Finn Bennett on the fatal confrontation between Peter and Hank – The Hollywood Reporter

Jodie Foster and Finn Bennett in ‘True Detective: Night Country’

Michele K. Short/HBO

(This story contains major spoilers for episode five of True Detective: Night Countrywhich was released on Friday during Super Bowl weekend).

While Jodie Foster and Kali Reis’s Liz Danvers and Evangeline Navarro are the two detectives at the heart of creator Issa López. True Detective: Night CountryThere’s another vital couple at the center of the series: Hank and Pete Prior, the father-son duo who serve as police officers in Ennis, Alaska.

Well, not both of them, not anymore.

The penultimate episode of the fourth installment of HBO’s crime drama sees an explosive climax in the relationship between the Priors, strained and strained as it has been throughout the season. Hank, played by HBO veteran John Hawkes of old thing fame, has long been a corrupt cop who does favors for money. But his final mission to kill a witness takes him past the point of no return. Despite his initial reservations, Hank accepts the task, kills a key player in Danvers and Navarro’s investigation, and nearly kills the police as well. But his son Peter appears on the scene and, after a tense moment in which it is unclear what will win: his loyalty to his father or his loyalty to the force, Pete finally shoots and kills his own father, to prevent him from killing Danvers. .

For Hawkes’ character, it’s the end of the road. For Pete, however, it is certainly the climax of his story, but he is still alive to dictate what happens next. What exactly will that be? No spoilers yet, but for a deeper look at the decision, The Hollywood Reporter spoke to Finn Bennett, who plays Peter Prior. Below, she explains his take on Pete’s decision and the different iterations of the scene, while discussing the response to the season and what fans can expect from the upcoming finale.

Pete’s journey throughout the season features this tension between his personal and professional life, and it comes to a head here in episode five, when he shoots his own father.

That scene went through several rewrites. Obviously, the essence was always there and what happens always happened. But we rehearsed that scene in Issa’s apartment. We filmed six days a week and then we had one day to rehearse, we would go to his apartment and read the scripts. Watching Jodie Foster and John Hawkes discuss you in a rehearsal space is truly something to see. (laughter.) The scene changed a lot from what it was originally to where it is now.

How was it originally conceived?

It had less emotional charge, a little more wordy. Hank said, “Why do you always have to do this shit?” I thought it was cool, but I’m not a writer. But John and Jodie looked at it and felt there was actually very little to say here: “Pete is in the middle. We just have to convince him to come to our side.” So it became a little simpler, really simple and a lot more heartbreaking. It wasn’t a surge of anger, but rather a real disappointment between Peter and Hank. The scene is really about Danvers appealing to Pete’s rationality and his moral compass. Hank appeals to something more sentimental. He’s a tug of war, with Pete as a rope in the middle. And Danvers wins.

Did you have a hard time justifying Pete’s decision to shoot Hank?

It’s a really good and difficult question. I don’t think there is a right decision to make here. He made the least bad decision. Calling it a decision in the first place almost gives it too much weight, because it’s so fast, it’s almost a reflex. There’s something John told me that I remember ever since; That he really doesn’t like it when actors say, “Oh, my character would never do that.” Because everyone in everyday life makes decisions and does things that they would never expect of themselves. You are a mystery to yourself. I don’t think Pete has decided to go with Danvers at this point. It was just something he did. And it’s something you’ll regret…maybe that’s too harsh a word. But it’s definitely something he’ll think about every day for the rest of his life.

In some ways, is this Peter proving that he’s a good cop? That he is he capable of making this decision at this moment?

That’s all he tries to do throughout the series: be a good cop. They ask me questions like: “Why do you spend so much time away from his wife and children? Is he a bad father? I do not think. He just wants to prove himself. I haven’t gotten to Alaska yet (ed. note: Night Country was filmed in Iceland) although I will someday, but I was in the Canadian arctic and had the pleasure of meeting a police officer very much like Pete, who married an indigenous woman and rose through the ranks. He said young cops will do anything to prove themselves, and if you come from a small town, you’ll do even more. Up until this point, Pete has been the perfect cop. In many ways, he is trying to solve this case for Danvers. He makes a good police decision that turns him into a corrupt cop. John said it was almost a suicide by cop: less Pete killing Hank and more Hank killing himself. But that makes Pete a corrupt cop.

Do you have any memories from working with John that you would like to share? Did he ever play his guitar for you?

If he did. In fact, he lent me a guitar and I don’t even play. I can play a chord, that’s all! He is a very kind and understanding man. There’s this intensity to the dynamic between Hank and Pete, less of a battle of wits and almost more of a grudge. They both cling to the outside. John received us several times at his apartment and he played the guitar, he sang… we had a glass of red wine and John Hawkes was playing music. You just have to imagine it. I wouldn’t care if no one had seen this series, just knowing that I had that experience would have been enough for me.

Of course, people have I saw the series. How do you feel about the reception?

I am very, very satisfied with it. Name real detective It carries a lot of weight and is a heavy cross to carry.

Did you feel that weight when doing the show?

I think so, yes. But it quickly became clear that this was mainly due real detective in the name. Obviously there are parallels to (previous seasons), like the spiral and the symbolism and some Easter eggs like Travis Cohl (who is the father of season one star Matthew McConaughey’s character). But I think ultimately this is a very new chapter. Once I accepted that, although I still felt a lot of pressure, it started to go away. And I am very happy with the response. There have been some unfortunate reactions, some of them just plain misogynistic, and to me, if those are the only comments they have, then we got it, because that’s not a based comment.

Were you surprised at all Nic Pizzolatto’s recent criticism about the season?

I don’t want to talk too much about that. He created a fantastic series. The first season is one of the best pieces of television ever made. His name is attached. But no matter what happens, I support Issa and accept your line in that. He has the right to have his opinion.

The ending is the following. Were you surprised by his resolution?

Yes, and I was also completely satisfied. That’s the most important thing when you’re trying to make a really good detective show. You have to be satisfied with the ending. Endings are really, really difficult. So I was surprised how the mystery comes together. Sometimes endings can feel lazy, and this really doesn’t feel that way. It stays true to the piece. I remember watching the ending for the first time and bursting into tears, because I was so proud of what we created, but also because the ending is so beautiful. It’s my favorite episode by far. I can’t wait for everyone to see it.

True Detective: Night Country returns to Sunday nights with its finale, airing February 18 at 9pm on HBO/Max.