One of the inaugural original series on Apple's new premium streaming service Apple TV+ is the eagerly anticipated sci-fi series See. Starring Jason Momoa, the show takes place in a dystopian future where the human race has been stricken by blindness. Among the star-studded cast is fan-favorite actor Josh Blacker who portrays the totalitarian queen's Witchfinder Warrior, tasked with hunting down twins who have been born with a functioning sense of sight.
In an interview with CBR, Blacker (Stargate Universe, The 100) discusses working on the series, the appeal of appearing in genre television, and how Apple generously provided the cast and crew with the best preparation to create the ambitious, post-apocalyptic world.
With this series, we're seeing everyone globally has been stricken with blindness. How was it playing not just in that world but in this role as a departure from anything else you've ever done before?
Josh Blacker: Oh, there's no doubt this is different and that's where Apple was great giving us all of the tools we needed in order to properly and authentically display this world and what it is to be a person with blindness. So it was really interesting in that respect but, also, what it made you do as an actor is really listen, which is the number one thing you can do as an actor. Because if you can't see or watch somebody's face, you really have to listen well so I think that will be reflected in all of the performances.
But then, course, through our blindness consultant Joe Strechay, we were able to portray that the world these people were living in, where their other senses had become refined and attached. That was a real opportunity to authentically portray that and I'm grateful to Apple and Joe and the whole team and all the other actors who were blind or low-vision on-set, in that regard.
How was it working with guys like Jason Momoa -- fresh off Aquaman -- for this project?
It was phenomenal, it was a dream come true to work with any of the actors on the show. Christian Camargo is great, Alfre Woodard, Sylvia Hoeks. Jason and I had worked together a long time ago on a show called Stargate: Atlantis. He was obviously one of the leads, and it was one of my very first gigs -- I don't think he would remember, even -- but to see the success he's had is so great because I know how hard he works. He thrives and surrounds himself with people doing the best they can do and that's really the opportunity I took; to watch all these great actors do what they do and maybe take a few tools to throw in my toolbox as well.
You had mentioned Stargate; a lot of your repertoire is in science fiction. You've done The 100. Arrow has that cross-blend. What is it about that genre that keeps you constantly coming back and finding new depths and directions as an actor?
That's a great question. I think what draws me to the work is the world-building that you're able to create in either comic books or sci-fi because the normal rules of how we live in society don't really apply. It also allows you to really explore the various shades of goodness and evil in the world. I play a lot of bad guys and the sci-fi world and comic book world really presents so many opportunities to explore the different sides of how bad people can be and how amazingly good people can be.
To that point, how do you see your character fitting in the wider world of See? If he had to represent one thing across this eclectic cast and imaginative story, what would it be?
Wow, that is a great question! I would say it is the loyalty and commitment to the people that we care about the most. Obviously, he is the right-hand guy to the queen's general and is essentially the elite warrior that's supposed to fight against any questions. So loyalty to the people in your world -- immediate and beyond -- is one of the things I try to bring to this character and I think runs throughout the whole show. We use loyalty to omit blindness; to even speak about it is heresy. So I think that would be the one key thing and, in order to abide by that, loyalty.
Apple was great, they gave us about two months of movement and blindness training with various movement consultants, blindness consultants, dance consultants. During part of that process, there was a really interesting exercise we went through, but the question was why does this character do what he does? He's loyal on the greatest fringes to his queen and the queendom. He's loyal to his army and he's loyal to his general and he's loyal to himself. And I think those loyalties allow him to justify the things that he has to do to protect those various people in his life.
How was it working opposite Sylvia Hoeks?
She's remarkable. I really enjoyed her work in Blade Runner 2049 and The Girl in the Spider's Web. She just looked so committed in those roles and to get the chance to finally work with her was just a dream. I could see firsthand why she brings such riveting performances to the screen because she's deeply committed and deeply inquisitive about her characters. To watch someone of her caliber commit to the role like she did with such a force was remarkable and I learned a lot from her.
To go a bit more abstractly, what do you think it is about See that sets it apart from other sci-fi that we haven't quite seen -- no pun intended -- before?
I think, for me, a lot of sci-fi is about advancement whether it's about time and set in the future or advancement in technology. See is set in the future but people are living a much more primal existence. Technology has gone backwards, various monarchs over the past several years have banned books and banned technology. So I think that's what sets it apart. It might seem regressive but, in a lot of ways, it's advanced humanity.
The Earth has been reborn and replenished itself and healed and we've committed to smaller and smaller groups of people instead of living in cities of eight or ten million or how many it may be in shows set in the future. So I think that's the number one thing about how the world is portrayed and the lack of technology, but people are still able to get through and live meaningful lives.
You had mentioned Apple being very accommodating with resources and preparation for the role. What is it about this production through Apple -- you guys are leading the charge -- and this new platform that has been exciting and rewarding for you as an actor?
It's multifold. I think it can be summed up by their commitment; their commitment financially and their commitment to talent. Just to look and see who's involved with the show, working with Francis Lawrence as a director whose work I've really admired; The Hunger Games movies he's done are phenomenal. And Steven Knight is one of the best writers working today; Peaky Blinders and Lock was terrific movie.
So they're commitment to talent and putting all the resources they could -- there wasn't anything we ever wanted for on the show in terms of presenting it authentically and building the world we really wanted to create -- and as an actor, that's a dream. Everything is taken care of and you can just really focus on portraying the character as best as you possibly can.
Starring Jason Momoa and Alfre Woodard, See launches today with Apple TV+.