Wheel Of Time's Daniel Henney Reacts To Lan's Season 2 Story & Reveals His Toughest Stunt - Exclusive Interview
Lan Mandragoran is a hero amongst heroes in Robert Jordan's "The Wheel of Time" series. The Aragorn-esque character plays a fairly significant role in Season 2 of Amazon Studios' adaptation, even if both his character and Moiraine (Rosamund Pike) are relatively quiet in the books during this part of the story. Lan's role (in Season 2 of the adaptation, at least) in helping his Aes Sedai recover her bond with the One Power is particularly important, as he plays a critical part in helping resolve the season's epic finale.
Looper recently had a chance to sit down with Lan actor Daniel Henney to chat about Season 2. (The season officially came out in September, but Henney wasn't available until December due to the SAG-AFTRA strike — as we also discussed with him!) We got Henney's take on playing opposite powerhouse actors like Pike, as well as some insights into how he gets into character, what we can expect in Season 3, and plenty of talk about stunts ... lots of stunts. The man was able to fight with real swords on set and jump onto moving horses — but let's not get too far ahead of ourselves. As we head into the holiday season and Jordan fans get ready to binge the latest content from their favorite fantasy world, here are Henney's thoughts on Season 2 and beyond.
Talking about Season 2 after the SAG-AFTRA strike
Are you excited to finally get a chance to talk about Season 2?
Yes. Look, I'm a SAG member. I supported the strike wholeheartedly. I think it has been done for all the right reasons, and we needed it. But at the same time, there were parts of me that wished we could have at least promoted our show and what we worked so hard on. There were parts of it that did hurt things for us, for our show specifically. But at the end of the day, we had to do it, and it's over — and this is where we're at.
It's nice to be able to talk about it now. Luckily, the show — the quality — was good enough that it withstood that, and people still liked it. Season 2 was a success, and I think it was a step up from the first season. It's nice because with Season 2, we had a chance to dial in and show what we could do. We were hit with COVID — three times, we were shut down, and we were still able to make that season. So it's nice to see the reaction and to show people what we can do with the show.
Getting into character to play Lan
Zooming in a little on your character ... Like you said, you've had two seasons now to develop Lan — but Lan is a very deep character. He is stoic; he's an exiled king; he's a mighty warrior. He's also the servant of a very powerful Aes Sedai. How do you get into character for such a multi-faceted character like that?
Well, you've been to Prague. You've seen the sets. You've seen the people we work around and how talented they are. They help a great deal. You have people making costumes like that, and you have the hair and makeup department, we have my castmates — who are incredible actors — and we have people like Rafe [Judkins], who are running the show and care so much about it and the books that it's based on.
Everything's in place for it to be there for you. My job is all the research I do for my own personal stuff actor-wise, but it's physical stuff. It's communication with the stunt team regarding fights that are coming up. It's communication with Rosamund [Pike]. We maintain weekly conversations even when we're not with each other — it's maintaining a constant investment in it. Because I haven't been on for four months, it's been a while for me, and I'm shooting here — two months from now, I start shooting again. That's basically just my stuff with Ros.
It's a tricky thing to go almost six months and then have to start back up again ... You rely a lot on everything that's already inside of you with the character. Once I get there, it sort of lights back up. But if I'm honest, I walk around by myself in my house all the time as Lan speaking in an accent in a lowered voice, and I have two Katana swords in my gym — I play with them a lot.
Acting with and without Rosamund Pike in Season 2
You mentioned Rosamund Pike. What has it been like acting across from her so much for two whole seasons now and going into Season3?
I've given her so many props; she doesn't deserve any more. [laughs] Personally, she's the best I've ever worked with. I've learned a ton from her, and I'm grateful not only for that, but she's such a good friend now, and she's the perfect Moiraine. If people like the way Lan has been portrayed, a lot of the credit goes to her. I bounce off of her energy, and that's all I can say. She gives so much. She's wonderful.
The chemistry is really good on screen. Now, your character spent a lot of time away from Moiraine in Season 2 as well. What was it like exploring the story apart from her for a bit there?
As an actor, it's always fun to know everyone's going to get their little storylines. It was fun to explore him on his own. Personal growth is big for everyone in life, and it was nice to see Lan, especially, spend time with the other warders and to get a chance to see what the inner workings of those relationships are — like the meditation sequence with [Emmanuel] Imani's character and the stuff with Taylor [Napier]. It helps build a more solid foundation.
I was happy with the payoff, how Lan was a catalyst for bringing everything together in the end, which ultimately led to that great scene at the end on the beach. When they brought the bond back together, it was great. I was really happy with the season. I always loved being with Rosamund and working more with her, and I'd love to do more stuff with the whole cast, but I'm just happy to be on board.
Stunt work, real swords, and jumping on horses
You also mentioned the stunts. We interviewed Jan Petrina when we were on set, and he had very high praise for you and your commitment to the stunt work for the show. What has it been like working with someone with his track record of developing these kinds of scenes?
I'm in the best hands. Those guys on the stunt team in the Czech Republic are incredible, and they're not just working with our show. A lot of it is our show, but these guys are being flown off to work on massive projects in huge films. They're the best of the best, and we feel so lucky to have them. The rules in the Czech Republic are a little more lax, so we get to play a little more.
The sets were wild.
We can jump on horses and do some stuff, which helps you learn. We can use real swords to practice with, which helps you learn. Jan is the consummate professional. He's such a nice guy. He's out-of-his-mind crazy. He spends the weekends ... You know he jumps out of airplanes in squirrel suits?
I did not know that.
He's that guy in the flying suit. That's him on the weekend.
That's awesome.
They're nuts in the best of ways.
What is the toughest stunt that we've seen so far that he's had you learn?
The fight with the two swords was hard for me.
At the beginning of Season 2?
Yes, it's Episode 2. Using two swords is tough. The wirework coming off of that rock in the opening shot of that sequence was really hard because it was about a 30-foot jump — landed, jump off a rock, spin, and land the sword. But with those guys, you have so much faith in them. They can show you a sequence that seems impossible, but you're working with them, so you know it's going to work out.
They can do it for you before you do it, right?
Yes. They map it out beforehand for you. They'll send ... I just got two videos today of stuff we're doing. It always looks tough when you first see it, but you know that once you get there and work through it, it's all going to be okay.
Season 3 hints and Henney's favorite scene in Season 2
Toward the end of Season 2, you reunite with Moiraine. You help her recover her connection with the One Power. Rafe Judkins already went on record saying that your bond will be stronger than ever moving forward. What can we expect from your story and Moiraine's story going forward — obviously without spoilers — into future seasons?
It's tough without spoilers, but I can echo Rafe's sentiments. The bond is back, and it is strengthened. You're going to see there's a great togetherness for the two for Season 3. Again, they're on this journey together, which is going to include some cool training sequences, some cool riding sequences. We're going to explore worlds we haven't seen yet, which seems almost impossible, but we are being flown off in two months to a place I've never been in my life on the tip of the world, so that's exciting. That's going to be in Season 3, but you're going to see a more traditional Lan and Moiraine, from what I know, in Season 3.
Very cool. Was there a scene or a part of Season 2 that was your favorite either to film, or even a different part of the season?
I liked all the stuff with Ihvon and Maksim and Alanna because we shot that in Italy. When we would cut, we'd go have this amazing food. We were shooting in this town ... It was in the Puglia region, and we were close to Pigna Al Mare, which is this little town that's cut out of this cliff. We would shoot during the day, and then we'd go have this amazing pizza at night, pasta, seafood. It was incredible. I really enjoyed that aspect. Any time we get to go on location with this amazing cast, it's so much fun — there's not much I don't enjoy.
Henney is living a dream as an Asian American actor in a fantasy show
You've been in Robert Jordan's world for two seasons, going on three now. Is there a part of this entire fantasy world that you're getting to bring to the screen that you connect with or enjoy as a favorite part?
It's a little kid's dream. It's a dream. I was a fantasy fan growing up, and I've said this in interviews, but I didn't think I'd get a chance to play a part like this as an Asian American actor. To play an uncrowned king who's protecting this incredible female Moiraine in this expansive, imaginative world of Robert Jordan — it's a real pinch-me moment. The longer we go, the more thankful I am. I don't know how long we're going to go. We all have hopes, but the fact that the quality is so good ... It's something that we're all proud of.
So it's an overall thing. It's hard to pinpoint one thing, but I'm really proud to play Lan.
Henney on source material versus adaptive scripts
How well did you know "The Wheel of Time" books when you started, and how well do you know them now?
Not at all well, when I started. I am from a very small town in Michigan, so I don't remember much talk at all about even "The Lord of the Rings" or "The Wheel of Time." There were a few things mentioned, but not much. When I first got the part, I dove into "The Eye of the World," and then went back to "New Spring" and "The Dragon Reborn" and making my way through. I got to a point where it was affecting my ability ... when the scripts would come out, because when you read Lan in the books, he reads very differently than the characters in the show. He's really different, so I found myself sort of at an impasse. Now, I go with the scripts, and I'm still reading the books, but [I've] slowed down the reading.
You've got to compartmentalize them a little bit, right?
I don't like when I get in conversations where I feel like Lan from the books wouldn't do that. But I'm not Lan from the books; I'm Lan in the show — so which one am I? It's a weird moment. I had to set the books down for a second and just go with our show. But I'll definitely finish the books.
Absolutely. That's great, and that's part of the adaptive process, anyway.
Yes. Well, Rosamund's doing ... She did the audiobook, and they did reach out to me as well. I've considered it, but it's such an undertaking. She's so good at it, so I'll let her do it.
It's only like 400 or 1200 hours of reading.
It's incredible. It's so much.
All episodes of Seasons 1 and 2 of "The Wheel of Time" are available to binge now on Prime Video.
This interview has been edited for clarity.