Oliver Stark on What’s Ahead for 9-1-1, Buck’s Struggles With Eddie’s Departure & Why Buck Needs a Cat

We chatted with Oliver Stark about Buck's decisions during 9-1-1 Season 8 Episode 9 and much more.

The post Oliver Stark on What’s Ahead for 9-1-1, Buck’s Struggles With Eddie’s Departure & Why Buck Needs a Cat appeared first on TV Fanatic.

After a lengthy hiatus, 9-1-1 Season 8 returned for the back half of its run, and the first hour back was a twist-filled and thrilling ride.

While on the hunt for a serial killer, Maddie and Athena find themselves swept up in a case that quickly spirals, putting Maddie’s life in danger.

Over at the 118, Buck struggled with Eddie’s impending move to Texas, culminating in a tough conversation between the two unlike any we’ve seen before.

It was a long hour for Buck, who struggled to cope with Eddie’s departure, feeling hurt by the situation and lashing out.

The pair appeared to have patched things up by the end of the hour. Buck chose to step up for Eddie and help him, and shockingly, no one prepared to see Eddie AND Buck changing their addresses.

TV Fanatic was thrilled to speak with the affable Oliver Stark again about the hour and what’s to come. While on set in his trailer, he took some time to talk about the series.

This conversation was full of big laughs, insight, and even a brief cameo from his lovely dogs, who were hanging out for the chat.

Check this one out, 9-1-1 fans, and be sure to share your thoughts in the comment section below.

Buck has a hard time in this hour, especially as the reality of Eddie preparing to leave sets in. Can you walk me through his emotions as he tries to support Eddie, then feels hurt by Eddie, and ultimately decides to step in and sublet his home to help Eddie?

Yeah. I think he’s so full throttle on helping Eddie because it’s almost like blinders for him. He doesn’t have to stop and deal with the fact that he’s going to miss his friend because he feels like he’s so committed to helping him.

And then, once he overhears Eddie and hears something that he deems to be hurtful, I think those curtains fall away, and Buck starts to realize that one, “I’m hurt by this,” but also how much he’s going to miss his friend, and it all starts to fall apart for him.

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Then, it’s obviously not until the end of the episode that he regains himself, makes the right decision, and behaves the way you should for somebody you care about.

We rarely see Buck and Eddie really at odds with one another. They’re usually pretty in sync. What is it like for you and Ryan to get into some of those angstier moments?

Because there were some angsty moments in that argument in the house at the end.

Yeah, it’s great. Ryan and I, the whole cast, have great trust and security with each other, so we love those moments because, as you say, they are few and far between. The 118 is such a tight-knit family that it’s not often that we get to butt heads. So anytime we do, it’s fun to experiment and play with a new energy.

So no, I always look forward, in fact, to such scenes because it’s a chance to do something different together.

The last time we spoke was after the Halloween episode, and I asked you if you felt Buck was chasing anything anymore. You said he was pretty content where he was. But since then, he’s had some significant changes, from the breakup to Maddie going missing and Eddie preparing to leave.

Would you still describe him as content overall, or do you feel that with some of these changes, he’ll be looking for something else, either out in the world or maybe within himself, as things continue to play out?

Yeah, no, content is not a word I would currently use to describe him. That contentment was based upon these pillars around him that he felt were very sturdy and stable and weren’t going to be moving.

With Eddie going and Maddie being kidnapped, I feel like these things are starting to shift around him, and now he’s on much uneasier ground.

So, no, he is definitely not content currently, and he will certainly have to go out and try to patch up his wounds, which are pretty much self-inflicted, right? Well, apart from the Maddie kidnapping, there are things that he’s putting on himself and choosing to feel as such.

But yeah, no, I think he’s going to have to look for some outside sources of healing.

Speaking of the breakup, before we saw Buck, he was using baking as a coping mechanism in the aftermath and still trying to come to terms with it.

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Will the season continue to pull on that thread, or will Buck be trying to move forward in his romantic life?

Oh, he’s still baking. He’s still baking. No, he’s still, yeah, baking away his feelings.

The relationship with Tommy was obviously a huge one for him and flipped his world upside down. It’s taken him some time to readjust and find who he is without that and how to keep on trucking on.

The hour ends with Buck and Eddie in a better place than they were earlier in the episode. But as I’ve been saying, there are so many different things going on with Buck right now. What can you preview for us about what we’ll see from Buck as the season progresses?

I think he’s going to find himself in some situations or conversations that he considers somewhat uncomfortable, actually, as he’s forced to face himself in a way that he didn’t expect to.  

So he’s going to be put in some situations where he’s going to really have to look within and analyze himself and see what his own truths really are. So that’s coming up.

Then, we also have some really epic action stuff, which leans into the show’s epic scope but also has some really emotional moments for the characters. So, there’s some big stuff that I’m really looking forward to for the 118 as a whole.

Buck’s loft has been very integral to his character development. What’s your take on its significance, and are you sad to see it go?

Not really. [Laughs]

Only in the sense that it’s fun for me as the actor to get to play around in a new set more often. I liked the loft, and it is a real location. Downtown was the first one. The first time we shot in, it was a real location, then they built it here.

So I spent a lot of time in there, and I guess I do have a lot of fond memories in there, but I’m excited for Buck to be out of it and find himself in a new space and also get to play through what does that mean to Buck, not just to be in any new space, but to be in his friend’s old space?

It’s not so much his new space as it is Eddie’s old one, and to see how he has to navigate the move into that.

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There were some huge Buck moments in the loft. The talk with Eddie after the tsunami when he was feeling down. The kiss with Tommy. A lot of breakups.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. A lot of breakups.

A lot of breakups.

There were. And I guess, me personally, I’m someone who believes in taking the memories with you, right? The memories don’t live within those four walls. So, I guess Buck will do the same in that sense.

And those are memories and moments that live with him regardless of where he lays his head at night.

Buck and Blaze were a short-lived but great duo for the time we had them. Buck mentioned potentially getting another pet now that he has the space to do so.

I know that you are a proud dog parent. Would you want any of your dogs on the show if the opportunity arose? Do you think they may have the acting bug?

What do you guys think? [Talks to dogs]

They’re both asleep in my trailer here. I don’t know how they’d do. Jade, my smaller one, is the black one that I have. She’s very energetic, so I think she’s out. She’s very well-behaved, but she’s very energetic.

And then Bear, my bigger one, the tan-colored one, he’s very stoic, very calm, very cool. I think he’d be really good at it. Yeah, there you go. [Laughs]

Bear, you’re hired! [Speaks to dog] You got the job. Now that I think about it, Bear would be the one.

And I have asked because when I read about Blaze, it didn’t specify what kind of dog he was, so I did inquire, and they have to have a crazy amount of hours with a dedicated trainer.

They have to jump through hurdles to be certified to work on set, so they’re not qualified.

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But also, I don’t know if Buck’s got the time for a dog. I think he needs a cat. If he’s going to get a pet, he probably needs a cat. He’s at work a lot.

Yeah, I would agree with that.

Who’s going to take care of it? Who’s going to scoop all that poop?

Not him since he won’t be there because he’s always working.

There you go.

You’ve probably been asked this before, but now that we know that Athena will pop up on Doctor Odyssey, is there any television universe out there that you could see Buck popping into now?

Yeah, as many as they’ll have me in. [Laughs]

I know we’ve said this before, or I’ve said this in the past, but The Rookie seems like an obvious and easy crossover.

I believe their show is set in Los Angeles, so that seems to make sense to me that there could be some mass casualty event that all the police stations and all the firehouses are at.

Or, a more fun route, I believe they do police versus firefighter football games or whatever. So maybe we rock up on The Rookie and take them down in some sporting event.

Although, if we’re going over to their show, I assume they’d have them win. So maybe not. But yeah, that just seems like a fun and easy, real kind of way to go about it. So, I’m still game for, one day, The Rookie crossover.

*** We’ve edited this interview for length and clarity.***

You can watch 9-1-1 on ABC at 8/7c on Thursdays.

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The post Oliver Stark on What’s Ahead for 9-1-1, Buck’s Struggles With Eddie’s Departure & Why Buck Needs a Cat appeared first on TV Fanatic.