Now that Widow’s Bay is inching toward its final episodes, we’ve gotten awfully close to its main characters. We thrilled to Mayor Tom’s wild mushroom trip and Patricia’s diabolical cocktail party. But Wyck, played by veteran character actor Stephen Root, has been a tougher nut to crack. He’s well aware that the island is cursed and is greatly frustrated when Tom insists on living in denial; they’ve even come to blows over it. But gradually, a picture of Wyck’s inner life has begun to emerge, and it’s become clear the old sailor does have a heart (and a sense of humor) lurking beneath that salty exterior.
In a new interview with Esquire, Root—forever known as “the stapler guy” to Office Space fanatics—talked about getting into character. Becoming Wyck was a process he approached from the ground up, literally.
“To me, shoes are really important for a character. That’s how he walks. Wyck walks in boots, but if they were sandals, that’s something else. And we knew this guy—old fisherman with the hat and the vest,” Root said. “I had a beard, but not heavy, and they said, ‘Please don’t shave for the next two months.’ We let it grow from there. So that’s also helpful. But sometimes you have to go outside-in to a character, and this was that. Clothes help the man.”
Wyck gets a wonderfully poignant spotlight in episode seven, “Seasickness,” where he tells Tom the story of losing his best friend when they were teenagers. A tentacled sea monster was the cause—this is Widow’s Bay, after all—but Wyck still carries guilt over the loss. Root called it “a great monologue” and noted “I very much had my Jaws moment in that.”
There’s been no word yet from Apple TV if Widow’s Bay might get a second season, but its fans are very hopeful for its chances. And it sounds like Root would be happy to play Wyck again, even without knowing what might happen next.
“If we have another season, we’ve gotten no clues from [Widow’s Bay creator Katie Dippold] as to where the through line is going to be, and that’s fine for now,” Root said. “I’m interested in seeing more about the island because the island itself is a character. But the reason you watch a show is if you’re investing in the character, and I’m hoping that we’ve connected enough that they want to keep coming to see what happens to us.”
New Widow’s Bay episodes arrive Wednesdays on Apple TV.
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