From Summer Issue 62
Glass Man talks to The Wheel of Time actor, Taylor Napier about his evolving connection to his character, bringing a new narrative to queer relationships, and wanting to tell his own stories
US actor Taylor Napier’s British accent and bisexual character, Maksim, have taken viewers by storm in Amazon Prime’s fantasy drama The Wheel of Time.
Entering his third season in his recurring role as a member of a warrior class known as Warders, Tennessee-born Napier effortlessly extends his understanding and curiosity in portraying Maksim’s fight, love, charm and sorrow. Finally filming without a strike or pandemic to keep an eye on, he truly settles into his character as a fierce protector and grieving lover, and in doing so, lays his own roots for his acting capabilities.
Photograph: David Reiss
How were you first introduced into the world of acting?
I probably shouldn’t say this, but I got into acting because I was really bad at sports. My family’s pretty athletic; my mum and dad both played the British equivalent of university level sports, and my brother is fairly athletic too. I was not. I tried throughout grade school, then I finally gave up and started acting, which I found out I was better at than sports, or at least it seemed like it, and I’ve kept with it since. It’s worked out all right so far.
Audiences have watched Maksim’s continuous character arc since the series began in 2021. What originally drew you to the role and how has your bond with the character evolved?
I liked Maksim initially because I like how the show uses him to cut against the traditional trope of the soldier, warrior type. He’s a little bit off-centre in that way – it’s not the typical kind of grunting, yelling on a mediaeval battlefield that you see with that type of character normally. The writers were bringing his humour and playfulness to the forefront. And then, as the show’s gone on, you all get to know each other in a different way. The writers start to write to incorporate what you’re bringing to the character because they know who the actor is now.
As Maksim’s evolved, he’s grown up a lot and, especially in season three, goes through quite a bit of trauma. He’s very shaken at the beginning of it, but by the end of it, I think he’s accepted his responsibility within the world of The Wheel of Time in a different way than he did at the beginning. He was someone who, at the start in a flight or fight situation, was definitely a flight person, even though he was a warrior. He was running away from whatever it was that was troubling him and finding something else to fill his time and to make do.
Through losing Ihvon [a fellow Warder] and his place in the world, he’s discovered he needs to stick around and fight for something, and now, he fights for the people he loves, or the person that he now loves, more than the prophecies and everything.
Photograph: David Reiss
Many fans have praised the queer relationships within the show – including your own bisexual and polyamorous character. How has fans’ responses shaped your understanding of playing a character so under-represented?
Yeah, there’s been an outpouring of love from some of the fandom for this character and this relationship as a whole. This has been really wonderful because I don’t think you see bisexual polyamorous relationships a lot on screen, especially one dealt with in a really realistic way of how three people become two people; when there is a loss between three people, the balance that you have to find. People have responded really positively.
But you have to be a little careful when you get involved too much. It’s lovely to feel the love, but I never want to change any of my characterisation based on what fans might want or expect, because then you’re chasing something you think fans would like, rather than being authentic to the character. I always try to be open and loving, and I’ll happily chat about Maksim. But for me, playing Maksim is my job, so, there are certain things I like to keep a little bit guarded. I try to make my own decisions and not be influenced by what I think people might want to see from him or not want to see from him.
From episode one in the new season, amid the battles and romances, Maksim is grieving. How did you connect to this new side of him?
No human escapes this world without going through grief and I’ve had my fair share of it, so in many ways this season was cathartic for me in dealing with a lot of things in my personal life. I was able to process those emotions through a character, which is always helpful. As an actor grief is such a hard thing because when you’re trying to portray it, it can be such a downer.
No one likes to see people grieve – we like to see people fighting for things. We like to see people trying to achieve something or trying to heal themselves in some way. And so even as an actor, there’s always a temptation to wallow in it and cry. But that’s not necessarily the most fulfilling thing for the audience, and it doesn’t really move the story forward.
Trying to understand how Maksim is trying to fight through his grief as best he can was something that was interesting to play around with because it’s slightly different from me. He really has to feel his grief. When I’m grieving something, I tend to dive into work and try to just put it away; or help other people if they’re going through grief. Maksim is probably the opposite. He really is feeling it and he needs people to help him through that.
I think that’s what you see with his relationship with Alanna [Maksim is one of Alanna’s two Warders] in this season, in the friction they have; he wants to sit around and talk about Ihvon and just feel through his grief, whereas Alanna wants to work through it. I probably am a little bit more of an Alanna than a Maksim, so it was interesting to put myself in the other person’s mindset.
Photograph: David Reiss
Three seasons in, the cast must be pretty tight-knit – can you share one of your favourite memories on set?
We’re very tight-knit but the closest person to me is Priyanka Bose, who plays Alanna, because I have practically all of my scenes with her. We filmed through the pandemic, so we became quite close since we were basically the only people in each other’s lives. I definitely think we bonded a lot during season one and season two.
In terms of funny memories, I’m trying to think of ones I can tell you without getting in trouble! Okay, so Priyanka and I have travelled a few times together and we decided to take Anthony Kaye, who plays Ihvon in season three, to Greece. We got to the airport, all checked in; it was great. We had a drink at the bar, then we went to the gate. Anthony goes through, shows his passport. I go through, I show my passport, but Priyanka has somehow lost her passport between the check-in counter and the actual gate. We’ve got 10 minutes and we’ve got to find it.
But Anthony and I have already gone through and they won’t let us come back. We’re on a bus and we see her going through her bags, throwing everything in the air. There was this moment where we looked at each other thinking, should we try to get off and help her, or should we go to Greece? We were, like, we’re just gonna go to Greece. So we’re waving goodbye as the bus goes off [laughs]. She gets to come the next day, so it was fine. She only missed 24 hours. But she was not happy. I think she thought that we were supposed to be her Warders in real life and comb the airport for her passport, but we decided to go have fun. We’d already rented the house!
Travelling seems such an essential passion of yours – how have your cultural experiences influenced your creativity?
Any time you’re able to immerse yourself in a different culture, you learn not only about that culture, but also about yourself – and that’s going to inform your creative process. In simple terms, it’s like watching a movie or reading a book and, somewhere down the line, it comes back to you in inspiration and you can apply it to a character.
The nice thing about when you’re travelling, especially if you’re travelling alone, is that as an actor you get to try out new characters and be whoever you want. It can allow you to move away from yourself, or your preconceived notions of yourself, in a really interesting way. And that’s obviously my job as an actor. I would be nervous to be a completely different person in my hometown because I’d interact with someone that I would know, and they’d be, like, are you crazy? Or think I’m really pretentious. But if you’re in a random small town in Italy, then go for it.
Photograph: David Reiss
In 2018, you starred in, wrote and produced a short film, Atacama. Will we see you step back into writing soon?
I hope so. It can be difficult, because writing, producing and acting dominate your life when you do it. But, I have a few things I’m working on that I’m trying to get off the ground, a series I’m writing, a play I’d love to produce and star in. There’s a ton of stuff coming down the pipeline. It’s just finding the time and the money to do them.
The thing about acting that is really frustrating is that you have absolutely no power. Someone else is writing the words, someone’s telling you what you’re gonna wear. You have an opinion, which they might or might not listen to. As wonderful as acting is, you are just a bit of a cog in a machine. When you step back and do something smaller, or are more in creative control of something, it is a different experience of putting your own voice out there and getting to tell the stories you want to tell, which is important. It’s why we all get into this.
With prior roles in Wreck, Hanna, and Crazy, Rich and Deadly, you seem eager to experiment with different genres. Is there anything you’re itching to try, and anything we expect from you in the near future?
I’m from Tennessee and I’d love to do something set in the South, whatever genre that is, I don’t really care, I’d just love to do something that celebrates where I’m from. There’s a real fun world of the [Southern states], which is something that gets explored a little bit, but not fully. I’d love to film in Tennessee and be able to kind of highlight the beauty of the region and also some of the amazing talents there.
by Madeleine ringer
Photographer: David Reiss
Senior Fashion Editor: Lily Rimmer
Grooming: Liz Daxauer using DR. BARBARA STURM
Photography assistant: Guillaume Mercier
Styling assistant: Maki So
Talent: Taylor Napier
Look 1: Top VIVIENNE WESTWOOD, Trousers MM6 MAISON MARGIELA
Look 2: All clothing DIOR MEN
Look 3: Top R13, Shorts ADAM JONES STUDIO, Socks PANTHERELLA, Shoes GRENSON
Look 4: All clothing and necklace LOUIS VUITTON