Dr. Robert Fords journey onWestworldcame to an unexpected and apparent conclusion in Sundays finale.
This was your first serious TV show, at least in the United States.
What drew you to this project originally?
Credit: John P. Johnson/HBO
They sent me the film book to read.
I love to work.
And Id seen the originalWestworld.
But I couldnt remember it, I only remembered the actors Yul Brynner, Richard Benjamin.
And I said: What do they want me to be?
And he said, Some doctor.
So, Jon, we met and he gave me the script.
He said you play the man who invents Westworld.
I said, Is it like Walt Disney?
He said, Yeah, but its even darker than that.
Its almost like a Frankenstein.
So I said, Yes, Ill do it.
So it was a gamble, and I wanted to do it.
And then the series was picked up.
So what was interesting was to not know which way the story was heading.
I said to Jon, What happens to him?
He said, I cant tell you.
So I said, What happens next week?
And he said, I wont tell you.
They sent me the script and I think, Oh, this is interesting.
What was your favorite scene to shoot?
I thought it was really interesting there was a deeper, darker side to Ford.
Because he warns her.
They want to control me.
She looks and me and she knows theres no way she can beat me.
And I played my usual charming self.
I say, Would you like some more wine?
Of course, she knows that I will destroy her.
So hes a destructive man, as well.
I think hes troubled by his own conscience.
And then he destroys himself.
Your characters morality is pretty cryptic at times.
I love that film.
Lean and [Alec] Guinness, great performances.
You are thinking of Guinness building the bridge, right?
Yeah, to show the Japanese, to show them the British Empire.
And James Donald, who plays the officer, says, This is madness.
Guinness wants to build a perfect bridge for the enemy.
That moment is the most moving because hes an idealist.
He wanted to show them the British can do this.
And he doesnt realize until then.
And he falls on the plunger [and dies].
That is what Ford is.
You dont really use the internet, Ive read.
Is there any technological rig that you do love and couldnt live without?
I sit on my iPad and read books.
All I know is that I have no control and there is no controlling it.
Theres no guarantee of anything.
I remember going to see John F. Kennedys grave in Arlington and I remember the assassination so well.
And I remember that night of the assassination.
I stood at that grave 20 years ago and I thought, Isnt it peculiar?
There no guarantees in the glamorous Camelot.
And then for Robert Kennedy.
So never mind how perfect you are, or how well youve got it made.
Theres always something unpredictable.
And thats what I love the unpredictability.
So people ask my what my opinion is about the present [political] situation.
And I say I dont know.
I really dont know.
Do I have an opinion?
Not really, but I dont think its that important.
Now we often have sequels and reboots like this one.
Is there any character from your past that you would like to revisit?
But I thoughtGodfather Part IIwas great.
And I think, with HBO, the great power is theres no interference on the set.
With a movie you know the beginning and the end [and] thats it.
You film it and you go home.
On this, it was never shown which way it was going to go.
And there were lots of surprises along the way.
What was his motivation?
I honestly dont know.
Yes, recently in concepts of the divine.
According to Jon, storytelling started with Homer thats very recent in human biology.
It only happened very recently that we began to understand that consciousness was present in a voice.
Where was that voice coming from?
So they put two and two together.
It must be an outside force.
And looked up at the painting of God giving life to Adam.
But in the cloak of God [was drawn] the human brain the Cerebellum and the vestibular.
All human creativity comes out of that.
But we couldnt cope with it even though its obviously there.
So we must develop this conspiracy.
And maybe theyre right, I dont know.
But I think that the conspiracy is there must be a god, theremustbe something beyond us.
And maybe thats where God came from.
The instinct to worship.
Because we kill in the name of god.
MoreWestworldfinale coverage:
Ourdeep-dive recap breaks down everythingin The Bicameral Mind.
Westworld producers talk thosefinaletwists, and season 2
OurQ&A with star Ed Harrisabout those big twists.
10 burning unanswered questions
Later: Our finale edition of ourWestworld: Analysis Modepodcast
