Recently, we had a chance to talk with Wes Chatham and Nadine Nicole about their time on The Expanse, including the final season.
Horror Geek Life: Did the show’s ending cause you any extra stress or tension while filming season six?
Wes Chatham: I certainly felt the heightened tension on many different levels. Number one, we knew it could possibly be the final season and we were extremely motivated to stick the landing for the fans, making it really fulfilling to them. Then, we had the added obstacle of COVID and having to shoot during COVID, and that really complicated things.
We weren’t able to rehearse the way we usually did, get the amount of time we usually get, and so we really had to push our heads down and push it to make it be the best season it could be.
HGL: Sometimes people don’t factor in the issues that COVID creates for shows continuing to film. That must have been very stressful for all involved, especially the last season.
WC: I think the stress came from not getting that usual time to spend together and being separated. This is such a collaborative effort; we’re always together and going over ideas. There’s not a lot of time within the show, so our secret weapon for the show was we take our weekends and rehearse. We go into spaces and block all the shooting, so once we are shooting and everything goes on camera, we’re not having conversations about how to block something. We’ve already done that, so we’re able to put together these very well-crafted and thought-out scenes. If you take that away and don’t have that time, you have to do it on the fly.
HGL: One of the great strengths of The Expanse is the characters and their arcs throughout the show. How did you both see your characters grow and change, from when we first see them to the end of the series?
Nadine Nicole: Clarissa has gone on multiple arcs at this point, after finishing season six. I’m so grateful to grow as an artist, going through the depth of character that she has gone from that darkness, that younger sister needing the approval from her father and the love she never received, that she never had. Going from killing people and being a lost soul, to revelating in jail to what had happened, and why. Being more honest with herself about who her dad really was and why all those things happened to her, not really forgiving herself. There’s still a lot of shame and guilt, but when Amos comes and gives her a second chance, stands by her side, and protects her, she learns to trust someone, that someone is there for the first time for her. It gives her a new sense of hope that she might be able to belong to a family in the future or a little tribe, and she can work as hard as she can to try and earn the trust of his family. So, we’ll see how that goes.
HGL: Amos and Clarissa/Peaches had great chemistry together, it was fun to watch. Did that chemistry come naturally between you both?
WC: I think it came naturally; I don’t want to speak for Nadine. In case she says no, I had to work really hard. (laughs)
NN: (Laughs) No, it came naturally, we had so much fun, we were giggling a lot, laughing a lot.
WC: Yeah, Nadine was in season three and was already a part of the team, part of the family, so we were able to spend some time together. We had a scene in season four, so when she came back, she was already part of the family and just fell right into it and started working from there.
NN: We have good energy and if you want things to shoot well, to make people’s days bigger and brighter, you want to bring your best work with high potential energy. So, when you’re doing that it’s easy, people are goofy and it’s a lot of fun.
HGL: You two have some great scenes together, including many moments where you have very little verbalization and still sell the moments. Is that hard to do, and do you rely heavily on your acting partner to make it work?
WC: I think it really goes to the preparation and understanding of your character and the relationship of building. If you’re with someone your whole life and they know you, you’re communicating with them so much you don’t even realize it’s non-verbal. By design, we created that atmosphere of working closely together. When you’ve been working closely together for that long in a machine shop, just you and her, you create this second hand of speaking and talking and we wanted to communicate that, so that was the preparation and work that went into it.
NN: As characters, I think they relate to each other so deeply. They’ve been through a lot of trauma, we’re lost souls, we’re looking for redemption and to become more self-aware as people, and that survival mechanism that’s tossed in there. I think we’re always pretty much on the same page with both our characters, where we’re at and where we need to go, and that’s why Clarissa and Amos really get each other in the first place.
HGL: The Rocinante is home to a crew that is a family, but also it’s a group of people who are looked at as heroes, who are not really trying to be heroes but just do the right thing and watch each other’s backs. Do you think that theme is one that has attracted a dedicated fan base?
WC: Yeah, and I think the reason these people do heroic things is not that they are trying to be heroes, they are just trying to take care of the person next to them. Once you start to care about other people, even more than yourself, that’s kind of the key to where you start doing great things and great things for others. I do think there is an element of the fans seeing that and really responding to that.
NN: It’s so relevant now, the fact that there is no black or white, right or wrong, it’s so truthful and honest. I think you can feel that and see that in our world now and how it relates to The Expanse world.
HGL: How have things changed for you both, going back to your first days on the set of The Expanse to the very last scenes you filmed?
WC: For me, I remember my first scene, remember walking on set and Holden was shooting the scene where he was crowbarring the door to the room where the XO had locked himself in. I remember thinking Jesus Christ, it was so huge, and all the details within the spaceship, everything was so dialed in and I was blown away. I had a special feeling about the show at that point. The first scene we shot was me, Naomi, and Holden and we’re walking through the ship, having a conversation, getting in an elevator, and I look back at that moment and how much I’ve grown on a personal and professional level. I’ve learned so much not only about my specific craft but also about the writing, producing, and everything that is involved in making a show. My whole knowledge base has grown so much, I’ll forever be grateful to The Expanse for that.
NN: Piggybacking off of that, from the beginning, from my first scenes to the end, it’s built so much trust. As a growing artist coming on board, I was fairly uncertain if I would be able to deliver in an exceptional way or to do it justice. From that, at the beginning to now, I feel like when you have a great cast, great writers, a great team, and they’ve got you to trust the process, you know what to do to show up and be prepared to do your best, which feels fantastic when you get in a groove and know how to do that. But in the beginning, that was not the case. I was still learning, watching everyone else to see how to make that happen, so I was really grateful for that transformation.
HGL: There is so much material to draw on for the show from the books, and yet somehow the team has to manage to squeeze that into six episodes to finish up the series. How do you think the fans will react to the finale?
WC: I hope they feel satisfied, I hope they feel inspired, and I hope it’s a satisfying conclusion to the journey they’ve taken with us, with these characters and the writers. I hope The Expanse continues to live in, whether it’s in their imagination, thoughts, books, whatever form. I think this world is too vast and complex to not continue existing.
NN: Yeah, I hope they have a cathartic release. Like, oh my god, the completion of this epic roller coaster ride that season six is and to just sit and question where we are at in this place, on this Earth, in this time of our humanity. Where we are going and how it could be better, how we can fix it, grow, and evolve in our consciousness, just by seeing this piece of art. Also, just having a blast, having fun going on a ride with all of these characters.
I want to thank Wes and Nadine for taking the time to talk with us.
