Luke Hemsworth wanted viewers to warm to Jules Landry, the self-obsessed CIA agent turned mercenary he plays in Prime Video’s The Terminal List, even as they recognized how bad his judgment could be.
“It’s such a joy to explore that dichotomy, to have this guy who’s charismatic and enigmatic but has such a terrible moral compass, right? And yet you can’t help but like him as well,” Hemsworth said.
He connected that interest to the fascination with serial killers: “People want to marry Ted Bundy! Psychologically, we’re weird, and I wanted to tap into that and explore it a little further.”
Playing a CIA character who looked and sounded unlike any he’d seen also meant accepting that his approach might not work.
Humour gave him another way into Landry. Hemsworth said he and executive producers Max Adams and Jared Shaw developed the character’s gallows humour early on, drawing on the jokes people make in dire military situations.
In a show with dark subject matter and little space for comedy, Landry could release some of the tension.
“So I thought, let’s lean into making Landry the guy who always says the awkward thing, but it’s also the truthful thing, right?” Hemsworth said.