Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan season 3 finds John Krasinski's titular hero on the run from the CIA. The show's new female cast members, played by Nina Hoss and Betty Gabriel, are both allies and enemies.
Hoss, who currently stars in the acclaimed film Tár, plays Alena Kovac, the President of the Czech Republic. Betty Gabriel, the scene-stealer in Get Out, plays Elizabeth Wright, the CIA station chief in Rome. Both President Kovac and Wright tangle with Jack Ryan and his cohorts, James Greer (Wendell Pierce) and Mike November (Michael Kelly), in Jack Ryan season 3.
Screen Rant had the pleasure of interviewing Nina Hoss and Betty Gabriel at the Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan season 3 junket. They discussed their experiences working with John Krasinki and their other costars, and shared what it was like shooting Jack Ryan all over Europe.
Nina Hoss & Betty Gabriel On Jack Ryan Season 3
Screen Rant: Before you got cast in season 3, were you fans of the Jack Ryan franchise?
Nina Hoss: Well, I was [of] the previous two seasons, and was really entertained and drawn to it, and I love the three characters and everyone in each season. What are we? The characters that join the train, so to speak. So yeah, I was drawn into that whole universe. And so when I actually got to work on it, it was very exciting for me.
Betty Gabriel: Not that I wasn't a fan, but I was not familiar with the two previous seasons. But when I did get offered the job, I did make myself familiar with them. And I thought, well, good. I'm glad that I'm joining a good, good show. And it's just great to have this long story form, and have the time to really... I think what's great about the previous seasons as well is that you really have time to invest in all the different characters, and they really get fleshed out. And while you have the titular character, Jack Ryan,, he does a great job. And the creators and writers, they do a great job of creating an interwoven piece where everyone is integral to the story.
Nina Hoss: Yeah, and it takes you to other countries. Also, that's what I find intriguing with this series, because it's every time on another continent, isn't it? So you get to learn about other cultures and how things are being run there. And now it takes you to Czechia, and Russia, and Athens, and Rome, and Vienna. And so that is also a very exciting part of the series.
It really is one of my favorite parts of the show, and of spy shows like this. John Krasinski is also executive producer. What was it like working with him? And is it hard winning arguments with him?
Nina Hoss: I didn't have any. That is the great thing. You know, he's such an open-minded, very quick-thinking man that you feel [he] actually has a playfulness to [him]. So you forget about all the positions that he has, other than being Jack Ryan and the colleague that you're working with. Because he is very open. And I must say that [he] has a playfulness, so you can work very easily together.
Betty Gabriel: Yeah, very open, very friendly. I did feel... I wouldn't say that I argued with him. But I did feel at liberty to say, "Hey, I think maybe this needs to be tried." And he was always open. And that's really a great sign. But most of the time, I was absolutely trusting in him because he's such a great storyteller. And he's operating on all the levels. So it's really, I mean, how can you not trust someone [like him]? And he's so good at what he does.
Jack is on the run in season 3. He's a fugitive. So Betty, was it fun being the one who had to hunt him down?
Betty Gabriel: Well, I mean, I don't know if fun is the word. As the actor, yes. But as the character, I think she's under a lot of pressure from her higher up and this is putting her job at risk. So there is a lot of just pressure. I can't think of another word, just pressure to hunt him down and secure her job and position.
Nina, you play the president of the Czech Republic in season 3, and you also have a pretty fascinating relationship with your father played by Peter Guinness. Can you talk a little bit about that, and also about working with Michael Kelly as Mike November? Because you have such good scenes with him as well.
Nina Hoss; Yes, I had the privilege to have really great scenes with Wendell, with Mike, with Peter. I didn't get to meet James [Cosmo] on set so much, but he's also a phenomenal actor to work with. I had the feeling we have a great ensemble that surrounded my part of the story, which was very diverse, and we all came from all kinds of places. [It was] was very multicultural also and made it really fun to be working together.
And with Peter, I must say, who played my father, we had a very special and still have, actually, a very special relationship. We grew very close throughout, maybe because this relationship is very tricky, as you will see. And to be able to work on that with someone who's so... I mustn't say what [his character is]... but the type of people that he tends to play. He said a kind man. Such a kind, generous, also open-minded, and beautiful colleague to work with. So it was a blast working with him on this relationship.
Betty, you have such great scenes also opposite Wendell Pierce. What's it like to work with him, and have a rivalry between Wright and Greer?
Betty Gabriel: Yes, it was. Ooh, it was fun. That was fun. I gotta say, because, I felt like we were similar creatures. Both as actors and as the characters. We both went to the same school. We have the same alma mater, Juilliard, no big deal and [laughs] name drop. So we had a lot [in common]. He had a lot of stories, I had some stories, we just really connected on that level. And the characters then connect on that level of being black folks in the CIA, which there aren't too many. But there's a bit of sort of, I don't want to say side talk or like that, [but] there's like a whole 'nother language, if you will, that they share... occupying that space. But yeah, there is tension regardless, and there is this bit of mistrust, regardless. And so that always adds a fun dynamic. And there's just a great play that we have.
Nina Hoss: That is the interesting bit, if I may jump in, with working with Wendell and also Mike, because I didn't have too many scenes with John. With those two men, there's always something underneath, you know. And that's so fun to work with. There's like your legacy. There's maybe tension, but you know, they always bring something to the scene that you can really work with in such a great way. It's fun. It's really fun, because they're just fabulous, incredible actors that I really admire.
About Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan Season 3
Jack Ryan is on the run and in a race against time. Jack is wrongly implicated in a larger conspiracy and suddenly finds himself a fugitive out in the cold.
Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan season 3 premieres December 21 on Amazon Prime Video.