INTERVIEW MIT MICHAEL WEATHERLY ZUR 3. STAFFEL DER SERIE BULL

Why do you think does “Bull” continue to resonate with audiences?

Michael Weatherly: “I think ‚Bull‘ is just a fascinating show because it’s an unflinching look at some of the more unappealing aspects of our truth. But ultimately it’s about hope and it’s about this human endeavor to find a truth that lifts us up and not a truth that sends us into the void of darkness and crushing black hole space.”

What does Bull’s heart attack at the end of Season 2 reveal to us about his character?

Michael Weatherly: “The heart attack at the end of Season 2 was a fascinating way of exploring what it is that Bull is truly made of and the world that he actually exists in, rather than this sort of fabricated bubble that is constructed.”

More on Bull’s heart attack?

Michael Weatherly: “The world that he’s constructed is one where he’s alone, where the people around him are his employees, where it’s very self-referential. It’s like, in a way, the world we live in today where the news we get is the feed that we’ve chosen to get. We live in our own little loops, and ultimately I think one of the themes was, as much as even in that loop you can feel righteous and you can you can feel like you’re doing the right thing, when you don’t have that full empathetic connection with another person, a pure one that isn’t tied to some kind of politics of whatever those politics are politics, or the politics of dancing if you will, I think what we saw was that it can lead you to a place where you implode or explode. And for us, that was seeing Bull on the steps, with people walking by him, the people that he would otherwise be helping. Because he enjoys helping everyone. But nobody is willing to help him in this moment of crisis.”

Where do we find Bull at the start of Season 3?

Michael Weatherly: “When we get into Season 3, what we’re looking at with Dr. Jason Bull is a man who has experienced his own struggle and collapse, whether there are pre-existing demons or demons that are created because he built his life without any foundation, or all these different contributing factors. What he really ends up seeing is that the world can be a very, very cold place, and he’s fighting to be caring and empathetic and curious and genuine, but the sneaking suspicion that the vastness of everything is mostly cold and empty. I think he lives with a great fear that the truth is bad.”

More on Bull at the start of Season 3?

Michael Weatherly: “The journey for Bull this season is like an emotional Escher drawing where there are staircases that seem to be going up but they’re actually going down and they don’t actually connect anything.”

How would you describe the types of cases Bull will take on in Season 3?

Michael Weatherly: “We go right in to difficult cases in Season 3 – the most difficult cases.”

Will Season 3 explore more of Bull’s self-destructive tendencies?

Michael Weatherly: “With somebody with Bull’s particular appetite, I think the cravings can be multifold. I think there’s one dormant aspect of Bull.”

More on Bull’s self-destructive tendencies? 

Michael Weatherly: “The active volcanoes in Bull are the hunger for as much food as you can get. I don’t think he’s winning that. I mean he’s probably secretly eating all sorts of Haagen-Dazs when he gets home. I think that he’s like a vampire with people. So he’s trying to not be greedy with people and trying to pull them apart, but kind of can’t help himself. So far this year, two different drinks have been poured for him and have been placed in front of him. I haven’t seen him take a sip. I’m not entirely sure that that hasn’t taken place. I don’t think he’s succeeding at all trying to put duct tape on these. You know, I mean, l like anyone who tries to white knuckle anything at all. And I think the dormant aspect of Bull for the last good while has been his sex life and his relationships. He’s just put a cap on that. His ex-wife got married. She told him, ‚You’re no good alone.‘ He said, ‚I think you might be right there.‘ But he’s made no effort to fix that because he’s afraid of something. And I’m fascinated to find out what it is he’s afraid of.”

How would you describe Bull’s romantic relationships in Season 3?

Michael Weatherly: “He’s got his ex-wife who he has this kind of uncomfortable, unresolved sense of loss with because they shared the miscarriage. And with Jill, that character’s a lawyer, and he hates lawyers, and she’s tough with him, and maybe she’s using him, and maybe that makes him feel comfortable to be used because then it defines the relationship in terms that he can manipulate and determine rather than a pure one-on-one human interaction. I think that’s the thing that scares him the most. I’ve yet to meet a friend of Bull’s who’s not there in some way to serve him. I’ve yet to meet a romantic interest of Bull’s who isn’t either a crutch or some sort of foil.”

Will Bull’s fear of real human connection finally catch up with him?

Michael Weatherly: “When you read about or hear about people who live in these bubbles, rock stars or movie stars or stuff, and you see that they’re all surrounded by sycophants, and even people who argue with them just because that’s their role within the hierarchy, within the kingdom. And I think that Bull is in high danger of, you know, having a last act like Hamlet.”

Hier könnt Ihr Michael selbst hören, wie er Euch zum Einschalten ermuntert…