Exclusive: Yusra Warsama and Barkhad Abdi Talk ‘Castle Rock: Season 2’ [Video]

Taking on the role of siblings, Yusra Warsama (Dr. Nadia Omar) and Barkhad Abdi (Abdi Omar) play Somali immigrants adopted into the world of Castle Rock and discuss the budding tension between their community and their less than friendly neighbors.

We sat down with the two as they talk intensity and intrigue behind the shooting of Castle Rock season 2. 

The Knockturnal: So the Stephen King series of Castle Rock, season two is very, very spooky. [The series] had a lot of dimly lit corridors and hospital scenes that were super creepy. Can you talk to me about what it was like working on the set of something like that?

Abdi Omar: “Well you know for me, it was just a normal set, to be honest with you, you know, maybe the places we were shooting – it was in the middle of nowhere and you know, somewhat spooky, but we had a very good crew and we had a lot of laughs. It took us a long time to do it.” (laughs)

Yusra Warsama: “Yeah, intense I would say. It was intense. I think just because of the subject matter and the themes; it could be a very intense space, but that’s just the story we were creating at the time.”

The Knockturnal: I feel like it definitely helped develop the series to shoot in that very spooky kind of area.

Yusra Warsama: “Of course, yeah it just adds to the story, like everything just gives to the work we were trying to do. It was pretty cool.”

The Knockturnal: And how did it feel just being apart of the Stephen King multiverse?

Yusra Warsama: “Exciting? It’s Massive. So it’s always good to be apart of something so big and hopefully add to that in a good way and kind of support the ongoing kind of multiverse and the narratives that live within that. Particularly because our characters are new characters to this world; they’re not characters that Stephen King has penned himself so yeah, very exciting and very humbling actually.”

The Knockturnal: And what was it like landing the role like when you first found out – what was your initial reaction?

Yusra Warsama: “Learn your lines, go to school, get the job done. (laughs) That was the kind of mentality to go into a project like this for me.”

Abdi Omar: “For me, it was really exciting and I was actually [happier at] the fact we were going to be shooting in the U.S. because all my work is outside the U.S., so it was really good to actually work here.” (laughs)”

The Knockturnal: For [the] character of Abdi, you were very heavily involved within the Somali community, but there was also a lot of tension within the Merrill family, which you also adopted into. Can you describe what that was like, that dynamic and that relationship between the Merrill family and the Somali community?

Abdi Omar: “Well it’s – first of all were both adopted by Pops and at the same time we’re trying were trying to open a mall. I’m trying to open a mall, but they already have a mall owned by Pops so it’s just that misunderstanding, because Ace took over that mall and now he won’t necessarily be the nicest guy and even though he’s my stepbrother, I don’t agree with him on a lot of things and now I’m trying to help my community and open this mall.”

The Knockturnal: What would you say is your favorite and by far the scariest Stephen King book or film adaptation that you’ve seen.

Yusra Warsama: “Ah, good question. It always gets me, because I watched that when I was a kid so the memory of that and just this ominous supernatural thing that wants to eat children – that was pretty scary so I’d go with it.”

The Knockturnal: It definitely stays with you too. (laughs) 

Yusra Warsama: “Yes.” (laughs)

The Knockturnal: How about for yourself [Omar]?

Abdi Omar: “Well I mean, yeah I could say It too. Yeah, it’s scary, but you know Stephen King [has] a lot of scary stuff. I don’t know all of them, to be honest with you, but I’m in the process. I’ve seen Shawshank Redemption, I might have seen others, but hopefully, I’m gonna get to that.”

The Knockturnal: Without revealing too much, can you tell us what the viewers can expect to kind of expect to see within the series as it develops?

Yusra Warsama: “Hm, very good question. I’d expect for the audience to really enjoy the different narratives because I think there are so many narratives that actually I think different audiences will have different connections with initially. Then also, who’s bad on the surface but who’s good and what is good and what is evil, and I think there are a lot of those questions that come up in the series, and what makes us human and what doesn’t. So, I’m interested to see how the audience receives that and what narratives they feel partially connected to, and which ones that they might choose [or] they might like as the series progresses. There’s a lot of shift and change in terms of – I don’t know how to describe something without giving something away, but as something happens, and how that kind of put the ticking clock on the stories and how they unravel and unfold. It will be really interesting; I think the audience  will like that; I hope they do.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9bytPaQ5I8U