Hanna expands its cast as well as its lore when it returns to Amazon for a second season. Based on the 2013 film of the same name starring Saoirse Ronan, the television show follows young Hanna (now played by Esme Creed-Miles) as she discovers more about The Meadows program training girls like her and tries to stay hidden from the CIA.
In addition to Dermot Mulroney’s John Carmichael, the sophomore outing also introduces his right-hand man Leo Garner, who is portrayed by Anthony Welsh. Welsh chatted with Screen Rant in advance of the show’s July release about Garner’s layers, conflicts, and mysterious accent.
You're a welcome addition to the cast of Hanna season 2. Chat me up a little bit about your character, Leo Garner.
Anthony Welsh: Right, so Leo Garner is John Carmichael's right hand man at a place called The Meadows, which is where phase two of their trainees program is happening. Where we're trying to socialize them into having these backgrounds and families and schools and all that; we're getting them to believe in that, so when they go into the real world they'll come across as just normal everyday young girls.
Your character's responsible for indoctrinating new youth. How do you prepare for such a role?
Anthony Welsh: Oh, you just jump in, man. You just jump in.
For me personally, it was about nailing the accent, and understanding where he came from and what his ambitions were, who Carmichael was to him. Doing the usual character kind of stuff. And then just making sure that I was playing a believable CIA person; someone that you believe could be doing the things that he's doing in the show. So, yeah, that was a lot of my prep.
I'll say this: we didn't always have the scripts. Before, we were filming and getting scripts. So, a lot of it was open, and you're trying to be present because you don't actually know what's gonna happen next.
How far in advance did you get your character? Because I was talking to one of your fellow castmates, and she said she knew pretty much her arc for the first season and second season. But how much did you know about your character going into it, and about how your character was going to progress throughout season two?
Anthony Welsh: I didn't know what would happen at the end of season two. But what I was given, which was brilliant, was I had a conversation with David - or a couple of conversations with David Farr, the creator. And he gave me such a great foundation as to what Leo was about, where he might have come from, what kind of accent he might have, and his relationship to the program. And so from that basis, hopefully, David can do whatever he wants in the figuring out of the script. I just apply the same character to those situations, and it all becomes quite cohesive.
So, it was a mixture of knowing your knowing your character, but not necessarily know where he's going. That was quite exciting.
Would you say that Leo is a company man? Because I feel that there's a little bit of pull in contrast with that character; a little bit of depth, where he doesn't necessarily want to do everything that he has to do.
Anthony Welsh: You're right, you're right. I'm trying to figure out how much I can say. But I think he's all in, and I think he believes in the program. And I think he's serving the hierarchical structure of what this program is, so he listens to Carmichael. But yes, there's some seeds of doubt that begin to show and crack.
Even if they're subtle seeds, they're definitely there. And we talked about them, especially towards the end, where I'm going along this journey because I know I have to. And I'm going to listen to what I'm being told, but at the same time, I'm like, "I don't know if what we're pursuing is the right course of action."
You're Carmichael's right hand in this season. Can you talk to me about the relationship between Carmichael and Garner?
Anthony Welsh: Yeah... Leo is a long time member of Carmichael's team. And I think over the years - this is stuff you don't necessarily see, but you meet them at this point - he's built trust and is a confidante of Carmichael's. And it's evident in the amount that he allows Leo to go and just take care of it. He just says to him, literally says to him, "I need to go and take care of it." I know what he means, I know what I need to do, and I will fulfill that. And that speaks to unspoken relationship that they have.
This show does a great job of keeping your guard up, even as a viewer. You don't necessarily know who to trust or who's lying to who, even on screen. Can you talk to me about one of the most surprising developments you found in your character?
Anthony Welsh: Yes! But I can't. Well, it's actually something that didn't get - we never shot it. But it was something that me and David spoke about, and so it informed the character, but it doesn't get revealed.
So, I guess that's a bit of a rubbish way of saying, "No, there isn't like a surprising moment that you're gonna get." But for me, it meant a lot knowing I had that going into scenes.
There's also a couple of other new characters this season. Can you talk to me about the relationship that that Leo has with some of the girls that are in the program that we get to see? Because we know that there's new girls we get introduced to this season as well. Can you talk to me about his relationship with them and how he is training them essentially, or getting in their heads and talking to them?
Anthony Welsh: Exactly that. He's training them and manipulating them in ways that... I mean, maybe that's a slight spoiler, but - no, it's not actually. You kind of figure that out quite early on.
He's basically presenting himself as one thing in order to befriend them and gain their trust. But you know when he goes into the operations room, he's doing something in order to get a required result. And I always thought throughout the whole filming of it, "What kind of person is okay with doing that?" What kind of person is okay with really getting close to people and telling them or speaking to them in a way that's like, "Hey, man. It's all good. It's all good. Just just do this and do that."
Or actually presenting the question even, and just saying, "Would you like to?" But it's a [leading] question. I'm hoping you answer it this way. And that was a lot of fun to play. It's double-sided; it's a bit Iago-ish, you know?
Can you talk to me about how he views Jules and Sandy?
Anthony Welsh: I think he trusts Jules a whole lot more than maybe a couple of the other recruits or the trainees. And that becomes evident in something that's required of Jules later on in the show. Regarding Sandy, I think that he says that she's his favorite, and that's definitely a play. That's definitely a weapon he's using in order to keep her close. And I think that's probably the case; she's one of the she's one of the star students.
When David sat you down and spoke about the role of Leo to you, what were some of the things that jumped out at you to really attract you to roll?
Anthony Welsh: One of the big things was that he said, "His accent might not be his accent." And I absolutely loved that. And I thought, "Well, where could he be?" And that opened up a whole thing for me, where he could be from somewhere and be presenting within the whole show as one thing, and then presenting to the girls as one thing. But who is Leo? Is his name Leo? All that kind of stuff.
That was what really hooked me in. I thought, "Wow, there's so much more to this guy than is on the page."
Fans of season one are obviously highly anticipating season two. If you had to sum up Leo without any spoilers, what can people expect out of Leo? At least on a surface level.
Anthony Welsh: He's a nice guy. He's a guy I think you'd you want to hang out with; a guy you'd be friends with and feel quite relaxed with, Whether that's a good thing in the long run, I don't know. But I think he's a very meticulous, specific, and relaxed guy.
Hanna season 2 is now streaming on Amazon Prime