How Rufus Sewell Found a TV Role Worth Staying For
For the past several decades, Rufus Sewell navigated his career with an overarching no-no: getting stuck on a continuing TV show. “The idea of security has always filled me with fear,” says the London native. “The idea of being tethered was never my dream.” Yet…
For the past several decades, Rufus Sewell navigated his career with an overarching no-no: getting stuck on a continuing TV show. “The idea of security has always filled me with fear,” says the London native.
“The idea of being tethered was never my dream.” Yet, while he’d previously starred on Prime Video’s The Man in the High Castle for four seasons, Sewell has noticed a change in his mentality with Netflix’s political drama The Diplomat, on which he just.
What Happened
As the wily, at times maddeningly self-interested Hal Wyler, the actor has worked wonders opposite star Keri Russell, who plays Kate Wyler, in creator Debora Cahn’s tricky portrait of contemporary marriage and power. While Russell has received Emmy nominations from the beginning.
He can be painted as a villain rather easily, which Sewell resists on a constant basis.
The plot moves in accordance with how characters evolve in their relationships — and Hal’s actions often inform the drama’s larger crises.
The Diplomat has expanded its scope to explore intimate stories of power and manipulation within its high-stakes political world.
Key Details
Sewell’s canny performance propels much of the character-driven mystery of The Diplomat. Hal recklessly careens between personal ambition and marital loyalty.
The actor requested years ago that Cahn inform him ahead of time of any character reveals being kept hidden, so as to feel more equipped to play a guy holding his cards perilously close.
Kate is as shocked as the audience to discover Hal’s betrayal — something Sewell had to keep in mind as he played a man sitting on big secrets all season long.
The finale then ends with a series of emotional, stunning scenes — Kate asking Hal to take her back, only to learn that he’d been working behind her back with Grace in matters of.
Why It Matters
The third season opens with newly minted U.S.
This leads the couple to separate for most of the season.
President Grace Penn (Allison Janney) selecting Hal as her VP, notably over Kate, a seasoned diplomat who’d been wrestling with her own complicated interest in the role.
What Reports Say
Coverage of the story so far points to:
Continued reporting by The Hollywood Reporter as more details emerge
