Jeffrey Wright Talks Working On ‘Westworld’ and the Future of Bernard

Spoilers for Westworld Season 4 below.

Jeffrey Wright, in many ways, is the beating heart of Westworld. Throughout the HBO series, Wright’s Bernard Lowe serves as an empathic go-between in the worlds of both humans and robots, able to understand the wants of both. As the series expanded its worldview, Bernard turned into a reluctant hero, having power thrust upon him and deciding to be the best man he could be accordingly. Yet the show’s fourth season gave Bernard his biggest task yet: after spending what appeared to be decades inside the robot afterlife known as “The Sublime,” Bernard emerged as a messianic figure, tasked with ensuring the world could survive Charlotte Hale’s (Tessa Thompson) nefarious scheme.

Based on the series’ seventh and most recent episode, it certainly appears as if Bernard’s quest is over, having been killed at the hands of the villainous Man in Black (Ed Harris). While no one is ever truly gone on Westworld (just look at James Marsden), it seems like this particular version of Bernard might be done. But even if Bernard’s story is done, the experience will stick with Wright. “I thought, prior to working on a series like this, that it might be uninteresting after a while to return to the same character continually, year after year, but what I’ve found with our show is the opposite,” Wright tells Complex.

Now, in the wake of Episode 7’s shocking ending and ahead of the Season 4 finale, Wright spoke with Complex about how much the creators of Westworld tell him ahead of the season, his relationship with Luke Hemsworth, his experience on the show, and much more.