'Westworld': How Jeffrey Wright Learned About Bernard's Big Twist

(Spoiler alert: Please do not read on if you are not caught up on HBO’s “Westworld”)

“Westworld” has set the stage for a big war between the hosts that have been abused in the titular theme park and the humans who think they own them. At the center of it all is Bernard, the right hand man of Dr. Ford (Anthony Hopkins), who discovered in one of the show’s several dramatic twists that he has been deceived by his boss: he is, in fact, a robot designed to mimic the appearance and memories of Ford’s dead partner, Arnold.

For Jeffrey Wright, this mean that he had to secretly play both Bernard in present day scenes and Arnold in flashbacks throughout the series. To help him with this challenge, showrunner Lisa Joy deviated from a general rule she and Jonathan Nolan held to during filming. While most actors received new information about their characters on a need-to-know basis through scripts, Joy told Wright early on the truth about Bernard’s identity.

“I did not know when we filmed the pilot,” Wright explained to TheWrap. “But when we came back for filming, Lisa told me about Arnold. Frankly it would have been some kind of cruel torture if she hadn’t. It wouldn’t have made logical sense to me as an actor to have Bernard having these conversations with Dolores, when you think about it.”

Also Read: 'Westworld': Meaning Behind Finale Title 'The Bicameral Mind'

So after spending several episodes playing a character who thinks he’s human, Wright was called upon to suddenly shift into host mode, with all the vacant stares and frozen poses that acting job implies. Wright said that his time working with Evan Rachel Wood during Arnold’s conversations with Dolores helped him with the changes the role demanded of him in the second half of the season.

“I took some cues from her, and it was easy because she’s such a phenomenal actor,” he said. “But what was great about this role is that these hosts were designed to figure out ways to build layers of human emotion, and we as actors had to go through these same processes of emulating human-ness. It also helped that we had Jonathan and Lisa, who had a clear vision of who these characters were, had the ability to refine what we did.”

Also Read: Who Was the Real Villain of 'Westworld' Season 1?

Wright was reluctant to guess what Joy and Nolan have in store for Bernard next season, but he did discuss his own interpretation of Ford’s dramatic exit, in which he warned Bernard that the hosts would have to suffer greatly before earning their freedom before giving his manipulated associate a perfect view for his demise at the hands of Dolores. The war between humans and their creations has begun, and Bernard, the robot who has interacted with humans at a level and complexity no other host has, is stuck in the middle.

“The first layer of additional suffering for Bernard is at the end of the season,” Wright said. “There were the beginnings of a reconciliation with Ford, the beginning of a new, complex relationship. Now the entire world as the hosts know it has been breached wide open. Now the big question, which won’t get answered until next season, is where Bernard goes from here. Where does he belong?”

'Westworld' Characters Ranked From Worst to Best (Photos)

From top to bottom, the cast of "Westworld" has never ceased to intrigue us with their secrets and schemes. We've ranked them from worst to best.
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17.) Logan -- A disgusting, amoral heel of a human being who just keeps finding new ways to increase his scumbag level with every new episode. He did it all to find the "real" William. Turns out that was a big mistake.
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16.) Sizemore -- Another loudmouth jerk getting cut down to size. Sizemore loves to abuse the worker drones under his charge, but rolls up like a tortilla when someone higher on the Westworld ladder shoots down his plans.
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15.) Stubbs -- Stubbs is mostly there to advance other characters' storylines, from Elsie's investigations to Bernard and Theresa's affair. But now that he's been taken by the Ghost Nation, maybe there's something more interesting in store for him. Or he could just be dead.
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14.) Theresa -- She thought she was a major player in game of Westworld. But she was nothing more than Ford's pawn.
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13.) Armistice -- She's a ruthless gunslinger with a sweet tattoo and incredible accuracy… but her status as a host made her an easy kill for oafish guests. Maeve brought an end to that, and in the finale, she truly became the vicious snake she had been programmed to be.
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12.) Hector -- He's mostly been around to provide the mandated HBO ultra-violence, but the moment he discovered Maeve's safe is empty was a powerful one, indeed.
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11.) Lawrence -- "Westworld" really knows how to swerve us hard. We grew to pity Lawrence because he was abused by The Man In Black. Then we were jolted when it was revealed how dangerous Lawrence could truly be as one of the most powerful black-hat hosts in the park.
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10.) Charlotte -- When one of your scenes involves discussing your villainous master plan immediately after a round of rough sex with an android, you don't need to be around all season to make a big impression.
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9.) Elsie -- Poor Elsie. Her resourcefulness and determination made her the most likable of the human park staff, but her paranoia seems to have led to her demise. Is she really dead, or are the visions we saw of Bernard killing her a trick from Ford?
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8.) Clementine -- While Elsie's fate remains foggy, Clementine's has played out with a terrible finality. A life of being attacked, objectified and manipulated ended with her taking a new position as a lobotomized puppet. Maybe she can be programmed into a better place?
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7.) Teddy -- He may be the Kenny McCormick of Westworld, but at least he dies with style. Teddy is a great deconstruction of the heroic cowboy archetype, constantly getting outsmarted while the damsel he tries to save takes matters into her own hands. But now he's discovered that the enemy he was programmed to hunt down is the woman he loved? So what will his ultimate role in Ford's new narrative be?
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6.) Ford -- Boy, is it great to have Anthony Hopkins back. Not since "Hannibal" has he had a role this delicious. He's a devious manipulator whose motives and abilities are slowly revealed and whose composure appears to be unshakeable. He's a god of Westworld, and acting.
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5.) William -- What a road William has taken. The mild-mannered, shy white hat has been humiliated one time too many by his brother-in-law. And it turns out that the big theory surrounding who he becomes was right all along.
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4.) The Man In Black -- Westworld's biggest mystery man has spent the whole season alternatively dishing out brutal killings and cryptic clues. For the fan-theory crowd, he's been an endless font of fun, as everyone has come up with their own idea of who he is and what secrets he's hiding.
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3.) Bernard -- Jeffrey Wright is brilliant, and more people know that now thanks to his quiet, emotional performance as the intelligent and thoughtful Bernard. He's so empathetic that the big reveal about his identity was still a gut punch, even for those who saw it coming.
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2.) Dolores -- "Westworld" is, at its heart, a story about Dolores. All of the show's themes about artificial intelligence, human morality, philosophy, etc. are tied together in her and brought to life by Evan Rachel Wood's magnificent soliloquies about how one perceives the world. That said...
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1.) Maeve -- Let's be real. Maeve is the real star of "Westworld." She gets lines that would make Peter Dinklage jealous. Park employees shake at the sight of her, and she faces danger with breathtaking courage. We can't wait to see what she does next in season 2.
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