Tomorrow, The Peripheral, a brand new sci-fi series from the minds of Westworld creators Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy, arrives on Prime Video, and ahead of its eagerly-awaited premiere date, we were able to sit down with the stars and creators to learn more about what's to come in season one.
Leading the exciting new sci-fi mystery series are Chloë Grace Moretz (Kick-Ass; Tom & Jerry) and Jack Reynor (Transformers: Age of Extinction; Cherry), who we caught up with before the premiere to chat about their special brother-sister dynamic in the show and what it was about their individual characters, Flynne and Burton, respectively, that convinced them to come onboard the incredibly ambitious project.
The Peripheral starts streaming, exclusively on Prime Video, on October 21!
Check out the full video interview below and please remember to SUBSCRIBE to our channel!
ROHAN: In the show, you're playing brother and sister, which requires a very special kind of chemistry and familiarity. What did you do before filming that helped you get acquainted and start building that dynamic?
CHLOË: We first FaceTimed in March of 2020?
JACK: February/March, end of February, maybe?
CHLOË: End of February, and we, I mean, our first FaceTime was probably, I think it was like two hours or something.
JACK: It was long, yeah.
CHLOË: Yeah, we ended up just talking and realizing that we have a ton of similarities from our childhood and from growing up, and it was kind of an immediate connection, and then when we got together in London, it was undeniable, the amount of just kind of wild destined little things that linked up. So, it was shockingly easy, sometimes you really have to work for that relationship, and for us, it just kind of flowed, and it was one to one for the characters. So, we were lucky, really lucky.
JACK: We knew we had that in the pocket, actually.
CHLOË: Yeah, we relied on that.
JACK: Cause it's such an important element in the show. If that relationship between Burton and Flynne isn't working, then, in a lot of ways, the show really suffers, so, just to know from the shorthand that we had between us that we had that bit down, and we didn't really need to worry about it too much. I think that certainly gave me a lot of confidence on the show where it was like, Okay, well, we can focus on the other sort of story points now, and mine those and not have to worry, so that was great.
CHLOË: Definitely a packaged deal, for sure.
ROHAN: Chloë, your character Flynne is a very unique heroine in that she grew up in North Carolina, where you and I also both grew up and I believe you actually spent a lot of time not far from where the show was filmed. What was it about Flynne that initially attracted you to the part and help you connect with her story?
CHLOË: I mean, the similarities between she and I were uncanny. The small town that we based the show, where we actually were filming the show was only 20 miles from Hickory. So, just like, geographically, I felt like I understood, who she was, and I think that plays a huge role in Burton and Flynne, their talent is a big part of who they are, but for me, it was the story of this girl who also used gaming as a way to escape and a way to roleplay and a way to have an edge.
I grew up with four brothers and the only thing that I was always able to kind of beat them at was gaming, you know, I might not be able to tackle them when we're playing football or something like that, but I could always totally kick their ass in gaming, and I think it was something for me that was really integral to my growth, and being able to see how Flynne was able to input that also, once she realized that she was not just operating a game, but actually operating a body in future London was really fantastic, and I think is just kind of the ultimate, ultimate story.
ROHAN: Jack, since your character Burton has military ties and shares this really fiercely loyal brotherhood with his squad, what kind of research did you do to get into character and capture that camaraderie?
GARY: I've done some sort of military-centric projects before, and I had kind of done research on that stuff, prior to all this, and I have a good few friends who are kind of in the military as well. So, I kind of had an understanding of that stuff coming into the show, and obviously, these haptic implants that Burton has in his body are something that's unique and different.
So, we actually talked more about that than we really did the military side. It was more like, what does it mean for these guys to have this situational awareness? Do they feel the same feelings as a result of this thing that's physiologically connected to them? They share this kind of unique experience of post traumatic stress from the war they were in, and it's related to these haptic implants that they have. So, that was what we really wanted to explore and kind of mine and I think that we got to a really interesting place with that.
Plus, check out our additional The Peripheral interviews below:
Flynne Fisher (Chloë Grace Moretz), her Marine veteran brother, Burton (Jack Reynor), and their dying mother live in a small town in the Blue Ridge Mountains in 2032. As their mother’s health deteriorates and the medical bills add up, Flynne and Burton make extra money playing simulations (Sims). The two siblings share Burton’s avatar, “jockeying” for high-paying customers to beat challenging game levels. When Burton is offered a chance to beta test a new Sim, it’s Flynne who ends up playing, pretending to be her brother. The Sim takes place in London and it tasks Flynne with breaking into a corporation known as the Research Institute—to steal a valuable secret.
When the assignment goes badly wrong, Flynne begins to realize the Sim is more real than she ever could have imagined. The London she’s exploring exists in the future…year 2099. And what Flynne has uncovered in the Research Institute has put her and her family in grave peril. There are people from the future who want to use Flynne for the information she’s stolen…and there are others who want Flynne dead. Flynne encounters Wilf (Gary Carr) in Future London, a man who may be the key to unlocking the mystery at hand. But first, in her present, Flynne and Burton, along with his former elite military unit, must rally to save themselves from forces intent on killing them—forces sent from the future to reclaim the vital secret Flynne stole.
The Peripheral starts streaming on October 21!