A character known only through flashbacks is always missing a tinge of reality. Until now, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau’s character in “The Last Thing He Told Me” has existed only in retrospect, shaped by recollection and motive. In season two of the hit Apple TV show, his character enters the present tense, forcing the past to lose its narrative– and Coster-Waldau is as committed to finding the truth of that past as the character himself.
The second season of The Last Thing He Told Me premieres on February 20, three years after the first season initially aired. The show, originally envisioned as a limited series, became Apple TV’s most-watched limited series, reaching 4.5 million unique viewers within the first 31 days of its release.
Based on the best-selling thriller of the same name written by Laura Dave, the show follows Hannah, a stepmother navigating her relationship with her stepdaughter just as her husband goes missing. Jennifer Garner plays Hannah, Angourie Rice plays her guarded stepdaughter, and Coster-Waldau appears as the husband, who until now, was only seen in flashbacks.
Season two brings all three characters into the present, five years after the events of the first season. The second season will be based on Dave’s sequel novel, “The First Time I Saw Him,” written while the season was being filmed, and quickly landed on The New York Times Bestseller list. Cast members this season include Michael Galante, Luke Kirby, Rita Wilson, and Judy Greer, who plays a close confidant to Rice’s character.
The Knockturnal sat down with both Coster-Waldau and Greer to discuss their roles in the second season and what it was like navigating relationships both on- and off-screen– and what it was like seeing a character only referenced in flashbacks come to life.
The Knockturnal: The second season of this series involves very complex relationships. You both have to deal with father-daughter relationships. You have to deal with the endings of many kinds of relationships, whether they are sibling or platonic or romantic. How is it like navigating those kinds of intricacies when it comes down to both on-screen and off-screen with your actors?
Judy Greer: Oh, you want to take that one first?
Nikolaj Coster-Waldau: No, I think that the core of this show, for me, has always been about this, and especially going into this season. You know, the setup is crazy, like you have a father and a daughter and father and husband, and they suddenly haven’t seen each other for five years. And then you add that into these other families that we then get to know. We already know about the Campanos, but then we see this kind of black sheep of the family, who does not like, without spoiling anything, he doesn’t want to be part of that part of the family. And she (Greer’s character) then bonds with my daughter, she has information about my ex-wife who died, that she can pass on to my daughter. Because I can’t, I’m, for some reason, I don’t want to tell her about it. It’s all complex, but it’s fertile ground for a bit of drama.
JG: Yeah, there’s a lot of secrets being kept that my character, Quinn, is really trying to hold on to. And what was fun for me to do in this season was to meet Bailey for the first time and to see her and to connect her to my best friend who died. And the hard part in those scenes was not just falling for Bailey and that– I had to keep this secret, and I had to sort of create boundaries and distance from this child who looks just like my best friend, and all I want to do is hang out with her and be near her.
TK: Related to it, we have your character, Nikolaj, coming back after five years off-screen. Judy, your character is brand new to the series. And also we get to take, much like Game of Thrones, it started as a limited series and now we’re seeing the source material catching up because of the popularity of the show. How do you approach the characters now, with your backgrounds?
NCW: Well, for me, I was just excited about getting to explore more of the Owen story, because in season one, he’s kind of, he exists only in memories. So all the scenes, I found it really difficult in season one because I kept asking these annoying questions to the director and to the writers. I was like, but this, is this him? Or is it just how he’s remembered? Or I’m like, what memory is this? Because I never thought of it that way, and I was clearly overthinking. But I do think, he becomes this, he’s like in the memory, he’s the perfect father, he’s the perfect husband. And now, of course, in this season, he’s back, and that’s a difficult thing to live up to. And on top of that, there’s been five years where they’ve desperately tried to move on, and then suddenly he’s there going, ‘Hey guys, let’s go on the road together. I felt like that, but I’m so happy to come back and get a chance to explore, because it’s there, it’s fun to have secrets. It’s like, that’s the best for any of us. We have a character, we want to keep secrets.
JG: I mean, not in real life, but definitely when I’m acting. But I, as a fan of the show, as a fan of the book, and the show’s first season, before I even knew I was going to be a part of it, I was so excited at the idea of Owen being a part, coming back and being there and present and seeing what that was and what he was really like. It’s so interesting to hear you say, as an actor, like, I didn’t know what to play like. Is it me, or is it a memory? Because, yeah, of course, it’s strange to only be in flashbacks, no control over it at all.
NCW: And then you mentioned something about the source material, and that, because it was a bit different this time, Laura was– she knew what the story was going to be, but she was writing the book as we were shooting it. So there are definitely differences between the book, which is out now, and which is an amazing book, and then the show. We couldn’t read the book. We didn’t know what was going to happen. And so we were kind of doing our thing while she was doing her thing. It was a very fun experience. And sometimes Josh Singer, one of our show runners, would drop a little tidbit, like, well, this is gonna happen, and we’d be like, what? Oh my gosh. Anyway, it was fun.
