Edward Bluemel on His Mysterious ‘Washington Black’ Character and Complicated Love Triangle: “He’s Not a Lost Cause”
[Editor's note: The following contains major spoilers for Washington Black.]
Summary
- In the Hulu series 'Washington Black,' Wash navigates a complex journey of self-discovery, trust, and freedom.
- Edward Bluemel's character Billy McGee undergoes a transformation in a love triangle, questioning his past and future.
- Bluemel enjoys playing diverse characters and reflects on his passion for acting, as well as his excitement for future projects.
Based on the bestselling novel, the Hulu series Washington Black follows George Washington “Wash” Black, as an 11-year-old boy (Eddie Karanja) born on a Barbados sugar plantation and as a young man (Ernest Kingsley Jr.). As the young Wash imagined a future beyond the confines he was born into as a slave, the older Wash has learned life lessons that make it more challenging for him to trust. Wash finds a kindred spirit in Tanna (Iola Evans), the mixed-race daughter of a white Englishman who would prefer to follow her heart than do what her father wants, which is for her to marry wealthy aristocrat Billy McGee (Edward Bluemel). Only Billy is not who he professes to be, and Tanna can’t help who she loves.
During this one-on-one interview with Collider, Bluemel discussed what made Washington Black so appealing, playing someone not in the novel, how his character continued to evolve, the relationship between Billy and Tanna, how the love triangle plays out, and why he doesn’t see himself as a chameleon. He also talked about why he does so many period projects, that My Lady Jane will always hold a special place in his heart, preparing to play William Shakespeare opposite Ncuti Gatwa’s Christopher Marlowe in the West End production of Born with Teeth, and what makes him want to do a specific project.
Edward Bluemel Enjoyed Playing a Tiny Piece in the Massive Jigsaw Puzzle of 'Washington Black'
"What's so attractive is how fun it is to be one little cog in the big machine."
Collider: There is so much to love about this story, the series, and the characters. When you read this and really dug into what you could do with it, what did you love most about it? What appealed to you about getting to do this?
EDWARD BLUEMEL: It’s always these huge, expansive journey stories that cover a huge period of time and a huge amount of space, and what’s so attractive is how fun it is to be one little cog in the big machine. With the main character, our central character, Washington, it follows a big period of his life. He meets so many fascinating and interesting characters who he gets to affect along the way and who affect him. It’s fun to be one of them and play a little tiny piece of the massive jigsaw.
Ernest Kingsley Jr. and Eddie Karanja are both so great playing Wash.
BLUEMEL: Oh, my gosh, yeah. They’re both so incredible. They worked so hard to find things that linked them, that they could use to portray the character in a way that felt believable and that they were both him. Eddie and Ernest’s performances were both incredible.
What did you think of this character? What was the key to understanding and playing him? He isn’t in the novel, so you didn’t have that to refer to. How did you figure him out?
BLUEMEL: It was an interesting one. We were figuring him out along the way. They had decided who he was going to be, but then during the process of filming it, minds were changed. We didn’t know whether we wanted the audience to like or dislike Billy. I think that’s actually the key to why he was so interesting. The fact that we didn’t know meant that I didn’t know. When I was playing it, that meant that I couldn’t think about the audience. I just had to play each scene as they came. Through that process, I was like, “Oh, this is really interesting.” He comes off really human. Sometimes you hate him, sometimes you’re repulsed by him, sometimes he’s quite charming, sometimes he’s capable of really good deeds, but he’s also capable of really evil deeds. His confusion is what enticed me into the character. I thought he was something when I was auditioning, and it turned out he wasn’t that. And then, during filming, it changed another three times. I could never quite put my finger on him. I realized maybe that’s just what it is to play a very complex individual.
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'Washington Black' premieres July 23 on Hulu.
You think one thing about him, as you’re getting to know him. And then, you learn about his backstory and it makes you realize that he maybe doesn’t even necessarily really like himself. And then, he goes through his own internal journey. That made the experience of following the character through the story particularly interesting.
BLUEMEL: Absolutely. His relationship with Tanna actually helps him realize things about himself. It’s very uncertain in the series where Billy is left and what his opinion on anything is. It’s up to the audience to decide what Tanna’s influence has been on him, as a character, and what he will go on to do.
What do you think it’s like for someone like him to have someone like Tanna call him a good man when he obviously knows there’s more to him than that?
BLUEMEL: I think it’s him realizing that, even with an incredibly shady past, he’s not a lost cause. He can do good things. That might also elicit some guilt. If you know you’ve done some really bad things and someone believes that you’re good, that can twist the dagger a little bit because you feel like you’re disingenuous. But at the same time, I think it inspires him to go, “Wait, I’m not only my past. I’m also my present and my future.” He’s young. There’s time left to hold himself accountable and change who he is.
This is a man who is capable of killing, in order to set himself up for a better position in life. Were there things you wanted to do to represent the character differently in his old life versus who he presents himself to be? We see the difference in his wardrobe, but were there things about his physicality that you wanted to be different?
BLUEMEL: Yeah, and that’s really linked to the wardrobe. When we see him before, his clothes are soft and malleable in a way that his new wardrobe isn’t. That automatically changes the way that you move and the way that you walk. If you have a cane, you walk completely differently. I love this idea that he uses his cane, but he actually isn’t using it 100% perfectly correctly. There are little cracks that show, in the way that I wanted his physicality to feel like he was doing a 90% good job of putting it on. If you’re wearing a top hat, it keeps your neck straight. But as soon as that top hat comes off, you suddenly relax into it. And when he’s fighting, suddenly everything changes and he turns into his old self when he’s in the ring.
The 'Washington Black' Love Triangle Ultimately Changes Billy McGee for the Better
"He's never going to win against Wash."
Even the relationship with Tanna is not a relationship he chose. It’s an arranged marriage with someone who has fallen in love with someone else. What was it like to find yourself in that kind of love triangle? How did you view the relationship between them? Do you think he thought he would work things out in some way?
BLUEMEL: He didn’t really care who Tanna was because, at the beginning, he just needed the marriage contract to legitimize himself. That’s all he needed. But I think he’s shocked to find that he really does care about her. She is a person of depth. She is a person who listens. She’s a person who is incredibly caring in a way that he probably hasn’t come across before. It was interesting, as an actor, because you know very well that this is a battle he’s not going to win. What’s really nice about the way that the character and the love triangle was presented is that he doesn’t win, sure, and he’s never going to win against Wash, but it still changes him for the better. Being a part of that love triangle is massive for his development as a character.
Obviously, there are a variety of different ways that you can connect with a character. Is there something you always like to do that helps you get into the characters that you play?
BLUEMEL: I don’t really do that much. I find that I like to not overthink things and use my instincts as an actor. I find that so much of the character actually comes from reacting to the other characters and the other actors in the moment. I definitely fell down traps when I was younger, of really obsessing over what I thought a character was going to be like, and then getting on set and for various reasons, be it the director, be it the other actors, be it the script changing, or even where we were, suddenly made my preconceptions not seem quite right. I just try to trust that my instinct will get me through and will create something interesting. I’m not a very transformative actor. I’ve never been someone who’s incredible at physical stuff or accents. I’m not a chameleon, in any way, shape or form. I trust that they picked me because they like me, and then in that moment, I can create something that is what they want. I think that’s really fun. For me, that’s what’s exciting about it.
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You’ve done quite a few period projects. Is that something you enjoy? Are you comfortable in that kind of wardrobe and with that language, or are you surprised that you keep ending up in those worlds?
BLUEMEL: I’m not surprised. I think it’s just because I’ve got a good head of hair. People love that for period stuff. I’ve definitely been accused of having the face of someone that’s never seen an iPhone. I love it. I love any job. It happens to be at the moment that it’s lots of period pieces. I do feel very comfortable in a blouse. I love a pair of knee-high boots. I really enjoy it. I don’t really mind. I don’t sit at home being like, “Oh, I’d love to do a period piece.” I do the jobs that are fun and that I get.
'My Lady Jane' Will Always Hold a Special Place in Edward Bluemel's Heart
"It approached fantasy, historical fiction and romance in a really beautifully messy, fun way."
I absolutely adored My Lady Jane and am one of those people that was dying for a Season 2 and was so disappointed not to get that. Does that series hold a special place in your heart?
BLUEMEL: Yeah, it holds a really special place in my heart. I think it was really unique, and I think it approached fantasy, historical fiction and romance in a really beautifully messy, fun way that was just so different to anything else I’ve ever watched. Its tone was unique and I thought its approach to storytelling was actually really special. I’m gutted about it. I would have loved to have done more. I think we all would have loved to have done more. I’m very glad for all the people that loved it so much and all of those fans who were so passionate about it because it justified what we thought when we were like, “Oh, this is really a magical show.” I’m so happy that a lot of people seem to agree.
Did they ever talk to you at all about what a second season would have been?
BLUEMEL: Yeah, they did. They wrote some of it. I don't know much, but they wrote some of it and they built the sets. It got really close to happening, and then the rug was pulled out. I can't quite remember if I had any details. I think there was a shipwreck in it. Someone said that there was a shipwreck and I was going to get in a shipwreck somehow, but that’s all I really know. I’m sure it would have been very exciting, really fun, and ultimately very sexy and silly, as My Lady Jane should be.
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You’ve been rehearsing Born with Teeth, which is set to run in the West End at the Wyndham’s Theatre from August 13th until November 1st. It’s so interesting that not only do we still have this obsession with the work of Shakespeare, but we want to also know about the man, personally. What has it been like to work on that show? It’s your take on somebody that we don’t really know it all, so what’s it like to explore someone like that?
BLUEMEL: It’s so fun. I’ve always been passionate about Shakespeare. It’s nice to dip my toe back because it’s been a long time since I’ve done anything related to it. There’s this juxtaposition of someone where we have so much content that he created. We’ve got so many sonnets, we’ve got epic poems, we’ve got plays and plays and plays, but we don’t know much about him, in terms of what really was going on. There are lots of rumors and myths about who he really was, or was it a few people? Was it Marlowe? Naturally, that’s why we’re so obsessed with it. Mystique is what makes us so fascinated. We have so much content, but still not enough to tell us a clear story of who this man was. That is so enticing to a writer and to audiences.
Liz Duffy Adams, who wrote the play, has done a great job of mixing true references to both Marlowe and Shakespeare’s plays and stuff we do know about them with fabulous conjecture, which is the most fun part of it. My Lady Jane did that in a very extreme way. It’s great to take history and stamp a big, fat “what if” question mark on it, and then just ultimately have fun with it. Christopher Marlowe is one of the most interesting characters, in terms of literature in history, but we know much less about him. All we know is that he was pretty dangerous and pretty fun. He’s an excellent character to write about, and Ncuti , who’s playing him, is incredible at it. It’s such a fun play to, ironically, get my teeth into because there’s so much to explore in it.
Are you someone who gets nervous every time you walk onto the stage? Do you get nervous about every project that you do, regardless of the medium, or is it more nerve-wracking at the start of a live performance?
BLUEMEL: Live performance is so nerve-wracking. It’s been eight years since I’ve done it, so I can definitely feel those nerves. But I will love it. As soon as I’m on that stage, I will have the best time. But it does feel scary at the moment, and much scarier than TV or film. TV and film is really exciting, but the thrill of theater, both the good and the bad, the horrible nerves and the excitement of a live audience, is where the magic is at.
Edward Bluemel Just Wants to Have Fun with the Roles He Gets to Play, Regardless of the Medium
"I love theater. I love film. I love TV. I just love acting."
Do you know what you’re going to do next, after that, or are you someone who’s just always open to whatever might happen?
BLUEMEL: When I got into acting, a big part of it was that you don’t know what’s going to happen and you can’t plan. It’s hard to have true, solid objectives set out because, so much more often than not, that leads to disappointment. For me, I’m really open to anything. I love theater. I love film. I love TV. I just love acting. So, if the character is fun, and if someone wants me to do something and I want to do it, then I’ll do it.
Release Date
July 23, 2025
Network
Hulu
- Ernest Kingsley Jr. George Washington 'Wash' Black
- Edward Bluemel William 'Billy' McGee
Washington Black is available to stream on Hulu. Check out the trailer:
