Hell on Wheels - Interview with Christopher Heyerdahl

I interviewed Joe and Tony Gayton and we were talking about the villains in this story, whether Doc Durant is an antagonist or a villain, whether The Swede is an antagonist or a villain. How do you look at him?
Christopher Heyerdahl: Given the choice of those two words, "antagonist," I would say. Because you're giving two examples of people who are in a place of authority. Doc Durant, he's the boss. He's the president. He's the one laying down the rules. He's paying the bills. Everyone's gotta do what he says, or you take the track in the opposite direction. The Swede, his job is to play the part of the enforcer. Without him, the railroad is not going to be built. Without him, there's chaos, because someone has to keep these thieves and brigands and murderers and dipsomaniacs in line or hell will break loose.


OK, I clearly gave you the wrong two words here. [He laughs loudly.] If I take "villain" and "antagonist" off the table, tell me about The Swede, then. Is he actually the hero of this story?
Christopher Heyerdahl: Well, the story is about him. It's just for some reason they keep cutting to other people. I don't really understand why. For me, he's a dream character, that I would have the opportunity to play a character who represents a huge part of my heritage in the form of someone who is complex and conflicted and joyful and terrifying and someone you cannot put a finger on... So is he a villain? Is he an antagonist? Is he a hero? Yes. He's all of those things. They've drawn out a very three-dimensional human being and so he's unpredictable.

Source: Full interview @ HitFix

Streaming Options

Powered byJustWatch

---