This ‘Westworld’ Star Was Shocked His Character Is Actually A Host

The HBO sci-fi show “Westworld” has secrets upon secrets waiting to be uncovered, and during the Season 2 finale, another one was revealed - Luke Hemsworth’s Ashley Stubbs is actually a host.

His host status wasn’t directly stated in the episode “The Passenger,” but director Frederick A.O. Toye has confirmed with Entertainment Weekly that he is.

In fact, the director said that Hemsworth himself was pretty shocked over the news.

The biggest clue was found in the dialogue between Stubbs and Charlotte Hale (Tessa Thompson), or at least - a host version of Hale. Stubbs let her know that he is talking to a host and not a real person, and even told her that he is one of Dr. Robert Ford’s (Anthony Hopkins) first hires and being responsible for hosts is his “main drive.”

Toye also told Vanity Fair that creator Jonathan Nolan actually wrote the scene about Stubbs just the night before it was shot because he had a “light bulb” moment, so it’s unclear whether his host status has been preconceived from the very beginning.

As to what’s next for the show, co-creator Lisa Joy said in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter that seeing the hosts navigate through the real world will present all sorts of new challenges for their characters.

“It's going to be a whole new world. And we technically have three [hosts], because Hale is out there, too, or someone who certainly looks like Tessa Thompson!” Joy told The Hollywood Reporter. “We’ll come to see who’s really there and what that character is in the future. This series is about reinvention and scope. The first season was a more intimate look at the park from within the loops. In the second season, the hosts broke out of their loops and were able to explore more of the park. In the third season, they've broken out of the park itself. We’re in terra incognita.”

Joy then went into detail the transformation of their lead character, Dolores, who went from timid to strong to wise within a span of two seasons.

While she was busy leading the host takeover, Dolores inevitably “started exhibiting some of the same traits she was rallying against. She became almost paternalistic in the ways she made decisions for other people, taking away their own choice and how to live their lives.”

“Westworld” has been renewed for a third season, but no release date has been given yet.