Richard Harmon made his first trip to WonderCon as part of The 100 crew and loved the experience of being part of the squad that took the stage for a Q&A with fans during the March 2016 convention in downtown Los Angeles. Harmon also took part in interviews to discuss season three and his character, Murphy. Harmon says he’s nothing like his character and joked that if he met him in real life, he’d probably stay out of his way.
Richard Harmon Interview:
Your character started off as rather a dubious guy but has redeemed himself in a way. Is he going to continue down that path?
Richard Harmon: “I think what comes with that is that we’ve kind of spent some more time with him on camera, because before you just saw his actions and you’ve seen the bit of a sinister guy that he can be sometimes when a situation is a certain way with him. But, I don’t ever see it as redemption for him because in my own head I always, obviously, had to be on Murphy’s side, being the one playing him. So I never thought he needed redemption, but I can see from the outside how the arc he’s on is a bit of a redemption arc. I think that will continue. What I guarantee will continue is we’ll keep learning more and more about Murphy and the kind of guy he really is inside and what his motives are.”
Are there any characters you’re hoping he gets to interact with more?
Richard Harmon: “Absolutely. Well, luckily for me on the show I’ve had the chance to work with almost everybody. Like, that was the thing before I became a series regular is that Murphy was kind of a great accessory to other people’s storylines, even with Isaiah [Washington] which was such an odd couple between the two of us but it works so great. Or, me and Bob [Morley] or anything like that. But as far as new characters on the show that I have not worked with yet, Mike Beach who plays Pike I think is just a phenomenal actor so I’d like to see the two of them hash it out and go toe-to-toe in the middle of a scene. That would be very cool. Maybe not in a fight, because I know who’d win that. Yeah, him for sure.”
Can you talk about the set? Does that help you get into Murphy?
Richard Harmon: “100%. I think the wonderful thing about this show is that my job is 90% done for me by the time I step on camera. Between the makeup which is so incredible…Tanya Howard is our makeup artist and is probably the best makeup artist I’ve ever [known]. She’s so good. She’s done my character work for me, honestly, with the scars and the dirt and the mud and the blood. And the clothing, by the time I step on camera with all of that on I just feel like Murphy. I’m ready to go. I’ve played him for long enough now that when you get me in all that, I just kind of settle into him and really just have a good time playing him.”
How worried are you about getting a script that says Murphy’s dead? It could happen at any time.
Richard Harmon: [Laughing] “It’s true. I think if they were going to kill me, I’m hoping Jason [Rothenberg] would tell me at least a little bit in advance. I think that he would so I’m not too worried when I read the scripts for that. Honestly, I usually worry about am I good enough to pull off what they’ve given me. Jason’s entrusted me with some very, very interesting, hard scenes to do over the last couple of seasons so when I read scripts I’m kind of very invigorated by the thought of what I’m going to be able to do. I’m always eager to know what I have to do next.”
Will Murphy pick a side?
Richard Harmon: “He’s always kind of been on his own. He might choose a side. If he ever did choose a side, I think that might come from looking out after himself, obviously. If a tribe was offering him something like safety, that assuredness that he might be okay with these people, then I’m sure he would take that.”
Would you ever be friends with a guy like Murphy?
Richard Harmon: “Never. We would never get along. As you can see, we’re very different people. I don’t think we’d ever get along if we were in the same room. [Laughing] I’d probably just stay out of his way.”
