Tom Hopper told UPI his Navy SEAL character in the "Terminal List" prequel "Dark Wolf" is ethically conflicted in his new career as a private contractor.
Taylor Kitsch (L) and Tom Hopper star in "Terminal List: Dark Wolf." Photo courtesy of Prime Video UPI Luke Hemsworth attends the premiers of "Reminiscence" at the TCL Chinese Theatre in the Hollywood section of Los Angeles in 2021. File Photo by Jim Ruymen/UPI UPI Chris Pratt arrives for the Amazon MGM Studios red carpet during CinemaCon 2025 at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas in April. File Photo by James Atoa/UPI UPI Taylor Kitsch attends the premiere of "Only the Brave" at the Regency Village Theatre in the Westwood section of Los Angeles in 2017. File Photo by Jim Ruymen/UPI UPI
NEW YORK, Sept. 25 (UPI) -- Black Sails and Umbrella Academy actor Tom Hopper says Raife Hastings, the U.S. Navy SEAL he plays in the Terminal List prequel Dark Wolf, is ethically conflicted as he embarks on his new career as a private security contractor.
"It's not something that he's used to," Hopper, 40, told UPI in a recent Zoom interview.
"He doesn't trust this world and there's no moral compass in this world, which makes him uncomfortable," the actor said. "He's so used to working within a code and Ben [Taylor Kitsch] is quite happy to work outside of that, so that's what creates that kind of conflict between the boys within the season."
Co-created by best-selling author Jack Carr and David DiGilio, the military action-thriller is now streaming on Prime Video. It co-stars Chris Pratt, Luke Hemsworth, Jared Shaw and Dar Salim.
"This meets Raife at the kind of origin of his story in the SEALs. He's coming towards the end of his career and he's described as James Reece's blood brother. They're extremely tight. They played rugby together back in college and they're extremely good friends," Hopper said, referring to Pratt's SEAL character.
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When Ben botches a mission in Iraq, Raife, his lieutenant, volunteers to be discharged with him, leaving Reece behind to serve out his tour.
"He makes a promise to Reece to look after Ben," Hopper said. "So, he gets taken on this journey with Ben Edwards into the dark arts of the private sector."
Westworld alum Hemsworth plays Jules Landry, an ex-Marine and CIA officer with whom Ben and Raife team up.
"He's an expert in weapons tactics. He's got a dark streak. He's possibly sociopathic," Hemsworth laughed.
"i always approached him as the puppy who wants to hump your leg," he added. "He wants to be part of the group so bad. He's competent in all the ways that they are competent, but he wants to be in the brotherhood and he worships the ground that Ben walks on."
The actors said having real-life veterans like Carr and Shaw on the show's set was critical to realistically depicting life in the military. In addition to acting as consultants, some SEALS also worked as background artists or played supporting roles.
"We just had this wealth of knowledge that we could just draw from, having these really open conversations and the biggest thing that I got from it was how cool they were, what amazing guys. They're so friendly and welcoming and couldn't give you enough of their time," Hopper recalled.
"From a training standpoint, they just had our backs all the time, telling us and drilling us on tactical information, how to do the weaponry, mindset, situation awareness. You name it. As operators, they really had our backs and just didn't miss a beat. It wouldn't exist without them. That's what's so important about the show. They are the reason it is what it is."
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Hemsworth added: "It takes the pressure off you when you have someone of that level instructing you and wrapping you in so many ways and so often that it becomes second nature. ...
"We want to do these guys service," he said. "We want to represent them in a way that is authentic and true and real as possible because it's a show that's made by this community for this community."