His Dark Materials season 3 is soon to be released, bringing a close to the adaptation of Phillip Pullman's iconic book trilogy that first came to HBO in 2019. The series has been lauded for respectfully taking on the story and worlds that Pullman created, while also expanding the stories of certain characters to better fit the television format. With each season of the show essentially adapting a book from Pullman's trilogy, His Dark Materials season 3 brings the story of Pullman's novel The Amber Spyglass to life.
His Dark Materials succeeds in large part thanks to the strength of its protagonists Lyra and Will, played by Dafne Keen and Amir Wilson. Season 3 sees the characters going through some of the darkest parts of their journeys yet and features Keen and Wilson offering powerfully grounded performances. His Dark Materials season 3 also features the return of well-known actors and characters such as Lin-Manuel Miranda's Lee Scoresby, among others.
Keen and Wilson spoke with Screen Rant about the years they've spent on the show, the people they've worked with, and what they'll miss now that it's all coming to a close.
Dafne Keen & Amir Wilson on His Dark Materials Season 3
Screen Rant: I just spoke to your producer, Jane, who was talking about how you and your characters have gotten older as the show's gone on. What's it been like for you both to spend the last few years on this same show?
Amir Wilson: It's been great. I mean, you build a family with these people that you work with every day. In terms of like growing up, you don't feel like you've grown up until you like see photos, and you're like, "Oh, I do look a lot younger."
Dafne Keen: You had a beard, suddenly.
Amir Wilson: Yeah, I came back and I had a beard. Yes, in that sense. But it's also like, people go, "Oh, you've grown so much in between filming." And it's like, "I don't know, I still feel like Amir from however many years ago." But it's been cool to kind of grow up around these great people that we get to work with every day.
Dafne Keen: Agreed.
Last season, Will went through a lot with finding and then losing his father. Where does that leave him when you pick up on season three?
Amir Wilson: It leaves him at the bottom of the bottom. He kind of goes through two of the hardest things. He finds his father again, as you said, and loses his father again, in all in the space of five minutes. His father tells him he needs to take the knife to Asriel and then go to tell Lyra, and Lyra's gone as well. He's lost two important people to him all in one day.
In season three, we pick him up, and he's on the hunt for Lyra. He's kind of faced with the question of whether he fulfills his father's dreams, or whether he goes and finds Lyra first. Ultimately, as we know, he goes to find Lyra first. And he does, and they obviously get taken on this crazy adventure, in and out of many different worlds and universes. But it was just important for me to understand that this is a more grown-up version of the Will that we had before.
And Dafne - Even from the trailer, we get a glimpse of Roger, and we see that Lyra's on a hunt for him. I don't know what you can say, but how is it to have so much of your story focus on that character again after season one?
Dafne Keen: It was so fun. I mean, I love Lewin (Lloyd) to bits. I think he's one of the most talented people I've ever met. He's a brilliant, brilliant human being as well, so getting him back on set was a dream come true. It just made me really happy. That's a story that I really love telling. I think I've said this earlier, but I think this show tackles grief in a really realistic way. It's not [where] once a character's died, you just don't mention it again. It's kind of an ongoing thing, as is grief in life, and I think we got to really investigate that. We got to kind of see how devastating it is for Roger to see that Lyra is moving on, and that life does go on, and that his death doesn't stunt the growth of everyone else's life. And it's kind of coming to peace with that, and I think it's really beautiful. It's kind of heartbreaking at the same time. It's heartwarming. It's a beautiful friendship. I was honestly just really honored to get to be acting alongside Lewin again.
You mentioned grief, but I think as the seasons have gone on, you've both had to deal with a lot of heavier scenes and conversations. How has it been to find yourself doing more and more of that as the series has gone on?
Dafne Keen: I really love those kinds of scenes; looking into yourself to find that kind of darkness and that kind of sadness. I think we can draw from certain experiences, I guess, and it's always really interesting as an actor. I think it can also be really tough, because you're accessing emotions that aren't necessarily nice to access. But as an actress, it was really fun. It was an honor to get to portray that, honestly.
You're both wonderful in the show, but you're also working with some really incredible people like James McAvoy, Andrew Scott, Ruth Wilson, and Lin-Manuel Miranda. Are there any things that you've you've picked up from them along the way?
Dafne Keen: Oh, one hundred percent.
Amir Wilson: "Don't take yourself too seriously", I guess, is one of them. I think if you're able to play these great characters, but also when the camera is off, be chill and be able to have fun and have normal conversations, it's kind of like, "You're amazing."
Dafne Keen: I think Lin's really good at that. Lin's brilliant at making everyone happy. He's a ray of sunlight. He's a wonderful human, and when you're filming in the grim, dark, dusty Land of the Dead, having him around is just very, very wonderful. And acting alongside Ruth, who also is one of those people who snaps in and out of character incredibly well; getting to act with her was just such an honor, and I think I've learned so much from her along the years. I don't think I've ever met anyone as hardworking and as dedicated and as talented as she is. She's just utterly brilliant, and just being in her presence is kind of like... you want to become a sponge and absorb all of her knowledge. James is equally brilliant, and he just gives you so much to play with. He's one of those really brave actors that is hard to come across. He gives it 100%, which is always what you want from an actor, but you don't always get, if that makes sense.
Amir, I feel like since day one Dafne has has really gone into the fantasy stuff, and you've been ramping that up throughout your whole journey on the show, especially in this upcoming season. How has it been for you as an actor to go more and more into those types of scenes?
Amir Wilson: Scenes working with puppets and all sorts. I mean, it's been fun. I remember a couple of weeks into my filming process in season three, I had a scene with Joe Tandberg who plays Iorek Byrnison, [the] polar bear. It's a really, really cool scene. It's where they meet for the first time, and they have a kind of little face-off. Joe is just brilliant. Joe's able to switch into that Iorek voice like it's nothing. I watched it for the first time when I was watching season one, and kind of assumed that they'd done it in post-production, like visually implemented this voice, and then I worked with him. It's like, "Wow, you're able to switch into this voice, really and truly." I think he's amazing for that.
He's also such a lovely guy as well, but it was funny just to have him stand there with a GoPro in front of his face, and him holding like a polar bear head, kind of just like shouting at you and following you. It's kind of a weird experience. I think if aliens came to Earth and saw what was going on on set, they'd probably turn back around. The puppeteers we work with on set - we're blessed to have them. Sarah, and Bobby -
Dafne Keen: And Brian and Olivia.
Amir Wilson: All these people are so talented at what they do. Especially with emotional scenes and stuff, they're able to give you enough that you're able to feel like you can give a good performance back. Just for any sort of those emotional scenes, into even just general conversation scenes. But doing that, I have to get used to talking to thin air a bit, which is fun, but is what it is. These guys are pros at it, so I have to get used to it.
And since this is the final season, what are you both going to miss most about working on the show?
Dafne Keen: For sure the crew. We just had such a wonderful crew.
Amir Wilson: Definitely the crew. The crew, and all the people we met along the way. We've been lucky enough to work with the best of the best, all sorts across all boards. In doing that, I've found myself learning so much about what goes on behind the camera, and I found myself interested in what goes on behind the camera, and not just in front. I find myself wanting to do more behind the camera, and it's great when you're able to take away something like that from a job. It's a blessing.
About His Dark Materials Season 3
Season 3 opens with Lyra unconscious, having been given a sleeping draught by her mother, as Will, still carrying the Subtle Knife, continues his quest to find her. Will is tracked down by two angels — Balthamos and Baruch — who wish to take him to join Lord Asriel’s campaign against The Authority with Commander Ogunwe. But Will is not the only one after Lyra, with Father President MacPhail continuing his mission to destroy the child of the prophecy, employing the help of his most committed follower, Father Gomez.
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His Dark Materials season 3 premieres on HBO and HBO Max on December 5th.