's such a blessing.
02:58So it was it felt easy to to join Nina, just your association with the Tom Clancy books.
03:06What was your history with them?
03:07And do you look at them any differently now that you've lived in the world?
03:10I must admit, I wasn't a big Tom Clancy reader, but I've seen it before, but I've seen, you
03:19know, my my my story with Jack Ryan starts with what is the John Connery film, The Red
03:27Hunt for Red October, exactly.
03:30So that is a film that really stuck with me.
03:34And that's where I entered the Jack Ryan universe, you know, and then going into the
03:38universe, you know, and then going through all the films that have been made with several
03:43great actors, you know, and then having seen all the the the two previous seasons with
03:49John, where I think he brought I mean, I love him as Jack Ryan, you know, I was really a
03:56fan.
03:56And yeah, so that is my I can't really talk about the books, to be honest, but I love
04:03the whole universe of of Jack Ryan always because it brings together the the action
04:08world with the politics of it all, the politics within an institution like the CIA.
04:16But also, you know, it takes you to all different cultures and countries.
04:22So you learn about that.
04:24And it's it's it's just it's just a very fascinating, exciting character.
04:31Yeah, that that you get to travel the world with basically and save it.
04:35Save it also.
04:37We hope.
04:37Yes, we hope.
04:39Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.
04:40We hope.
04:41Jack, every second matters.
04:43Wendell, from what fans have seen in the trailers and the commercials, it looks like you're
04:48doing a lot of monitoring from afar.
04:50So I'm curious of how your relationship with Jack is changing going into this season and
04:54how your role is changing going into this season.
04:57Well, I am a part of the leadership of the agency.
05:02And so my relationship is as strong as it ever was with Jack because he saved my life
05:08and I'll be forever indebted to him and I trust him.
05:12And so so much so that when he breaks out of his lane and and the agency is actually
05:20in pursuit of him, that I will do everything to protect him.
05:23I will help him from the minute it happens.
05:27I know that I have to protect him.
05:30And you see that in the first episode right away.
05:33And so it's illumination of our trust, the loyalty to that I have to him and making sure
05:42that I'm protecting him, protecting his six, you know, at the agency and outside the agency,
05:49making sure he's getting to where he needs to go.
05:52Nina, what is a quality or maybe a skill associated with your character that audiences
05:57are not expecting to see?
06:01That's a good question.
06:03I think with having an idea of what a politician should be or is, you might be surprised of
06:12how human she is.
06:14Oh, good.
06:16You know, yeah.
06:17Maybe I leave it at that.
06:22Jesus.
06:24Betty, I want to get your take on binging a television show versus giving yourself a
06:29week to breathe, especially on a show that can be as intense as Jack Ryan has been.
06:34Yes.
06:35And, you know, I've been on a couple of bingeable TV shows.
06:39I don't recommend it, honestly.
06:41I think I think there is such a thing as TV fatigue.
06:45And I would caution audience members to be mindful of that.
06:49And I don't simply because there's such great depth to these characters and there's a lot
06:56of things going on.
06:58So I think just a little bit of a break after, you know, three or four episodes is advisable
07:04to so that you get everything.
07:07So what are the odds this is a one way trip?
07:0980, 90 percent.
07:10That's my last fight won't be in coach.
07:12John, it's comforting going into a season when you know the season four is going to
07:16end your story, that you can sort of dictate where it goes.
07:18What are you going to miss the most about playing this character?
07:21These two people right here.
07:23You know, all the all the times that we have off camera are as exciting to me as what you
07:29get to see on camera.
07:31Shooting the show was thrilling and getting to work with them as actors.
07:34But the time that we had off camera together and still continue to, you know, it's very
07:39rare that you end a job and you usually have acquaintances at work.
07:43You never have lifelong friends.
07:44So I'm lucky to have to count these two as my lifelong friends.
07:47And it's the thing I'll miss the most, but it's also the thing I'm most proud of that
07:51I have going forward.
07:52It's amazing.
07:53Thank you guys for your time.
07:54I really appreciate it.
07:55Thank you.
07:55Thank you.
07:57You're about to cross the line and there may be no going back.
08:00Because I'm trying to do the right thing.