‘The 100’ – Bob Morley Interview on Season 6 and Bellamy’s Relationship with Clarke

The 100 returns to The CW’s primetime lineup on April 30, 2019 and will once again be changing up the world that greets the survivors. Season five ended with Clarke (Eliza Taylor) and Bellamy (Bob Morley) waking after spending 125 years in cryosleep. Monty and Harper stayed awake to monitor their journey and ultimately discovered a new planet that could be the group’s home because the Earth was no longer an option. Both Monty and Harper have died, however their son, Jordan, is already awake and along with videos explains what happened while those on board ship slept.

The 100 season six will pick up with Bellamy, Clarke, and the survivors making their way down to this new planet.

In our interview at the New York Comic Con, Bob Morley talked about what fans of The 100 can expect from the new season, the status of Bellamy and Clarke’s relationship, and how Bellamy has matured and changed over the seasons. He also discussed making his directorial debut with an episode of season six.

Do you like the fact The 100 constantly reinvents itself?

Bob Morley: “I mean, I think it’s amazing for me. It’s probably a lot of work for Jason (Rothenberg) and the writing team. But, like, being able to explore the actual physical world of what is going on in Jason’s mind is pretty surreal. I hadn’t really thought of it like that until just now, but yeah. It’s tricky for us as actors and it’s tricky for the crew to get used to new sets just because there’s practical reasons that it can be tricky. But in terms of performance and that and going to new worlds – like Mount Weather and Polis – it’s really exciting. It just kind of spices up the seasons and the episodes. I really love it.”

And it throws a new Bellamy into the mix because you have to transform for each new season, right?

Bob Morley: “Yeah. He definitely changed a lot last season, season five, into a much more, I guess, mature leader. Trying to use his head and his heart. I’ve always enjoyed playing Bellamy as the hothead which he hasn’t really been for a little while now. So, there’s part of me that’s kind of hoping that will come back for a bit, you know?

But it’s going to take a lot for him to turn back to being the bad guy because he’s gone through so much and he’s dealt with a lot. He thought Clarke was dead for six years and that made him be like, ‘Okay, I need to be a stronger leader with my head and my heart.’ It’s hard for him to just revert back to old ways after six years of trying to be a better man, I guess. (Laughing) There are no good guys or better people, so yeah.”


Will Bellamy and Clarke be co-leaders again?

Bob Morley: “I think that both of them… It’s pretty tricky to say. A lot of water’s passed under the bridge, but they’ve still got to mend that bridge. I think they take on what Monty has said about being the good guys and doing better than what we did on the other planet, which is going to be easy considering we blew up the last planet.”

The bar is pretty low.

Bob Morley: “Yeah, we’ve set the bar very low. I think that they want to respect Monty’s wishes to try and do better and work as a team. I mean, there’s a reason he woke up the two of them. I think that he thinks those two work better when they’re working together. To respect Monty and Harper’s wishes, I think that’s something they need to do. I think they’re aware of that.”

Did your injury affect shooting?

Bob Morley: “Yes. It’s better now. I had a lot of different doubles come in and run and walk for me. There’s a lot of Bellamy scenes where he’s sitting down. (Laughing) Having an injury sucks. I like to be physically active and all that stuff. To not be able to walk since July 20 until (September) is pretty frustrating. So, it affected me in a big way…and maybe a little bit of the show. They pushed shooting a week for me. (Laughing) It doesn’t hurt but mentally the scarring will never end.”

The 100 Bob Morley and Eliza Taylor
Bob Morley as Bellamy and Eliza Taylor as Clarke in ‘The 100’ season 5 (Photo: Katie Yu © 2018 The CW Network)

No matter the season, Bellarke fans remain interested in the relationship. Are there any sweet moments this season?

Bob Morley: “Yeah. No, absolutely. The chemistry that Eliza (Taylor) and I have working I’ve never really had with anyone else. It’s such an easy, comfortable thing.

I think it comes back to season one, this is just in terms of sweet moments and working with Eliza. We’re both from the same city in Australia. It’s both our first American gig. I think we intrinsically just trusted each other. I’m really glad that we get to do that. Even if the characters were at odds, I think that we can still find moments that the truth of Bellamy and Clarke is still there. They are two people who need each other and rely on each other. So, yeah, there will be sweet moments. There will be bad ones and sweet ones.”

Is there a direction you wanted season six to go for Bellamy?

Bob Morley: “Look, I don’t want Bellamy to be a dog towards Echo. I want Bellamy and Clarke to be working together as a team. In terms of romance and stuff like that, obviously it comes up a lot and the fans rightly feel that way about it because the two of them work really well together. But I only think about it, really, if Jason throws it up there. Then it’s something that I have to consider because I do believe that Bellamy’s a good man in terms of that kind of stuff, in terms of relationships and that. I do believe that he wants to make it work with Echo.”

Is there anyone you pushed for him to have more scenes with?

Bob Morley: “I always push to work with Richard Harmon. He’s like my best mate so any time we’re on set together it’s a lot of fun. Maybe a little too much fun. Maybe that’s why they don’t let us work together. We muck around too much. Yeah, always want to work with Richard.”

And you’re directing this season?

Bob Morley: “Yes.”

Which episode?

Bob Morley: “I think I’ll be directing episode 11.”

This is your first time directing?

Bob Morley: “I wouldn’t want to do it anywhere else, first-time directing. I’ve been on this show for six years, known this crew for six years, and the cast are like some of my best friends. I can’t imagine a better place for me to kind of try and achieve those goals. Everyone is very supportive. It’s very heartwarming to know that Jason and the writing team has set up a way for me to do it. It’s definitely not easy and it’s definitely terrifying. We’re such a family there – we kind of have to be with the amount of stuff we’ve all gone through, you know? I couldn’t imagine a better place to do it, to be honest.”