Arnold Schwarzenegger promised he would be back, and, true to his word, here he is in FUBAR. In his first leading TV role, the former Terminator actor portrays Luke Brunner, a CIA operative on the verge of retiring. Luke wants nothing more than to put his secret spy life to bed and win his ex-wife back. Those plans get blown up when he’s convinced to undertake one last mission in a foreign land. Out in the field, Luke makes a startling discovery: Years ago, the CIA recruited his daughter, Emma [Monica Barbaro]. Together, they must complete one more assignment and take down the villainous Boro [Gabriel Luna], a terrorist with personal ties to Luke.
Three operatives serve as Luke’s team. They include Barry [Milan Carter], Roo [Fortune Feimster], and Aldon [Travis Van Winkle]. Carter, Feimster, and Winkle spoke to CBR about their love of the spy genre, one-liners, and their Season 2 wish list.
CBR: What do you love about the spy genre?
Milan Carter: What I love about the spy genre is they are the coolest people in the world. What? To be a spy? Come on, man. Go on missions. Saving the world? It doesn’t get any better than that. And we get to do that? It’s called living your dream.
Fortune Feimster: That’s right. They give us skills that mean we feel like we have a little bit of a superpower when you do a show like this. It’s like, "Someone is in danger? Something has to be solved? We’ve got this." That’s a nice feeling.
Travis Van Winkle: You feel like you are doing something good for the world. You are saving humanity in some way. It feels empowering. What I like about our show is it’s a little different. Most shows pitch a problem in the beginning, you solve it, and then it starts a new episode with a new problem. Ours doesn’t do that. Our format is very different, which I think fans will really enjoy. We have a problem, we start to get into it, and before we even get close to solving it, the episode ends. The next episode will start with the problem. We solve it, add a new one, and it just continues. It’s a really exciting process.
The banter between the three of you stands out as a highlight. Who gets the best one-liners? Do each of you have a favorite piece of dialogue from your characters?
Feimster: I got to say a lot of pretty hilarious things. It was fun to be in the room when we were rehearsing the scene, and everybody would be like, "Oh, Fortune got to say that." I definitely had a wealth of fun material.
Van Winkle: I like Episode 7 when we were making fun of [Barry].
Carter: That was fun. Barry tries to explore his romantic life, and unfortunately, he doesn’t have any friends to depend on, and he has to depend on these two. That was a great time. I think some of the fun is all of the back-and-the-forth with Arnold. "Is the bee in the honey? Is the bun in the oven?" I’ll let the fans see those and let them pick what their favorite back-and-forth is with Arnold.
Travis, did you have a favorite for your character?
I don’t know if this even made it in, but when you say I have chlamydia and I say, "That was a typo." Just those little throwaway lines…
After watching the pilot, it felt like your characters would be sidelined from the action, but that’s not the case. Episode 2 finds them in a big explosive helicopter sequence. Can you talk about the challenges of filming that scene?
Carter: I was 50 feet in the air, suspended. I had 10 fans blowing on me. I’m swinging. At the same time, I had this big old gun. I think it was an AK-47, but I am no marksman -- and I had to shoot this, try to take out some enemies, and do my lines. That was a blast. It was almost like I was at an amusement park.
Van Winkle: Ours was a bit simpler. We were on a grounded helicopter. That was pretty much it.
Feimster: We never left the ground. We were just sitting there.
Carter: If you keep tuning in, there’s also one where I get thrown out of an airplane by Arnold. That’s another fun one.
Feimster: That was fun to watch because he had to scream like a baby.
Travis, you also participate in some bar brawls.
Van Winkle: I do. We have a great stunt team, and they propose these fights beforehand. They let you see what they have come up with and actually edit together a little clip that shows you what the fight looks like. When you see it, you get really excited, and you get to rehearse it with them. Then you can add whatever you want to add. On the day, you feel really prepared. That was a fun scene to shoot. I got to speak Romanian. I got to be the hero for Monica’s character. Then, I got to have that homage to Han Solo and had that little moment at the end of the scene.
Each character gets pushed outside of their comfort zone. What do they learn about themselves in these high-pressure situations?
Feimster: My character learns that there are things that she can do that she never thought she could do and that there were some fears underneath that I don’t think she realized that she had internalized. You have some neat moments with her later on where you learn more about why she is the way she is. That comes through having to do an action sequence.
Carter: To piggyback off that, most of the characters and what makes our show unique is that it’s not just about the outside action. Most spy shows, it’s, "Oh, there’s a bomb. We’ve got to go stop the bomb." In the process of us stopping the bomb, we get to internally explore our characters and deal with things. Barry, for instance, tested high in the CIA but had a heart condition. He could never actually go out in the field. So he created this world where he felt [like] he wasn’t good enough to be out in the field and help people. But he realizes when his family is at risk, he will do anything to save them.
Van Winkle: As the pressure gets higher, all of our dysfunction comes out more. That’s how life works. When it does, Aldon realizes [that] the support system he has is really special. Even though it’s work life, it’s family life. We took a fun video with Arnold yesterday, and I talk about teamwork. What you realize is that we are all supported. I like the camaraderie that we all have throughout the season. It’s something that stands out and stood out in the original scripts.
What is your bucket list for Season 2? Where would you like them to take your characters?
Feimster: Before we get to that, our first bucket list is we get a Season 2. We have to have people watch the show.
Carter: Make sure you tune into FUBAR and let Netflix know. What I am pitching right now is Barry doesn’t have a whole backstory in Season 1. So here we go. He was in an orphanage. He was a foster kid and did ninja training. Then he got brainwashed and forgot about his ninja training. In Season 2, something happens, and it unlocks that. Next thing you know, Barry is out there kicking butt.
Feimster: We are not sure why one gets ninja training.
Van Winkle: I am interested in his origin story. Let’s see it.
FUBAR will premiere on Netflix on May 25.