‘Rabbit Hole’ Star Charles Dance on the Many Layers of Ben Wilson (Exclusive)

Rabbit Hole is a Paramount+ show that pulls viewers in different directions. And one of the more notable characters in the series is Dr. Ben Wilson who has made a big impact since making his debut on the show early in the season. PopCulture.com spoke exclusively to Charles Dance who plays Ben, and he enjoys how the character has his share of layers. 

“The more layers I have as an actor, as an actor for playing a character, the happier I am obviously,” Dance exclusively told PopCulture. “Very often in our career, we get foisted with really two-dimensional characters, and it’s up to us to make the best of them. But in the case of this series, all of these characters, my God, there are so many layers. And we reveal those layers when it is appropriate to reveal them. Otherwise, we have to keep them close to our chest. That’s the nature of the story. So the whole thing is a really interesting exercise, both for the audience and for us as performers.”

Ben is the father of John Weir (Kiefer Sutherland) and part of a team that includes his son, Edward Homm (Rob Yang) and Hailey Winton (Meta Golding). At the beginning of the series, viewers assume that Ben died when John was young, but as the series progresses, it’s discovered that Ben came back into John’s life to tell him about his old friend Crawley, who is looking to have complete power. 

Dance also talked about working with Sutherland who wanted him to play his father. “He’s a highly-accomplished actor,” Dance said. “My God, he knows what he’s doing, and he’s utterly believable. And even though he’s the star of this show, let’s face it, but he behaves like one of an ensemble. He doesn’t throw his weight around, and he’s an absolute joy to work with.”

Rabbit Hole is an intense show and Dance has been part of some interesting scenes. “I think my first day, the first scene I shot was a scene in a hot, sweaty Chinese restaurant talking to the boys, telling them what they have to expect. Talking about the enemy is everywhere, your eyes and ears… And I’d fly out from England to Toronto. Within 48 hours I’m dressed and walking into a hot, steamy Chinese restaurant on a very hot Toronto day with a page-long monologue. That was an interesting experience. But no, we had a lot of fun. And even obviously, with the most serious of scenes, because we’re all actors and we like to work, me especially.” 

The season finale of Rabbit Hole premieres on Paramount+ this Sunday.