Max's Duster has not yet been renewed for a Season 2, but its intense Season 1 finale makes it clear that there's plenty more story to tell, something one of the show's main stars agrees with. The show follows Josh Holloway's Jim Ellis, a newly turned informant, and Rachel Hilson's FBI Agent Nina Hayes, as the two work to take down Keith David's Ezra Saxton and his crime empire.
Duster star Benjamin Charles Watson sat down with The Direct, where he not only broke down his character's journey throughout all of Season 1, but also explained what he'd like to explore with his character of Royce Saxon if the story continues.
Watson revealed that if a Season 2 happens, "It's gonna be really, really different, and it's gonna be really fascinating and interesting." He further explained to The Direct how he'd "really want to see if Royce has the ability to step into his father's shoes." Two other things that the actor wants to explore with more story is where Royce's mother is in the equation, and how the new status quo will affect his relationship with his older sister.
The big Duster Season 1 finale ended with lots of chaos, as Jim Ellis is narrowly saved from the chopping block—but at the cost of Ezra Saxton (Keith David) sacrificing his life to block a gunshot meant for his son. In doing so, Royce seemingly loses his father for good, putting him in the perfect spot to be the next successor to his family's empire.
Duster Season 1 is now streaming on Max.
Duster Star Benjmain Charles Watson on What He Wants to See In Season 2
"It's Gonna Be Really, Really Different..."
- The Direct: "What does this mean for Royce? What is Royce's next step?"
Benjamin Charles Watson: I mean, what do you think Royce's next step is? Royce is supposed to be the next [Saxton]. Royce is supposed to start running things if anything goes wrong with [dad]... But I mean, there were clues. There were clues for Royce in a couple of my scenes, there were clear clues as to what potentially might happen, [for] Season 2. So, if you pay close, close attention, there were clues. So, Season 2, if it happens, when it happens, if it happens, it's gonna be really, really different, and it's gonna be really fascinating and interesting.
- The Direct: "What have we heard about Season 2? Is it possible? Can fans keep hope alive?"
Watson: I think fans can always keep hope alive, especially after what happened in the last episode. I mean, we need to see what would happen in Season 2, for sure.
- The Direct: "Hypothetically, Season 2 happens. We're now in hypothetical territory. What are you most excited to explore with Royce if this story gets to continue? What are some of those aspects that you would really love to dive more into that we just didn't really have time for this season?"
Watson: I think I'd really want to see if Royce has the ability to step into his father's shoes, and how far is he going to go? Because before, my dad was a little bit more tamer, and would like let other individuals do his work for him. He would get his hands dirty, like we saw when he got into that bar fight. Like that's the type of person he was. And then he's calmed down a lot since I've been sick, and him understanding, like family and stuff like that.
So, I want to dive more into, and I'm curious to see if I'm going to kind of follow my dad's path and getting my hands really dirty, or letting everyone have all the fun. But I would really want to get my hands dirty and a little bit deeper and explore what it's like to, like, lose my dad, and like, what that's gonna affect and do to him, and I think that's gonna be a fascinating thing. That's something I want to deal with a lot.
And then the relationship, yeah, that's definitely one. And then two, I have a feeling just off the top of my head that I think obviously my sister and I would get into a little bit of an argument... She's the older sister. She wants to take the company, but she can't take over the company, because, one, I'm the man. I'm taking over and [following] in my father's footsteps, but she's the older sister, so that dynamic I want to dive into as well.
And I mean, we've never explored the relationship between the mom as well, so I'm curious, and I would love to explore that situation, because if Dad is gone, what's the relationship between Mom? Because, yeah, in the second episode, it's like, Hey, call your fucking mother. So, I want to know if I call my fucking mother and like, what's my mother gonna say, and how that is...
Because I played with that and Royce's creation of just having a father, not having his mother, that was important as well. Those are three things I want to dive into for sure.
How Royce Feels About Jim Ellis' Betrayal in Duster Season 1 Finale
"I Feel Completely Betrayed..."
- The Direct: "Another key relationship is with Jim Ellis. Before I go deeper into it, [can you] just break down what their relationship looks like? How does Royce feel about his father's close friend and what do we not see on screen? What are some of those interactions off-screen? And how do they feel about each other, even before the story starts?"
Benjamin Charles Watson: Yeah, so [Royce] basically grew up with Jim. So I've seen Jim around for a very long time, interacting with my dad and our relationship, like he's seen me grow up. So like, we have this very camaraderie... He feels like my brother, so he's taking care of me a lot. And, yeah, I've known him for such a very long time, so our relationship is pretty epic. I feel like he is my other brother, because we've just been together for such a long time, so I've seen him forever.
- The Direct: "In the finale, all is revealed: Ellis turned against Saxton. But what we don't see, however, is how Royce feels about it all. How do you picture his reaction? What is his mindset about that current situation as it's unfolding?"
Watson: That's fascinating you say that because, yeah, reading the script and that last episode, obviously I could not, or Royce, could not believe that Jim would ever do that. I feel completely betrayed just based on the fact, like, I know you. I've known you for such a long time you've known me.
So, this feels like the ultimate betrayal, because in this business, you don't—I trust you, and you're like family. If I bring you in, you can't do that. So [Royce] feel[s] utterly destroyed. And then the last episode, it's, unfortunately, you betrayed us. So I have to be on my dad's side, and this has to be it. I have no choice. I can't say, oh, my god, let's save him. It's like, No, you betrayed us. Betrayed my dad. You betrayed me, you betrayed the family.
If you betray the family, I'm sorry, but you have to go. So like, Yeah, you didn't see that. But, like, that's the thought process of absolute, complete betrayal, almost exactly the same as my dad, because he was family.
- The Direct: "How was that big, massive shootout to film?"
Watson: Oh, my God, Where do I even start? One, that was phenomenal. But two, I had to run in those heels because, like, back then, men were wearing [those] heel thing[s], so I had to run in those shoes. And no one has taught you.
You don't realize that—I don't know how women do this, and I give them all credit for it—but running in those things were was the hardest thing I've ever done in my entire life, because they would slip, because they weren't gripping, so they were slipping, and then I hurt my ankle once. But that scene was absolutely incredible. It was so cool. It was so fun. It was a blast shooting that scene.
We also had these, like pellet things that would hit and then those would explode, so you would see, like the spark. So it was really great for us as actors, because you would see where the bullets were hitting and the sparks would fly, like that was good for us, for helping us, but that scene is incredible. And obviously the stunts where the car comes in and like hits, so that was all good, but it was fun shooting that, because I've never done that before.
The Complicated Father-Son Relationship Between Royce and Saxton
Their Relationship "Is a Bit Complex."
- The Direct: "You play Royce Saxton, the son of legendary Ezra Saxton. Can you just dive into their relationship? What does that look like?"
Benjamin Charles Watson: The relationship between myself, Royce, and my dad, is a bit complex, because obviously I'm the heir to this massive company and thing that my dad has built, but Royce has always felt like he's not worthy in the sense that he's always been sick.
He's never had the opportunity to become the man that he thinks that his dad wants him to be, because he's constantly being sick. So, his dad's constantly babying him and trying to make sure he's okay, but Royce is trying to—he doesn't understand that his dad actually cared for him and loved for him.
So, he's trying his best throughout this entire season to just be good and just have his dad love him and know that he's worthy and that he has the ability to become this strong man that he desperately wants his dad to see him as...
- The Direct: "He probably feels so much pressure on a daily basis. How do you even get through a day with the amount of pressure he probably has?"
Watson: It's a lot of pressure, and just the fact that his older sister, she has this own club that, sure, my dad got and bought it for her. But like, my dad, he trusts her, and [doesn't trust] me. Like, I don't really get the opportunity to do anything, really. So it's this complex thing of, how can I get my dad to love me and trust me and understand that I can't be this person that he wants me to be? So, going through a day in his brain, it's a lot.
- The Direct: "After his heart surgery, how does that change that dynamic between you and your father?"
Watson: You see that I am changing a lot, and I'm becoming a little bit, I don't want to say stronger, but like this, heart has changed me into something that's a little bit more complex and more like he's standing in his own power for like, the first time in such a long time. So that dynamic is really changing as to who I was at the beginning to who I am at the end. So that's been really fascinating.
- The Direct: "Ezra Saxon's empire, is that something that will for sure, the intention is to trickle down to Royce? Is that kind of what Royce feels like his life is being set up as?"
Watson: Yeah, just based on the fact that you are the son of the family. So, after the dad goes, you are the one who's going to own this, you're the one who's going to be running this. He had all that pressure to, how do I become the strong, independent—I don't want to say scary, but how do I become this man that my dad needs me to be? Like, I want to be just like my dad. My dad is like a lion. How do I become the lion that my dad wants me to be to run this company? So that's my motivating thing throughout the entire season.
Benjamin Charles Watson on Mastering Royce's Tricky Mood Swings
"It Was the Most Complex Thing I've Ever Done..."
- The Direct: "One of the interesting aspects of your recovery are the intense mood swings that Royce has to go through, and that must have been a challenge to navigate on a performance level. Can you talk about that a little bit?"
Benjamin Charles Watson: That was so hard. I'm not gonna lie. It was hard. It was complicated. There were so many mood swings that Royce goes through, and I was trying to navigate it in my script, and like, how do I make it work? And how do I do it with my other castmates...
So, I went through an acting coach, I'm not gonna say who the acting coach is. And the acting coach was, there's one scene where I had to just, oh yeah, it was the steak scene. I had to ball, and the amount of, you, as an actor, there are so many different takes, so I don't know how to fake it, if that makes sense. I had an acting coach that said, if it doesn't come, just fake it. Just cry, to do the emotion stuff, and your body will do it. And I was like, I've done that a lot of times early in my acting. That doesn't work. I feel like I actually had to cry.
So, like all those takes, I was actually crying. And then later on, throughout the series, you see me cry, and then you see me get mad, and then be like, You got all these emotions. So navigating that in the script, I just it had to be so compact and so tight...
The way my technique works, and the way how I operate is a lot based on thoughts. So the thoughts of my character Royce had to switch so fast, and I had to tighten them, and I had to rehearse that, make sure like the thoughts before each line was concrete in order to get me to the emotional state I needed to get, and then another thought was switched me out of that.
But it was the most complex thing I've ever done, and I'm hoping it came off really well, but it was so hard... I can't even explain how I did it. A lot of my techniques based on thoughts. So it's like a thought for the line and what the other character says to me, and it's just what Royce... like his emotional circumstances, and what his journey is throughout the entire series, and his journey before.
So, I had to make sure all that was very intact in order for me to get to the emotional circumstance that I was for all the like, emotional, crazy things.
- The Direct: "You also have competing internal [feelings]—[and] on the surface you may be like, crying or anger, or whatever it may be, but internally, you're panicking; I don't want to feel this way. Like, why am I feeling this way? Which might not register on the outside, and so you have to juggle all of those."
Watson: Yeah, especially, scenes with my dad was like, I can't feel this right now, but I don't I'm feeling this, but I cannot go through this because my dad's right there, and I can't have him thinking I'm weak like, there's so many—my brain after [those] last couple episodes is just, it's out of this world.
- The Direct: "So, this Royce that we meet in the show, how different is he from the Royce before the show started, before the surgery. Like, what are the differences there? Are we seeing basically a reborn version of this person?"
Watson: Yeah, you're definitely seeing a reborn person based on having a new heart. But before it was like, a lot of not being able to, like, my dad would never trust me to do anything just because he's like, Oh, he has a bad heart. What if his heart, what if he dies while he's trying to accomplish something for me, for him, for the company? So yeah, the old version of me is very timid, very shy, very trying to figure out, how do I even go about daily life? And then obviously me, after I'm feeling better, like things are happening. So you see, it's, it's a completely different voice, for sure, 100%.
The entire conversation can be viewed here:
