Maxance Vincent
Warning: The following article and video interview contains major spoilers for 3 Body Problem.
When joining Netflix’s incredibly ambitious 3 Body Problem, actor Jovan Adepo tells Awards Radar on Zoom that he was not at all familiar with Liu Cixin’s Remembrance of the Earth’s Past trilogy, which comprises The Three-Body Problem, The Dark Forest, and Death’s End. When he was ultimately cast as Saul Durand, the actor stated that he wanted to delve into the books to understand the story but wasn’t ready for the journey that was completing it:
“Once I started the casting process, that’s when I decided to finally venture in and try to familiarize myself with the book. It took me two tries to do so. The first reading was the traditional way, which was a task in and of itself. I then read it again to grasp the concepts through an audiobook. I listened to it whenever I was in the car, driving around town, and trying to get things done, and it helped much more than the first.”
Throughout his bibliography, Cixin’s concepts embedded in his sci-fi novels are rich and incredibly complex to grasp. However, Adepo explains that he had complete confidence in showrunners David Benioff, D.B. Weiss, and Alexander Woo in not only fulfilling Cixin’s vision for 3 Body Problem but also adapting the story in a far more layered and diverse way:
“When you put that task in the hands of people like David Benioff, Dan, and Alex, you must feel confident in what they’re trying to create. Even from that first meeting, I had with them, you could see that this was a project they had become familiar with, and they spent a lot of time trying to figure out how they would adapt the characters to make them more complex and diverse.
After I left their offices that first day, I was really excited to get to be a part of it. I hadn’t gotten information on who else was being cast at that point because it was so early on. But once I got to see who they were bringing on board, I was really excited. I’m a genuine fan of all of my cast mates and the work they’ve done in the past, so it was really fun to come together on this super team.”
Saul Durand is one of the most interesting characters of 3 Body Problem, as he begins the series with a more laid-back attitude on the arrival of the San-Ti than the rest of the Oxford Five, while Auggie Salazar (Eiza Gonzalez) sees a doomsday countdown in front of her eyes. In introducing audiences to Saul’s personality, the actor explains that the most important thing for him in figuring out who Saul was would be to try and figure out how he differs from him:
“I’d like to think that I myself am incredibly ambitious in all aspects of my life. And to play someone who lacks that was my starting point. When you’re dealing with showrunners like this, where they’ve done their homework, it makes it much easier for the actor to come in and trust what’s on the page. I think they did a great job of having Saul as someone who can sit back and watch things develop before he gives his opinion insights. That is a refreshing contrast, especially when the bigger issue of the show rears its head because everyone is trying to figure out what this problem is and what’s going on in the world around them. The Oxford Five have strong opinions and insights about what’s going on and how to handle it.
When everyone goes back and forth simultaneously, everyone drowns out the noise from other people. When that’s happening, Saul is sitting back and letting all that happen. He only steps forward to give his opinion when asked for it at a pivotal moment. I always tried to remember that in scenes with my cast mates when Saul appeared to lack awareness. That’s just on the surface, but I do think when he’s not listening or paying attention, he absolutely is, but is just being subtle.”
However, as the show progresses, Saul’s arc also evolves, and he becomes the center of attention in the first season’s finale, surviving two assassination attempts and being named one of the Wallfacers by the Secretary General of the United Nations (CCH Pounder). In shifting Saul’s arc in a completely different direction than what the show initially presented him, Adepo says that “it happened organically because of what was written by our brilliant showrunners. It’s a guy we’ve probably recognized in our own lives. Someone who has all of the natural gifts and abilities and has all of the tools necessary to have what is worth a very successful and meaningful life in his career or personal life, but, for whatever reason, he just lacks something that he needs to put into motion to be able to make that happen.
We see somebody like that in the entire series, who gets appointed into one of the most important jobs in world history. That’s a little bizarre, right? How do you go from somebody who barely wants to do his full shift at work to being the most important person in the world, or, in this case, one of three?
Seeing how he’s trying to come to terms with that reality at the beginning of episode eight was just fun to play because he doesn’t realize how important the world needs him to do what he has the capability to do. No matter how much he runs from it, everybody around him is giving him this weird energy, like, “You can say no, but you’re gonna do this job.” It was really fun to get to feel this weird essence of people knowing I have this power but trying not to offend me. If we’re fortunate enough to get to do another season, I think that audiences, including myself, will be able to take an outside look into Saul’s arc. I would like to see him rise to the occasion or not. Even if he does eventually rise to the occasion, I think it shouldn’t be without struggle and obstacles because that’s what makes for an interesting drama. You have to have a bit of hardship coming to the final stage of where he needs to be. So I’m curious how it will evolve if we continue to tell him that story. And I think fans will be curious about that as well.”
With the show now confirmed to return for another season, Saul is the most interestingly positioned character to evolve in a way far greater than the finale teased him he would. But there’s also so much more to Saul’s arc that we discussed in our video conversation, seen below, including how he built a relationship with the Oxford Five and his poignant friendship with Will (Alex Sharp). We also discussed the process of filming a scene like Will’s goodbye in episode seven, the key discussions he had with Benioff, Weiss, and Woo on his character, and what has been the most rewarding for him as an actor to step into the world of Liu Cixin for the first time.
You can check out my full interview with Jovan below and stream all episodes of 3 Body Problem on Netflix:
[Some of the quotes in this article have been edited for length and clarity]
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