Titus Welliver on Harry Bosch’s Final Chapter in Bosch: Legacy Season 3

[00:00:09] Titus, thank you for joining me today. Bro, what's going on? You got your Red Sox stuff on there? I have to. We got an afternoon game so I'm getting ready to tune in for a little bit. No doubt. No doubt. Yeah, who are they playing today? Toronto. Blue Jays. Yeah, what are you gonna do? What are you gonna do? Are you there in Boston? Are you there? I'm in Massachusetts. Are you gonna get to go to the game? No, I'm not near there. I'm towards Western Mass.

[00:00:38] Oh, okay. Well, I'm sorry to hear that because there's nothing better than a game of defense, man. They grow good hot dogs there too. There you go. I'm excited. I've been waiting for years to speak to you about this show. You know, I just spoke to Matty a few weeks ago. Let's jump right into, you know, Bosch, you know, he faced some scrutiny this season. A lot of conflict for this character. How did you, you know, the accusations that are happening in Season 3, like how do you approach portraying these conflicts for him?

[00:01:06] Well, I think there's a lot that's going on, you know, because he's been very clear that this whole connection to the, to Preston Borders and the killing of Kurt Dockweiler that he did not in any way, shape or form. He did not tell anybody to do that. But that's still floating in the air. And now there's a chief special investigation into that, which he doesn't become aware of until much later.

[00:01:31] And he's also not aware of the fact that while he steps away after the funeral of one of his fallen comrades, that Gervis has imparted this story to Matty about their time in Afghanistan. So when all that stuff comes up, which, which happens simultaneously, I mean, she literally says, I'm not supposed to tell you, you're not supposed to know about this chief special.

[00:02:00] And, you know, you got to tell me, to which he, he says, I, you know, I did not have anything to do with that. And then she says, what about Afghanistan? Afghanistan? He knows, right. And so it, you know, there's, there's a lot of balls in the air.

[00:02:17] And, and, and so it's, he's navigating all this stuff and trying to, you know, maintain, he wants to be open with his daughter, but there's a reason, look, you know, most veterans don't talk about their experiences. And they certainly don't, you know, share those experiences with their children. So, you know, he's really on a tightrope.

[00:02:43] And there's also this, this pursuit in this case that he's working with this missing family, which is landed on him in a very, very profound way. Because any, any, any, any detective will tell you that, you know, they're, they're all cases manifest in them in different ways and they carry stuff from different cases, but the cases that haunt them the most are the cases that involve children.

[00:03:08] And so, you know, if, if, if Harry Bosch is a have, you know, this, this case is the white whale. Definitely. Yeah. I like how I'm also, we see Maddie, Maggie Q as Ballard, you know, that's a new dynamic in the series. Like I would describe Bosch's relationship with Ballard throughout the season, how involves it. What can fans expect from like this interaction? Well, she's introduced in the 10th and final episode of the season.

[00:03:37] And anyone who's read the books, they, they know about that relationship and they know who Renee Ballard is. And Maggie Q does an amazing job. I mean, honestly, they could not have cast this character any better. Maggie completely owns it. You know, obviously in, in one episode, there's only so much you can, can tell the audience, but they're, they're meeting.

[00:04:02] Is comes in terms of, of kind of conflict, but they are both kind of striving towards the same result, which is to close a cold case. And if you recall there, there are pictures under Harry's desk, under glass that he's had for the 10 years that the show has been going of three missing women. And that's how they cross paths.

[00:04:25] She is working a cold case that relates to the three cold cases that Harry has under his desk. And there's mistrust and, and, and, but they're also kind of, they're kindred spirits. They're sort of spirit animals in a certain way. So they understand each other, but you know, working together is a very different, different thing. Uh, but they find their way.

[00:04:54] They, they find their way and working with Maggie was great. I mean, you know, it was just, it was from the get go. We'd never met before. We have a lot of, a lot of friends in common, but when they told me they had cast her. And when I met her, it was off to the races and she's just, she's fantastic. So I think the audience is really gonna, uh, enjoy that. Seeing that relationship realized on film. Were you aware that they were going to do a time jump in this season? Yeah, I was.

[00:05:21] And, and I thought that it was an interesting dynamic because that's a considerable amount of time. Right. So the audience doesn't, they never see that conversation because it ends with her saying, Dad, what have you done? And he doesn't respond. So we never saw that conversation. We don't see other conversations that have transpired. So it's not to push it forward like that. I thought was a really interesting and smart thing rather than having picking it right up from dad. What did you do?

[00:05:49] And then seeing that conversation that allows the audience to kind of, because I always say we give the audience the benefit of, of, you know, intelligence, because this is, this is sit forward television. This is not, you know, the, the experience that we've wanted to create is not a passive one, you know? If, if, if, if, if you're on your phone, you know, scrolling some other BS. And you've got Bosch on the tube, then you're, you're not in, you know, you're not engaged.

[00:06:18] So that's why, you know, that's our challenge. And in this day, right. Is to try to keep people from looking at their phones, providing an entertainment that, that really pulls them in and then engages them to a level where, you know, they're, they're, they, they need to think. Hmm. With the whole time jump and everything, like, how does this event like reshape Bosch's priorities and actions now, like moving forward to the next few episodes?

[00:06:46] Well, he, look, when you've got a lingering thing like that and, and, and they, and they converse, he and Maddie kind of converse. We do see that conversation ultimately happen, but because so much time has lapsed and she's aware of something that he's unaware of, which is this, what's, what's, you know, internal affairs. Why did she not report the phone call?

[00:07:09] And when she asks him, you know, the ultimate question about the, the Doc Wilder thing. And he answers truthfully. He says, you know, would I, would I have, if I could have? Yeah. He tells her the truth, tells her the truth, but I didn't. And then he says, are we good? And her response is, yeah. Yeah.

[00:07:34] And so there's no, in that moment, it doesn't seem cloudy at all. I think he feels like that there's resolution, but what he doesn't realize is that all these other machinations that are going on in the interim, he doesn't, he doesn't know about it. So he's kind of, he's in the dark. Yeah.

[00:07:53] Now with the series approaching, you know, its conclusion, well, how has your experience portraying Bosch over these years and the stories that are being told, you know, like, are you excited to let this character go? Are you hoping we see him again in a few more years?

[00:08:08] Well, I'd be a liar if I said, I wouldn't, I'd love to return in whatever shape or form that is, if that manifests, you know, in a film or, or, or, or a limited shorter term series or, or something like that.

[00:08:26] You know, you create an emotional bond with a character, even if it's for one episode of something, you have to, you know, as an actor, you have to, you have to invest, right? Because that's your job. That's your job. You got to tell the story. The audience needs to, to know who, who they're looking at. You play a character for 10 years, you form a weird bond. It's almost as if, and not look, he's a fictional character. He doesn't exist.

[00:08:53] It's, it's an actor playing a character, which has been lifted, you know, and realized from the great books of Michael Connelly. But it's, you form a, you form a bond. There's an, in, in a sub, on a subconscious level, and it may sound abstract. That character, you know, I, I think of him, it's the only time also as an actor where I've been able, where I can separate myself.

[00:09:24] And, and watch the show and be able to enjoy it. Because I guess in, in some way, you know, that's fortunate for me because a lot of times I, I'll do things and I won't watch it. Not because I think it's bad or anything like that. But I sort of, you know, I move on. I sort of go, well, I did that. But I'm able, I'm able to, to watch Bosch and really separate.

[00:09:50] I'm not sitting there going, oh my God, I, you know what, I should, I would have played this differently or I would have done that. I can experience the show as a, as a genuine audience member. And I did it. I already did it. And I know what's coming and what's happening. But when I get to see them cut together and everything, I can, I can experience it, you know, as an audience member. And that's, that's a pleasure because that's not always the case. It's awesome. Titus, I want to thank you for giving me a few minutes today. This was great.

[00:10:20] Good luck with the series. And one more thing, terrific con. I just saw today you got posted that you'll be there. I'll see you in Connecticut. Oh, very cool. Very cool. Well, you know what, let's see what happens today. Go Sox. There you go. Have a good day. Thank you. All right, man. You too.