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Cape Town – Amazon’s original series The Man in the High Castle is back with a third season and it’s totally different than the last two.
The series – which is based on a book by Philip K. Dick – is set in a dystopian America ruled by Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan.
The main protagonist is a young woman named Juliana Crain who discovers a mysterious film that may hold the key to toppling the regimes that repress her and so many others.
In the lead up to the new season (which is available now on Amazon Prime Video) Channel24 spoke to Alexa Davalos, who plays Juliana, and Rufus Sewell, who plays Obergruppenführer John Smith (a member of the Nazi high command).
The two stars spoke about the differences between this season and the first two and how their characters have developed.
HERE’S CHANNEL24’S INTERVIEW WITH RUFUS SEWELL AND ALEXA DAVALOS:
Alexa says that the newly released episodes of the popular streaming show are a departure saying, "In the third season we’ve taken a dive into the alternative reality in a much more profound manner and it broadens the horizon and narrative as well as all other aspects of the show.
"It has a very different energy that I feel effects absolutely every storyline."
Rufus agreed and elaborated saying, "Yes, and in terms of genre it’s expanding. That is what makes it interesting for us, we are portraying different versions of characters and the psychological effects that has on the characters (we already know) can also be quite profound. So, it will also have a big emotional impact on the characters. I think it will make for very interesting viewing."
WATCH A TRAILER FOR SEASON 3 HERE:
About how their characters have changed when we meet them in the new season, Alexa mused, "For Juliana I think especially when we meet her (in season one), she is an ordinary woman who is living in a very repressed society with a glass ceiling.
"Then there’s this event that changes the course of her life quite profoundly. It (the death of her sister in season one) pushes her to a different world ultimately where she had to change and adapt, quite dramatically on all levels."
Rufus was more hesitant about saying that John Smith had changed or grown adding, "I’m not entirely sure if it’s a matter of changing or revealing. To me, John has been slowly revealed in a way that I would hope shows the audience the internal workings of this man.
"The way that it was revealed is a change in his circumstances. The chickens are coming home to roost for the acts of his past. People have said ‘oh is he starting to have doubts?’ and I think that is partially the case.
"The doubts are becoming harder and harder to avoid (for him). He’s beginning to live with consequences of something I always felt was headed his way."
The series, as a whole, deals with some very tough themes from grieving and loss to fighting for what you believe in. A lot of the scenes are sometimes heartbreaking to watch and one can imagine that they must be tough to film, but that’s something Rufus doesn’t think actors should open up about firmly stating, "I don’t think actors should talk about moments. It kills them. I’m keeping those to myself."
Alexa gave a bit more away but was wary of spoilers, hesitantly saying; "I think that there’s a moment in the fifth episode of the third season, and I’m not sure how much I can talk about it, because it is a gigantic spoiler.
"So, even though I would love to tell you all about it I’m not allowed to."
About possibly seeing what happened to South Africa in the alternative reality of the show, Rufus laughingly said; "We all have our projections about where we want the writers to travel."
Adding; "I have, I worked in Cape Town and I spent quite a bit of time in Plettenberg Bay. I did a series down there and had a wonderful time."
An experience Alexa really wants to have sometime soon, saying, "I haven’t been to South Africa, I was just talking, I was just talking to Rufus about wanting to go and he was telling me about his time there."
