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

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.

[...] 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.

[...] 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.

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.