When Hal Wyler (played by Rufus Sewell) was injured in an explosion at the end of The Diplomat Season 1, he didn’t expect it to leave emotional scars. “He’s not just being cavalier about it,” Sewell explains about his character’s disposition in Season 2. “He has experienced these things before. He’s experienced them a lot of times. He’s been in very dangerous situations. People have tried to kill him. He’s been in explosions. So he’s taken by surprise I think by it affecting him.” Watch our complete video interview with Sewell above.
The Diplomat, which premiered its second season on Netflix on Oct. 31, follows Kate Wyler (Keri Russell), the United States ambassador to the United Kingdom, as she investigates an attack on a British aircraft carrier that killed dozens. The new episodes continue that mystery, while Hal uses his own skills at diplomacy to play an unofficial role in uncovering the truth. Meanwhile, Hal and Kate continue to clash over political ambition and the moral compromises required by their work.
But did Hal’s latest brush with death fundamentally change him and his approach to politics and intrigue. It’s not that simple, according to the actor. “ I think that everything that happens to a person contributes to the noise that surrounds them and becomes what they see as themselves,” says Sewell. The key to this traumatic event, however, is that it happened at a low point in the Wylers’ marriage. “ In a moment like that, you’re just confronted with your fear of loss, your need for them, and that kind of elemental need to just be with someone and touch them because they’re alive.”
The explosion also puts them in a position where there are few others they can trust. “ So in this situation, Hal, because he doesn’t have an official title, can be the receptacle of secrets and knowledge that she can’t. So he’s a very useful, in fact vital link for her at this time.” So while Hal is an unpredictable “live wire” whom Kate can’t predict, “ he is there for her. And it’s often the case in relationships that the things that people can’t stand about each other are the things that they love each other for as well. It’s a very complicated mix. … Everything that’s wrong about them is what’s also right about them.”
As for whether Hal and Kate will still be together when their story runs its course, “ I have no hopes. I trust [showrunner Debora Cahn] and the writing team and the whole creature of the show so much that I’m happy with wherever it goes.” And he doesn’t mind strife along the way. In fact, he relishes it. “ I like it when things go wrong,” he admits. That’s where the drama is, after all.
