WEBVTT - A Moment Behind the Scenes with Jamal (Jonathan Bangs) 0:00:04.940 --> 0:00:08.539 Hey, this is solar writer and creator Chris Porter. Director 0:00:08.539 --> 0:00:10.580 and producer Jenni Curtis. And I got to sit down 0:00:10.580 --> 0:00:13.520 with Jonathan Banks, who leads the show as Jamaal and 0:00:13.520 --> 0:00:15.650 talk through some of our favorite moments in the story 0:00:15.650 --> 0:00:18.919 with him. Here we're jumping into the discussion of the 0:00:18.920 --> 0:00:22.759 two contrasting Mercury flybys in episode four. Here's some excerpts 0:00:22.760 --> 0:00:23.599 of what we had to say. 0:00:26.160 --> 0:00:28.440 Okay. We want to talk about episode four, where we 0:00:28.440 --> 0:00:31.740 experienced two mercury flybys, one pre solar event and one 0:00:31.740 --> 0:00:33.870 post solar event. Yeah, I know, John. We said we're 0:00:33.870 --> 0:00:35.490 talking to you, but I'm actually going to throw this 0:00:35.490 --> 0:00:39.269 to Chris first. Would you talk about the impetus for 0:00:39.300 --> 0:00:42.269 this story structure and why there were two flybys and 0:00:42.270 --> 0:00:43.770 what it meant to the story of solar? 0:00:43.979 --> 0:00:46.680 So pretty early on, I was spending a lot of time, 0:00:46.680 --> 0:00:48.660 almost as much time developing the characters as trying to 0:00:48.659 --> 0:00:50.850 figure out what the mission was and what the experiments 0:00:50.850 --> 0:00:53.339 were that everyone was doing and physically what it would 0:00:53.340 --> 0:00:54.990 be like. How long would it take to get to 0:00:54.990 --> 0:00:56.610 the sun? How long would they be there? How long 0:00:56.610 --> 0:00:58.980 would it come back? And I realized that's in close 0:00:58.980 --> 0:01:01.860 orbit to the sun would end up pretty much just 0:01:01.860 --> 0:01:04.800 inside of Mercury orbit. And because Mercury orbits the sun 0:01:04.800 --> 0:01:07.500 so fast and I think it's like 88 days, they 0:01:07.500 --> 0:01:11.190 would end up seeing mercury at least twice on that mission. 0:01:11.580 --> 0:01:14.430 And it suddenly occurred to me because obviously time is 0:01:14.430 --> 0:01:17.130 a big aspect of the story and the refractory nature 0:01:17.130 --> 0:01:19.530 of it past feeding into the present and feeding into 0:01:19.530 --> 0:01:22.070 the future and future, feeding into the past, etc., etc.. Yeah. 0:01:22.319 --> 0:01:26.220 And so it became really important for this mercury parallel 0:01:26.220 --> 0:01:29.610 thing to milestones of mercury flying by with which to 0:01:29.610 --> 0:01:32.610 examine how the relationship has changed from this point in 0:01:32.610 --> 0:01:35.580 time to that point in time, specifically in relation to renin. 0:01:35.580 --> 0:01:38.730 Jamal Mercury Okay. 0:01:39.600 --> 0:01:42.900 Are you surprised the flyby has been on the calendar? 0:01:42.900 --> 0:01:44.790 I know I haven't been on the side of the 0:01:44.790 --> 0:01:45.570 ship all morning. 0:01:45.930 --> 0:01:52.590 You should look out windows more. It's something, isn't it? Hey, 0:01:52.590 --> 0:01:54.180 can you hold this light right there? I need both 0:01:54.180 --> 0:02:01.440 hands to unhook this thing. Perfect. I got up early 0:02:01.440 --> 0:02:04.380 just to watch Mercury for an hour, and I've been 0:02:04.380 --> 0:02:07.560 excited about this day since before we launched. So one 0:02:07.560 --> 0:02:09.330 of the reasons I wanted to go on this mission 0:02:09.330 --> 0:02:14.100 so badly for Mercury. Look at it. We'll look at 0:02:14.100 --> 0:02:15.600 it in a second. I need you to keep the 0:02:15.600 --> 0:02:16.110 light here. 0:02:16.139 --> 0:02:16.800 Oh, sorry. 0:02:18.210 --> 0:02:20.640 In the first one. It's totally Jamal that has the 0:02:20.639 --> 0:02:22.530 upper hand. And he's like, Look out the window. Look 0:02:22.530 --> 0:02:23.970 at this thing, look at it. And they have this 0:02:23.970 --> 0:02:26.220 whole discussion. And then at the end, he can't even 0:02:26.220 --> 0:02:28.290 he this window's not pointed in the right way and 0:02:28.290 --> 0:02:30.600 he has to get Ren to describe it to him. 0:02:30.600 --> 0:02:34.829 And it just became total. A shift of power dynamic 0:02:34.830 --> 0:02:36.870 isn't the right word, but it just became a different 0:02:36.870 --> 0:02:40.950 exchange between these two individuals. And that just really resonated 0:02:40.950 --> 0:02:42.660 with me, and that's why I wanted to pursue it 0:02:42.660 --> 0:02:44.280 and frame the episode in that way. 0:02:44.280 --> 0:02:47.820 Yeah, listening to it and getting refreshed on it, they 0:02:47.820 --> 0:02:51.330 do have a shift because, well, Jamal is asking for it, 0:02:51.330 --> 0:02:55.410 but Ren becomes the poet in that moment. It's very 0:02:55.410 --> 0:02:57.870 heartbreaking at that moment because in the very beginning, at 0:02:57.870 --> 0:03:01.920 the first Mercury flyby, he's such an optimist and he's like, Yeah, 0:03:01.919 --> 0:03:03.720 you just got to look out windows. He just has 0:03:03.720 --> 0:03:07.530 so much joy. And then the second you could just 0:03:07.530 --> 0:03:11.100 feel all that being detached and the one thing that 0:03:11.100 --> 0:03:13.680 can help him muster a little bit more hope was 0:03:13.680 --> 0:03:19.079 just hearing how it looks. It's day 548, right? The 0:03:19.080 --> 0:03:26.690 second Mercury flyby, our last sighting. My window is pointing away, 0:03:26.780 --> 0:03:33.150 so I can't at all. Can you look out your 0:03:33.150 --> 0:03:34.950 window and describe it to me? 0:03:37.440 --> 0:03:38.460 I don't know, Jamal. 0:03:38.470 --> 0:03:41.280 You're better or worse than I am. Please, Brett. 0:03:44.700 --> 0:03:45.150 Please. 0:03:48.720 --> 0:03:52.890 So there's these two mental states with all the pre solar. 0:03:52.890 --> 0:03:57.390 Post solar. Yeah. How did you approach them as an actor? 0:03:58.530 --> 0:04:03.300 Well, acting is reacting. That's the first thing you're told 0:04:03.300 --> 0:04:07.950 and taught. And I was just reacting to the world 0:04:07.950 --> 0:04:15.870 around me. Obviously, 2020, we started recording first, second week 0:04:15.870 --> 0:04:21.570 of 2021. And it's also kind of been in my life, 0:04:21.870 --> 0:04:24.900 this show. I've had it on and off for three 0:04:24.900 --> 0:04:25.810 years maybe. 0:04:25.830 --> 0:04:27.990 Yeah. For those of you who don't know which would 0:04:27.990 --> 0:04:30.540 be all of you. John was with us since the 0:04:30.540 --> 0:04:32.180 beginning of this project. 0:04:32.190 --> 0:04:36.060 And honestly, you dream for roles like this that really 0:04:36.060 --> 0:04:39.390 feel like your magnum opus as an artist or whatever 0:04:39.390 --> 0:04:41.609 your career is at this point. And I just feel 0:04:41.610 --> 0:04:45.089 so connected. I felt so connected. I was able to 0:04:45.330 --> 0:04:51.270 think how Jamal thought rhythmically, the poetic system, his wittiness, 0:04:51.270 --> 0:04:55.590 his humor, his lightheartedness, his anger, his fire, all of 0:04:55.589 --> 0:05:00.300 those different components I could relate to. So it was, 0:05:00.510 --> 0:05:04.890 pun intended, easy to step into the spacesuit and, you know, 0:05:04.890 --> 0:05:05.870 just blast off. 0:05:05.880 --> 0:05:07.950 I would actually like to dig into your acting as 0:05:07.950 --> 0:05:11.760 reacting thing because Jamal is alone a lot of the time. Yeah. 0:05:12.029 --> 0:05:14.940 And the only person who he really has to talk 0:05:14.940 --> 0:05:17.220 to is Ali, who is also joining us at this table. 0:05:17.260 --> 0:05:17.690 Oh, hi. 0:05:18.270 --> 0:05:19.620 How does the reveal how did. 0:05:19.620 --> 0:05:23.729 That work for you? How did that work for you 0:05:23.730 --> 0:05:26.820 mentally as you were doing this role? How were you reacting? 0:05:26.820 --> 0:05:30.240 Were you trying to think of the thought process through, Jamal? 0:05:30.240 --> 0:05:32.310 Were you responding to something. 0:05:32.400 --> 0:05:34.590 We were talking about for? But I'm glad Chris is 0:05:34.589 --> 0:05:36.179 bringing it here because we weren't going to make it 0:05:36.180 --> 0:05:38.609 through this conversation without bringing it back to episode one. 0:05:38.640 --> 0:05:39.210 Yes, that's. 0:05:39.210 --> 0:05:40.600 Totally shit, John. 0:05:40.620 --> 0:05:43.860 Well, that's the that's the whole genesis of my relationship 0:05:43.860 --> 0:05:46.440 with this project was the monologue first time I saw 0:05:46.440 --> 0:05:50.400 it in the first pages where the monologue and Chris, 0:05:50.760 --> 0:05:55.080 you have this ability to write in this intricate way 0:05:55.080 --> 0:05:58.320 that if the actor gets it, they're flying and it's 0:05:58.320 --> 0:06:02.070 a high like no other, and the audience can receive that, 0:06:02.070 --> 0:06:05.460 and the channels open their vessel where you make people cry, 0:06:05.460 --> 0:06:08.640 you impact them, you get right to their heart. And 0:06:08.910 --> 0:06:12.540 that monologue I just latched right on to it. I 0:06:12.540 --> 0:06:14.940 think what it did was I was in a very 0:06:14.940 --> 0:06:18.390 introspective space in my life. I was going back and 0:06:18.390 --> 0:06:21.510 forth from the bay to Los Angeles because of personal reasons, 0:06:22.050 --> 0:06:25.409 and I was talking to myself a lot at that time. 0:06:25.410 --> 0:06:27.210 I feel like a lot of us were. And so 0:06:27.210 --> 0:06:30.090 I just understood the complexities that he was going through, 0:06:30.089 --> 0:06:32.280 not the full totality. Which is another thing I wanted 0:06:32.279 --> 0:06:33.989 to say before I even came here is like, what 0:06:33.990 --> 0:06:38.430 makes things translate is the occupations of the characters may 0:06:38.430 --> 0:06:41.940 be far fetched, like an astronaut or like succession, where 0:06:41.940 --> 0:06:46.080 they're all multiple trillionaires or whatever. But what always rings 0:06:46.080 --> 0:06:50.849 true or is that humans going through relatable, circumstantial things? 0:06:51.480 --> 0:06:55.260 And that was always the driving force that got me 0:06:55.529 --> 0:06:58.560 attached to Jamal, made me understand what he was thinking 0:06:58.920 --> 0:07:02.490 and why the monologue. Kano was like the first episode 0:07:02.490 --> 0:07:02.789 of that. 0:07:06.000 --> 0:07:08.219 Well, that's a little bit of our behind the scenes 0:07:08.220 --> 0:07:11.270 with Jonathan Banks. If you'd like to hear the whole discussion, 0:07:11.280 --> 0:07:13.320 you can find it in the solar panel on our 0:07:13.320 --> 0:07:17.040 Apple Podcasts premium channel. Thanks for listening.