Oliver Stark discusses the Season 8 finale of '9-1-1,' Buck's significant moments, and more in exclusive Interview

At the end of the season finale, we see Buck looking for a new place because the last one "wasn't really mine." Can you tell me a little bit about what you think his headspace is going into the upcoming season? Is he trying to kind of start a new chapter with this new house? 
Oliver Stark: I would think so. I think with the events towards the end of season 8, what with Bobby's passing and everything, I think Buck is in a headspace where he's looking to evolve, mature, and step into the next iteration of himself. So yeah, I would think that's what him finding a new place is, you know, I'm ready to step out onto my own again and become this next more well-constructed version of myself. 

Uncle Buck has a new baby in the family, Robert Nash Han, which made everyone emotional. Which of Bobby's life lessons that Buck learned from him do you think he will pass on to his nephew? 
I think being a baby with Chimney as your dad, you're probably gonna have a lot of energy, or maybe that's a Kenneth Choi thing, but no, Chimney has a lot of energy too, and I think Buck was a kid who ran into a lot of things headfirst and obviously, then into his adult life. I think Bobby helped to kind of reel that in and slow him down a little bit, and I think that's the kind of uncle advice that Buck will be giving moving forward, that it's okay to just ease into things. 

Did you and Peter Krause have any conversations about Buck and Bobby's final scene, before going into it, after filming it, or anything about that beautiful moment between the two of them? 
Not as such. We've built such a strong relationship over the years that I think we were both aware we'll probably be on the same page for what it needs to be, so we didn't have any prior conversations of what it needed to feel like. I think we just trusted each other that we'll meet each other there, almost as it were. We had some wonderful conversations afterwards and still do, and there have been plenty of long hugs between myself, him, and the rest of the cast in the days leading up to shooting those scenes and following shooting those scenes. My favorite part of that scene is when he says, "I love you, kid." That, to me, the first time I watched it, is really the moment that broke me.

It broke all of us. 
It was that and actually I think as well, which is almost more powerful to me, is in the scene once Athena has come into the room and Bobby sends Buck away, Buck doesn't quite want to go yet and doesn't know what to say, and Bobby just gives him a little nod, almost to say, "It's okay, I release you," that always hits me very hard. 

It broke my heart even more that after Buck did leave, when Bobby passed, he was alone. I mean, your performance, first of all, gave me absolute chills, and it's an image no one is going to forget. All of the reactions were so incredible, but your reaction, Buck's reaction, I just wanted to give him a hug, and I felt so awful that no one was there for him. 
I love that everybody was alone for those moments. I think that in itself speaks to what Bobby was, the glue of the 118, and I think it would have been very different to have that moment, everybody together. But it was kind of indicative of how fractured the 118 was or is without him, that we were all individual in those moments because we kind of lost the center point of the 118. 

That's so well said, and obviously, with Bobby's tragic death, everyone is mourning and handling things differently, which is very true to life. Everyone deals with death differently. What was the most important thing about how you wanted Buck's grief to be shown and presented to the audience? 
I was really excited to not have Buck be a snivelling mess the next week. I loved this idea of him feeling this responsibility and this duty to try and hold it together, to try and almost be Bobby. When Bobby died in that scene, he tells Buck, "They're gonna need you," and then I loved this idea that Buck was gonna try and step into that Bobby role, not as captain but as a kind of moral, emotional rock. I loved that he was gonna try and take that on, not that he was particularly successful at it but that he felt charged to be the one that was strong for everybody else, whether or not that's what Bobby meant or what they needed is a different conversation but that Buck was gonna try and soldier on through and as I say, just highlight the kind of duty element of what needed to be done. 

Now, I want to reflect on the series and your character overall. Looking back, is there a scene that seemed small at the time but ended up being important? Maybe one that you thought was insignificant, but now in later seasons, it turned out to be significant for Buck, whether the meaning of the scene has since changed, or your view of it personally changed? 
I think if I go way back to the pilot episode, when we take the baby out of the wall, and Buck is so protective of this kid and really, really cares, and we've kind of seen that a lot over the years and I don't ever know if that was the plan from the beginning or if it was sparked from that scene that he has this kind of real connection to kids. We've seen it on emergency calls, and he's just great with them. We've seen in his personal life too with Christopher and with Jee-Yun, and then, once we get the context of "Buck Begins" and that he was a kind of unloved kid, I think that all came together really nicely into the context of who he is in those moments. So yeah, small beginning and not necessarily something that was always gonna hold a lot of weight moving forward, but I do think looking back, it came together really nicely. 

I think it's so beautiful when a character who grew up unloved and with a rough family life just turns into the most loving person, because that is just such a testament to who they are, that they didn't let that ruin them for life.
Sure, and it can go the other way, right? You don't blame the person if they are not able to break out of that cycle, as it were, but yeah, it seems to be that Buck was able to and use it as a power rather than let it kind of inhibit him. 

Yeah, definitely, and Buck doesn't even do it for any specific reason; he just does it. I mean, I think back to that scene where Christopher leaves, and he runs away to Buck. He calls Eddie, who is frantic, and is like, "Christopher's here." It's a testament to how much Christopher, his niece, and now, nephew can trust him. 
Yeah, and we see him do it every day as a firefighter, right? Show up for people, and try and be the calming presence when they're at the worst, lowest moments of their life. That's what firefighters are doing, right? They're walking in on you when you slip in the shower, it's in your lowest moments, and to try and make these people feel comfortable and reassured, I think, is part of their job.

Shoutout to him for going back in to save that dog, I need him to get a dog permanently. 
I would love that, I think there are probably some difficulties that come with shooting with a dog day in day out, but I love the idea of it. 

What do you personally consider to be more challenging: a disaster sequence or an emotionally intense scene?
The disaster scenes are not difficult in a way that I control, right? So I don't have to make any huge choices in those moments, they tell me what to do and I'll run with that in certain senses but the difficulty of planning those is not so much on my shoulders whereas as an actor, in emotional scenes, obviously, I want to make my choices and consider myself to know Buck very well and have a good understanding of scenes. So, I think they're more challenging in the sense that there's more of it on my shoulders, but also, obviously, I love that challenge, and that's why I do this job in general is because you want to make those choices. The show is at a point now where we've been doing it long enough where everybody is pretty intimately acquainted with their characters and knows the direction they want to go but then, it's also lovely when, especially sometimes when you work with a new director to the show, and they come with these outside eyes and they give you a note or ask you a question, and you're just like, "Oh yeah, I hadn't even thought of that," because we have been sat in these characters for so long and who's to say it couldn't be this other new thing that these fresh eyes have come in with. So yeah, I would say the emotional scenes, but not in a way that we don't embrace in any sense. 

I love what you said about playing these characters for so long and how you have such a deep understanding of your character. I know there's a script, I know there are notes and directions, but are there any scenes, dialogue, or anything where you've been able to add things in because you know how Buck would be thinking or feeling? Do any of those particular moments come to mind that you can share?
They do, but I'm reluctant to share them in the sense that even if they're not from the script, they are inspired by the script, and the credit is still to the character and the decisions that were on the page. So, I know there are lines that I could say, and people would be like, "Oh my god, that came out," but it's only because of what was on the page. Does that make sense? I don't want to seem like I'm taking the credit for it when in fact it's because of what was originally on the page and the character that has been created through the page. 

That definitely makes sense. Disregarding who the love interest would be, what do you personally want to see and explore when it comes to Buck's love life?
I want it to feel fun, I guess a balance between domesticated and lived in, but it has to remain fun. I think TV relationships for me are at their best when there's, and not that this reflects, certainly not long-term real-life relationships, but I always want to feel like there's an element of they really want to get into each other, you know? It's always bubbling up under the surface, and even if they're doing something completely different, I always want to feel like that's bubbling up under there. So yeah, I want a relationship to feel fun, flirty, and lived in throughout its, assuming it's a long-term thing, domestication. I just want it to feel like a good time. 

Yeah, you want them to be crazy about each other. I mean, he's been through the emotional wringer. He deserves a happy, fun relationship and hopefully, a family, because he would be the most incredible father. 
I could see that, yeah, at some point, because the other thing is once you have a baby, all your scenes become about having a baby. So we can hold off for a little bit. 

Exactly. Listen, we can just keep him as the fun uncle until one day things change. Quick follow-up, do you think he's a girl dad, or a boy dad?
Girl dad, yeah.

Right? We're all on the same page. 
Oh, we are? Okay, good.

Oh yeah, that's the consensus. He would be the most adorable girl dad.
Yeah, I'd like that. I think that would be nice.

That child would be spoiled rotten. 
Absolutely. Quite rightly so.

Buck had some really sweet moments in his coming out journey, and again, just incredible work [from you]. Which moment makes you most proud of him and the way his storyline was handled?
I love the first scene where... I love his first kiss with Tommy. I think that scene is really beautiful and didn't go at all how I thought it would. You come into scenes with a preconceived idea as the actor of, right, this is gonna be what it is, and that scene didn't end up feeling at all like I thought it would, and I think it ended up in a much lovelier place. So that, I think, is just a really wonderful reflection of what that moment was for Buck, and seemingly from the reaction that it had to other people. I like a lot his scene where he comes out to Eddie because there's a confidence in Buck, he's a little bit unsure of how Eddie's gonna take it, but he's not unsure of what he's saying. It's pretty grounded in the way that he says, "No, it was a date. Yep, this is what I'm doing now, this is who I am," and I love that kind of settledness that he'd quite quickly found in himself. I really thought that was a nice way to go, rather than too much angst around it. 

I appreciated that everyone was so accepting of him because we have enough stories where it's the opposite. I think, especially for Buck's character, it was so amazing that he was shown so much love from everyone that he loved, and to know he was supported no matter what. 
Yeah, as you say, and as a reflection of the real world, obviously, people experience both of those different storyline potentials, but there are, there are a lot of the other one on TV or in movies where it's a struggle. So I'm really glad we opted for the one where basically nobody cared, it's like, "Alright, great. I think that's wonderful, I think that's great."

I love "Buck Begins," it's one of my favorite episodes. I know you read the script and knew where the storyline was going, but I think it's another experience to watch it and see the younger actors portray younger versions of Buck and fill in the pieces to the present timeline. Can you tell me about watching that episode for the first time? Is there anything you personally came up with for the character's childhood? I've spoken to actors who have written journals for their characters or come up with playlists. Did you do anything like that for background work that maybe wasn't on the page, or was inspired by your experience portraying him?
I loved watching that episode because obviously, I was not there for the shooting of the kid scenes, so I don't think I met the kids, maybe the teenage version once, we might've crossed paths. So yeah, I hadn't seen their work -- first of all, shout out to the casting team because I think they were great young Bucks. It was just nice to see all of that come together and the biggest anxiety I had over that episode was when I do start playing him at his youngest, which I think is like 18, I'm probably like 28, 29 at the point, I'm like, "I don't know if I can pull off 18 anymore." But it was fun to dive into ways that could make me feel younger without being able to do too much to my face because my face is my face. It was a fun acting challenge to unlock things that made the character feel like he was 10 years younger than he actually is. There is a scene of me [in Peru briefly] where I look ridiculous, I loved that. When we were putting that together, I was very intent that I wanted to look as ridiculous as possible. It was like, "Okay, we're gonna do that with my hair, how can we make it even sillier?" And I think we landed in a pretty silly place, so that all came together nicely. 

But no, that there's no journal, playlist, or anything like you mentioned, really, it's just... I always like to think that the character comes together as you put all the pieces in place. It's almost like every scene is a building block and not every scene has to contain every element of who a character is, it's once you build the whole house that it's who they are and so, the choices that those young actors would have made only adds to the kind of foundations of who Buck is, so there was nothing from me in that sense as much as like, no come be a part of this character and help fill out who he is. 

All episodes of 9-1-1 are streaming on Hulu.