There’s something particularly unsettling about a villain who doesn’t believe he’s doing anything wrong. Someone whose moral compass is so spectacularly broken that manipulation becomes second nature, cruelty is simply another means of communication, and the line between charm and menace is practically nonexistent. In the increasingly dangerous world of The Terminal List, that man is Jules Landry, a charismatic, unpredictable CIA operative brought to life with wickedly entertaining abandon by Luke Hemsworth. Returning to the role following The Terminal List: Dark Wolf, Hemsworth embraces every uncomfortable contradiction of a character who can make you laugh one moment and question your own judgement for finding him amusing the next. Landry may be one of the most morally bankrupt figures in the franchise, but he’s also, rather perversely, one of its most fascinating.
Speaking with our Peter Gray as the show releases on Prime Video, Hemsworth reflects on the liberating experience of playing someone entirely unburdened by morality, the gallows humour that makes Landry such an unexpected source of comic relief, and the psychological warfare that allows him to maintain control even when he’s seemingly lost everything. From pushing the character’s increasingly outrageous appearance to questioning why audiences remain so fascinated by terrible people, Hemsworth makes one thing abundantly clear: when it comes to Jules Landry, absolutely nothing should be taken at face value.
What I found really fascinating about Jules is that he’s not somebody who necessarily thinks of himself as the villain. He’s very self serving, but he also seems to have constructed this entire worldview where everyone is just as corrupt as he is. When you’re playing someone that morally bankrupt, do you have to find the lie they tell themselves to justify their behaviour? Or is Jules one of those characters who’s completely comfortable knowing exactly who he is?
Yeah, look, I think there’s probably a lot of sociopathic tendencies in there, right? He truly doesn’t care. And I think this season we meet him at a point where he’s really embraced that “fuck around and find out” attitude towards the world. He’s all about himself, manipulating everyone around him and using anyone he can to get what he wants.
And I think that’s indicative of his relationship with Mo (Dar Salim’s character), which started off as very respectful and friendly when we first met them in Dark Wolf. Obviously, somewhere along the way, things go pear-shaped, and Landry manages to manipulate Mo into doing these terrible, terrible things.
So I think he’s underestimated as an operator and a manipulator, particularly in terms of just how enigmatic and charismatic he can be when it comes to getting what he wants.
I was going to say, there’s something really perversely liberating about Jules as a character, because he operates without that set of moral boundaries. I imagine as an actor that gives you a lot of freedom. Do you find yourself enjoying how unpredictable and unapologetic he is? Or are there moments where you’re like, “Fuck, Jules, that’s a bit much!”
We leaned into that so hard. And you’re right, it is so liberating. It’s a real gift because he becomes something of a relief valve, right? The show is very serious, very dark, and there’s not a lot of room for humour because of the subject matter. But something we developed with (Executive Producers) Max (Adams) and Jared (Shaw) very early on was this idea of gallows humour, which is very apparent in certain branches of the military. The things people say and do when they’re in these incredibly dire situations, the jokes that get told and the things they actually find funny. I found that fascinating because I’d never really thought about it or seen it represented in that way.
So I thought, let’s lean into making Landry the guy who always says the awkward thing, but it’s also the truthful thing, right? And we played with this idea that Landry, in a lot of ways, knows Reece (Chris Pratt’s character) better than anyone else. He actually has a line in the sixth episode where he says, “I know who you really are. You’re just like me.”
And that’s really telling because Reece is obviously on the fritz. He’s hallucinating Ben (Taylor Kitsch’s character), and there’s this interesting idea that perhaps Landry is seeing things too. I think some of that comes from being close to death, but also from the realisation that Landry knows exactly what Reece has done when nobody else does.
As you mentioned episode six, it’s a confronting slice of television. What I found interesting is that once Jules is restrained, his only weapon is his ability to get in people’s heads. When you’re performing someone that physically and emotionally relentless, were you consciously thinking about how Jules could still remain in psychological control, even when he’s lost control of his own circumstances?
Yeah, 100%. Every moment we think he’s broken, we want to flip it again. We want to push it just a little bit further. That was definitely a conscious decision, to take it as far and as deep as we possibly could. And, you know, he’s powerless in every other way, so he has to exert some sort of control over the situation. The only thing he truly has is that psychological warfare, which he’s a master at. I think he’s underestimated right from day one in terms of just how good a manipulator he really is.
I will say this in the nicest way possible, he’s probably one of the worst people you could find yourself trapped in a room with. But I’m curious, after spending so much time inhabiting him, is there one piece of advice you’d give someone unfortunate enough to spend an evening with Jules?
Run! (Laughs). Don’t believe anything he says, that’s for sure! Don’t take a drink from him. Don’t believe a single thing that guy tells you about anything. It was so much fun. It’s such a joy to explore that dichotomy, to have this guy who’s charismatic and enigmatic but has such a terrible moral compass, right? And yet you can’t help but like him as well.
That’s something I really wanted to play with. Can you make an audience like someone who’s fundamentally a terrible person? I mean, we’re obsessed with serial killers. People want to marry Ted Bundy! Psychologically, we’re weird, and I wanted to tap into that and explore it a little further. And again, I’ve never seen someone in the CIA who looks or sounds like Jules Landry, right? So it’s fun to walk that path and not know whether it’s going to work or not.
I said to David and Jared that I had to give you a shout out. Just your immediate entrance into show, it was like, “Here we fucking go!”
And even with the hair, we’re always ratcheting up just how far we can push the acceptability of his look, from the moustache and the hair to his physicality. I think that’s a real key to Landry’s psychology: just how far can he push it, you know?
Yeah, as I said, I love that this season very much feels like its own show. It helps to have seen Season 1 and Dark Wolf, but you can absolutely watch this on its own. And it’s awesome to see a show that, as much as it’s escapism, still has so much realism to it. I know they wanted to maintain that 80/20 split, where it still needs to be entertaining, but it also needs to feel authentic. So I’m really excited for everyone to get behind it and enjoy the craziness that is Jules Landry.
Yeah, thanks, mate. Look, those guys, their guiding star has always been authenticity, and they do it so well. They’re consummate professionals. Max Adams and Jared Shaw, these guys are legitimate operators, but they’re also incredibly creative, intelligent, articulate and very generous with their time and their stories. I could sit there asking them questions about their experiences for hours. “What was that like? Tell me more about that!” I’d happily keep them talking until all hours of the morning.
The Terminal List Season 2 is now streaming on Prime Video.
