Series 1 of Humans wasn’t short on scene-stealing performances, but we were routinely heartbroken by Will Tudor’s sensitive turn as George’s (William Hurt) outdated synth Odi, offering apricot jam and memories of happier times. The first series finale seemed to suggest that we wouldn’t see the character again, but he’s back.
While he can’t tell us much about the circumstances of Odi’s return, Tudor teases that George’s absence will be felt. “What’s great about this series, and what it very subtly goes into, is this idea of how you treat a being that looks human but isn’t, and at what stage do they become just a machine? And at what stage do people start to treat them almost like humans?”
When it came to getting back into the synth mindset and physicality, Tudor tells us that it was not a difficult process at all. “I’ll tell you why: because I’ve missed it so much that I’ve gone back into it on various occasions!” he laughs. “What’s great about the work that we do with Dan O’Neill, our movement director, is that it’s very powerful and so unique, and I think that makes it very easy to keep the ideas in your head. The way synths approach the world is so different that it really stays in your memory and can’t be erased. I’ll be a synth until I die!”
While he can’t tell us much about Odi’s storyline, he does say that he’s hoping for one of his trademarks to make a comeback. “Maybe he’ll move on to different types of jam; different condiments!” he laughs. “What I like about the character is that he latches onto things. If he were to broaden his horizons too much it would be sensory overload, and so he comes back to the same things again and again. I hope we see lots of apricot jam!”
Humans: Series 2 will air on Channel 4 from 30 October 2016. Read our set visit feature in issue 125 of SciFiNow, on sale now.
