In a show full of colorful characters and dazzling dynamics, Legion‘s Cary and Kerry Loudermilk stand out. He is a 60-something mild-mannered scientist who is introspective and cautious. She is a fearless and fiery young woman who lives for adrenaline rushes, adventures and battles. But they share a body.
Acclaimed actor/clown Bill Irwin brought his intense affability and physical grace to Cary, while engaging ingenue Amber Midthunder brought a mischievous smile and full-bodied zeal to Kerry. Last year at Comic-Con International in San Diego, CBR spoke with these sensational scene-stealers and Legion showrunner and series creator Noah Hawley about this unconventional duo’s curious creation, heartbreaking low point and what’s to come in Season 2 of the Marvel-based FX series.
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Together, Cary and Kerry are brain and brawn, fascinating, brilliant, and seemingly unstoppable. That is until episode four of Season 1. There, in the midst of an eerie action scene/dance number, we saw the dark side of their bond: When Kerry was beaten, Cary was hurt, and largely helpless to save his soul mate.
“For me, I just don’t find action in and of itself that interesting,” Hawley said of this astonishing sequence, “You know, we had that moment in episode four, where Amber’s character was going to have this big fight in the woods with all these soldiers. But she’s connected to Bill — she’s connected to Cary — and so she’s going to have this interactive sequence where what makes it emotional is him, right? Because she loves the combat, but he worries about her. So, to watch those two things happen simultaneously to music, it makes an action sequence meaningful and interesting, as opposed to ‘It’s act three, we got to chase a guy.’”
Midthunder and Irwin were paired on the press line, and shared an easy and vibrant camaraderie. Asked about what Season 1’s big moment was like for them, Midthunder began by saying, “I feel like the whole first season was a big moment. Obviously, when we finally met was a big moment.”
She went onto explain that despite the deep bond their characters share on the show, Midthunder and Irwin didn’t meet until long after the pilot had been shot and just “a couple weeks in before we had any scenes together.” Often films and TV shows will do a “chemistry read” when it’s crucial two characters click. But these Legion stars turned to Google to get a sense of each other ahead of the big introduction.
“I tried to find as many interviews with him as I could to kind of gauge out and figure out his demeanor,” Midthunder said. “And I couldn’t! And it was really making me nervous.” Her face cracked into a broad grin as she playfully nudged Irwin, “I could not prepare for the fact that he is a human ray of sunshine. Which was a huge relief. That made it really easy for me.”
“She is the best,” Irwin responded, adding jokingly, “We’re only 40 years apart, so we don’t have much of a gap.”
Irwin went on to share how he came to Legion, saying, “I had breakfast with Noah, and he said, ‘I saw you when I was 14 in a stage show Off-Broadway in New York. So I’d like you to do this series maybe–‘
“Let’s not run over that,” Midthunder interjected, playing happy hype man to the stage and screen veteran, “Noah remembered him from a show that he saw when he was 14 years old! And came back, and wrote a part for him.”
“Boy does it mean a lot,” Irwin admitted. “I wasn’t part of shooting the pilot. But in the course of this, (Noah) said, ‘Oh yeah, and you’re two people who live in one body. She’s a gorgeous woman, a fighter, a warrior, and you’re an old crusty scientist.’ So, and then we shook hands.”
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“Hey nice to meet ya!” Midthunder responded, not missing a beat. “Nice to meet you,” Irwin said, as the shook to illustrate the introduction. “And let’s share life stories,” Midthunder replied, “That’s really actually what we did.”
Looking ahead to Season 2, Irwin revealed that the episode four battle might be behind them, but both characters are still processing the damage. Speaking as Cary, Irwin said, “I’ve lived 67 years of life, she hasn’t. She’s sheltered in my body, filled me with all kinds of stuff. And we’re told — we’re not supposed to talk about it — but we’re told in the new season there will be more specifics of ‘Let me teach you how to do this, because I’m older.’”
Basically, Cary will try to pull seniority on Kerry. And as well-intentioned as his intentions — to protect her — might be, we can’t imagine this impulsive and fiercely independent warrior will take kindly to his lectures. Sounds like a bigger fight is brewing, this time between this deeply bonded duo.
Legion returns for its second season premiere at 10 p.m. Tuesday, April 3 on FX.