{"id":4740,"date":"2026-08-01T16:35:40","date_gmt":"2026-08-01T16:35:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/uspropertymoves.com\/?p=4740"},"modified":"2026-08-01T16:35:40","modified_gmt":"2026-08-01T16:35:40","slug":"how-rufus-sewell-found-a-tv-role-worth-staying-for","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/uspropertymoves.com\/?p=4740","title":{"rendered":"How Rufus Sewell Found a TV Role Worth Staying For"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\nFor the past several decades, Rufus Sewell navigated his career with an overarching no-no: getting stuck on a continuing TV show. \u201cThe idea of security has always filled me with fear,\u201d says the London native. \u201cThe idea of being tethered was never my dream.\u201d Yet, while he\u2019d previously starred on Prime Video\u2019s The Man in the High Castle<\/em> for four seasons, Sewell has noticed a change in his mentality with Netflix\u2019s political drama The Diplomat<\/em>, on which he just completed production for season four.<\/p>\n

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\n\t\u201cI would rather be killed off than be stuck in a rut, but if [The Diplomat<\/em>] continues this way, I would love to do it for a few years,\u201d he says. \u201cAll I know is that my career-long dread of a long-running series has not continued with this one.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tIt\u2019s a good thing, too, since Sewell\u2019s work on the show seems to generate more attention by the year. As the wily, at times maddeningly self-interested Hal Wyler, the actor has worked wonders opposite star Keri Russell, who plays Kate Wyler, in creator Debora Cahn\u2019s tricky portrait of contemporary marriage and power. While Russell has received Emmy nominations from the beginning, Sewell received his first best actor nod for season three this year \u2014 with the show also breaking into writing and other categories for the first time.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cIt feels like it took a while for people to really catch on to what was so special about it,\u201d says Sewell, previously an Emmy nominee for his guest turn on The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel<\/em>. \u201cThe cliffhangers and things that you might associate with a different genre and possibly even different quality of show \u2014 within that, you\u2019ve got something very sophisticated, and I think people took time to get their heads around that. It\u2019s like people are beginning to see our baby in the way that I always saw it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tSewell\u2019s canny performance propels much of the character-driven mystery of The Diplomat<\/em>. Hal recklessly careens between personal ambition and marital loyalty. The third season opens with newly minted U.S. President Grace Penn (Allison Janney) selecting Hal as her VP, notably over Kate, a seasoned diplomat who\u2019d been wrestling with her own complicated interest in the role. This leads the couple to separate for most of the season.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cI had a growing concern that something needed to change \u2026 and in season three, that happened,\u201d Sewell says of the dynamic between Hal and Kate. \u201cYou don\u2019t want to rinse and repeat because the audience gets very tired of it. The change in status between the two of us, really mixing things up, is the best hope of keeping the kernel of what we love about this. It\u2019s what I love about the show: It creates new relationships.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThe finale then ends with a series of emotional, stunning scenes \u2014 Kate asking Hal to take her back, only to learn that he\u2019d been working behind her back with Grace in matters of delicate, risky, aggressive geopolitical strategy. Kate is as shocked as the audience to discover Hal\u2019s betrayal \u2014 something Sewell had to keep in mind as he played a man sitting on big secrets all season long. The actor requested years ago that Cahn inform him ahead of time of any character reveals being kept hidden, so as to feel more equipped to play a guy holding his cards perilously close to the chest.<\/p>\n

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\n\t\u201cThere might be three different stories going on, one of which only truly gets revealed at the end \u2014 but all of them have to be played fully even if they seem in the end to be playing in opposite directions, and that\u2019s a real challenge,\u201d Sewell says. \u201cThe information might affect the playing in an obvious way, or it might not, but you want to be given that choice.\u201d<\/p>\n

\nThe Diplomat<\/em> has expanded its scope to explore intimate stories of power and manipulation within its high-stakes political world. The plot moves in accordance with how characters evolve in their relationships \u2014 and Hal\u2019s actions often inform the drama\u2019s larger crises. He can be painted as a villain rather easily, which Sewell resists on a constant basis.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cI still think that he\u2019s basically a good guy \u2014 he is narcissistic and I think he is hugely ambitious, but he also is ambitious because, in his heart of hearts, he wants to do good things,\u201d Sewell argues. \u201cYou can tell yourself you\u2019re a good person every day, but you must remember that\u2019s what people do in order to do bad things.\u201d The actor later puts Hal\u2019s predicament another way: \u201cHe really believes in being in the room, even in a compromised position. The idea of what you give up for access and what those small compromises do to you is something I\u2019m very interested in. I\u2019m not drawing a final conclusion on it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThat nuance in the writing allows Sewell to play with all kinds of shading. The actor remains tight-lipped about season four, except revealing that Bradley Whitford, who portrays Grace\u2019s husband, first gentleman Todd, has a bigger role as expected. Cahn will zero in on a dual marital study here, finding new notes of contrast and parallel. \u201cThese characters are so different and their relationship is so different,\u201d Sewell says. \u201cThere are just so many different levels to it \u2014 and the opportunities for drama and comedy are really being leaned into.\u201d<\/p>\n

\nThis story first appeared in a July stand-alone issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. To receive the magazine, click here to subscribe.<\/em><\/p>\n

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Rufus Sewell talks \u2018The Diplomat,\u2019 Emmy nomination and the thrill of a series that keeps evolving.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4739,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[245,826,827,3157],"class_list":["post-4740","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interesting","tag-awards","tag-emmy-awards","tag-emmys-2026","tag-the-diplomat"],"yoast_head":"\nHow Rufus Sewell Found a TV Role Worth Staying For - US Property Moves<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/uspropertymoves.com\/?p=4740\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How Rufus Sewell Found a TV Role Worth Staying For - 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