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Much like his character, Kingsley Ben-Adir went intoThe OA: Part IIknowing pretty much nothing.
(And thats doesnt even get into the part involvingthe psychic octopus.)
You first read for the part of Karim without having actually seenThe OA.
What was that like?
Was it mystifying?It was one of those last-minute auditions that came through on a Saturday morning.
Did you talk with Brit and Zal about how they saw Karim fitting into the larger story?
Theyve achieved some really incredible stuff, so it worked.
What was it like filming that?It was very tricky because there was no octopus there.
Its genuinely me going, What the fuck is going on here?
You know, theres still a lot I havent seen.
I still have to see six, seven, and eight.
In the octopus scene, its implied that Karim may be the OAs brother.
Do you have any sense of what that might mean?Thats a secret of the creators.
I know you havent seen it, but do you know that happens in the finale?
How did you react to that?Its incredible.
Im really looking forward to sitting down and watching it all in one sweep.
The season ends ina dimension where Brit Marling and Jason Isaacs apparently exist.
Do you think you exist as Kingsley in that world?Who knows?
Thats a good question.
Im going to jump on the phone to Zal later and try and find that out.
Id like to know, too.
We were crawling through tunnels, we were underground downtown in L.A. Youre under in the water tank for a long time.
We spent days jumping out of that well, and doing mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.
We started in January and we finished in May, June.
The OAis built around mysteries, and its a pretty secretive production.
I told my friends and family that I was just going to do pilot season.
I mentioned to my girlfriend that I was filming a show because she needed to know.
I mentioned to my brother.
No one really knew I was doing.
[When] the trailer dropped for it, my friends from back home were really surprised.
Theyre like, Man, youre like the main part in this!
Part of the job, eh?
Im fascinated by the augmented-reality game that Karim tries to solve with Zendayas character.
Were you looking at anything on the phone screen in those scenes?There was nothing on the phone.
I was a surprise to see Zendaya show up.
Do you know how she ended up as a part of it?
Is she just a fan of the show?Yeah, shes a big fan of the show.
I think her dad is a big fan of the show as well and she didnt tell him.
She wanted it to be a surprise for him, I remember her saying.
Shes super-fun to work with.
Its probably best for everyone me included to not know.
I trust Zal and Brit.
They know what theyre doing and they plotted this thing out.
I hope for them and I hope for everyone that they get to do their five seasons.
So, in a way, Im signed up, but who knows what I mean?
