‘Westworld’ Season 1 Finale: Ed Harris Enjoyed Getting Beat Up By Evan Rachel Wood

One of the highlights of the season finale of “Westworld” was host Dolores Abernathy (Evan Rachel Wood) realizing that the man she loved — William (Jimmi Simpson) — grew up to become the hardened and cynical Man in Black (Ed Harris).

He was about to hurt her when her survival instinct kicked in, and she toughened up. Dolores dragged the Man in Black through the ground then hit him several times until he passed out.

Harris admitted to Entertainment Weekly that it was a particularly fun scene to shoot, and he was quite impressed by his co-star. “It was kinda fun. It was certainly fun for her. It was fun doing the physical stuff. She becomes this super-strong, 180-degree turn from the country girl she had been in the past. Evan Rachel is pretty great in this thing,” Harris said.

It’s not just Wood he is impressed with. “All the actors playing the hosts blow my mind, with all that’s going on — or not going on — where you try to figure out what’s going on in their brains when you see what’s in their eyes. It’s very impressive to me, acting wise,” he continued.

Earlier, Harris told BBC Radio 4 that he has been asked to reprise his role as the older version of William next season. “I was just talking to Jonah Nolan last night, who’s a creator of this thing with his wife Lisa Joy, and yeah, they’re doing another season,” Harris said. “They’re going to do 10 more episodes, and I will be involved.”

Unfortunately, the same cannot be said of Jimmi Simpson, who plays the younger version of Harris’ character. “My William has served his purpose. As of now, I’ll be done at the end of Season 1,” Simpson told Vanity Fair.

“Westworld” Season 2 will return to HBO on 2018.