“The Magic of It Is That No One Is Safe”

The task force in the Prime Video series Countdown has proven themselves to be successful in high pressure situations. When you bring together an LAPD Robbery/Homicide Division Detective (Jensen Ackles), DEA Agent (Jessica Camacho), FBI cyber crimes specialist (Violett Beane), FBI Special Agent who specializes in terrorist threats (Elliot Knight), and LAPD Gang and Narcotics Division Detective (Uli Latukefu), all under the guidance of FBI Special Agent Nathan Blythe (Eric Dane), then you have all the tools and expertise needed to prevent a catastrophe. After preventing a Chernobyl level disaster in Los Angeles, it’s 10 months later and they’re hunting an expert sniper with a very clear and meticulous plan and who likes to leave coded messages behind.

During this interview with Collider, co-stars Latukefu and Knight discussed cast chemistry, their need for a musical episode, their training and preparation, Finau’s family dynamic, how Bell relished the opportunity to take down DA Valwell, the friendship between Finau and Bell, and working on a series where none of the characters are safe.

The ‘Countdown’ Cast Has So Much Fun Working Together

“It’s a great bunch of lovely people who are great at what they do.”

Collider: This is a team made up of individuals who are all hiding things or withholding things from each other, and yet they find trust in each other. After doing this season, what did you most enjoy about being a part of this team and figuring out how your character fits into it all?

ELLIOT KNIGHT: Us, as people and as actors, really enjoyed each other and getting to do this job together. It’s a great bunch of lovely people who are great at what they do and are very supportive and welcoming. It’s just been the best work environment, which has been so lovely.

ULI LATUKEFU: You bond through tragedy and you bond through difficult circumstances. That’s what happened with the characters, as well as us. We didn’t go through any tragedy, but just living the experiences through the characters. When you know that your life is on the line and you share that with somebody, there’s a connective tissue there that is inevitable. On a personal level, we had so much fun making this show. We were playing chess and singing songs on set right before, “Action!” and sometimes during, “Action!” Jensen [Ackles], in particular, is a great improviser, and that just gave us all permission to go for it.

So, what you’re saying is that we need another season so that you can do a musical number?

KNIGHT: We talked about that on set and we got a couple different opinions. I will say this, if there was ever a musical episode, [Uli] would crush it. He wouldn’t be in the next season because he’d be off doing movies and gone.

Your characters feel like they’re a little bit more by the book when it comes to rules and procedures. Did you guys do any specific training or preparation that really helped inform that side of your characters for you?

LATUKEFU: I wanted to, but because Finau is in the gang unit, I didn’t think I could get a ride-along. I don’t think that’s on the LAPD’s agenda.

KNIGHT: I looked at fitness training. I was very excited about the action and physical element of this job, so I wanted to see what the requirements to qualify as an FBI agent would be and then meet them. Although, there is a chance that I decided to forget meeting them closer to the job because I didn’t have enough time. I couldn’t do enough. I’m pretty fast, so that was helpful.

Uli Latukefu Can Relate to the Family Side of His ‘Countdown’ Character

“He does what any father would do and puts his family first.”

Uli, I found your character particularly interesting because he’s a family man and he finds himself in the position of his family being directly threatened by the case that he’s working on. How does that aspect of his life shape him? What is it like to figure that family dynamic out for him?

LATUKEFU: Luke Finau is very similar to myself. I have children of my own. But in terms of how that influences him with his work, there’s an understanding that the risk is greater, and that if I go, it’s not just me. My wife is left with two kids to raise by herself. So, there’s that awareness of what’s involved, but I don’t think that creates any fear in him. I think that fine-tunes his mission. When that threat becomes apparent, I think he does what any father would do and puts his family first.

It seems like Meachum and Oliveras are barely holding onto their jobs, but your character becomes Sergeant in episode 10. What does that mean to Finau, who really respects the job?

LATUKEFU: It was really special shooting that scene. Finau is about getting on with the job. He’s not looking for promotions. He just wants to do a good job. And so, when that comes, it’s a bit of a surprise, but he’s also been part of the gang unit for many years. It was a very emotional time when he opened the door and his wife was there and the kids. The ones that matter to him the most are able to celebrate with him in that moment. It’s a really heartwarming situation.

Elliot, your character is the one that gets to take down DA Valwell in episode 10. What do you think that was like for him? Do you think that was hard for him to do, or does something like that get easier when someone is going against the law and doing something bad?

KNIGHT: I think he relished in it. I think he loved that moment. The turmoil of figuring out what to do and how to do it happened up to that point, and that gave Bell a nice journey and a conflict to dance around with. When it gets to that point, and he’s at the bottom of the steps and he sees him, he’s there on a mission and he knows. Bell is nothing but committed to his cause and that was just a really beautiful punctuation point on his own driving journey to getting justice and bringing that about in the world. I think he loved it.

I was glad he got his moment to tell DA Valwell what he thought of him.

KNIGHT: It was fun to do, especially because you don’t see as much of Bell’s personal or home life, or really anything. And so, in terms of the arc of the season, that was the space for his extra professional energy to go. It’s still within the work world and within the case world, but there’s a personal stake in it and he gets to really drive that stake home.

Because Bell is somebody that we don’t get to know that much about, what did you still want to learn about him? Does he have a secret home life that we don’t know anything about?

KNIGHT: That’s what I’m saying. I think it’s really interesting and smart, and I appreciate the observation that just because you don’t see something or hear about something, it doesn’t mean that something isn’t there. Finau has his wife and his kids at home. I wouldn’t necessarily assume that Bell doesn’t have anyone at home or what that means. I don’t know what he does when he’s not at work. I found it very intriguing that, as the scripts came in, we continued to not learn more about Bell’s life outside of this, which only makes me even more intrigued as to why. Why don’t we? What will be there if we get to uncover that? I do want to know. Hopefully, it’s something interesting. He’s at home with a noodle pot, just doing nothing.

LATUKEFU: We did pitch that we’re actually brothers on the show.

KNIGHT: Finau has an extra room in the house, and you open it and it’s just me.

LATUKEFU: I don’t need to be the psychotic one.

KNIGHT: I wouldn’t be locked up in the basement. I’d be living in the house with you, happily with your family.

LATUKEFU: You think Finau is a wholesome guy.

KNIGHT: But he has Bell tied up in the basement.

On ‘Countdown,’ No Character Is Safe With Such High-Stakes Cases

“It looked like I died.”

This show kicks off with the murder of a cop, and then you have a character like Drew die fairly early on, and Blythe gets stabbed. Did you start to wonder what might happen to your own character before the end of the season?

LATUKEFU: I thought it was a wrap. It looked like I died when I was reading it, but then I didn’t. I was convinced that was my end.

KNIGHT: I had a moment like that too. I go into a house to talk to someone and it’s very suspicious. Everything about it was saying, “Bell is dead. Goodbye.” I was like, “Oh, no, I haven’t gotten the next script yet. What is happening?” But that feels like the energy of the show. The magic of it is that no one is safe. I know it’s important to (creator) Derek [Haas] to really have that felt by the viewers. We understand how a TV show works and what we can expect, most of the time. You cannot expect everything that happens in this show, and that is by design. We’re not necessarily in control of that, so who knows? (To Uli) I’ll be sad to see you go before me.

LATUKEFU: Holy shit.

Countdown is available to stream on Prime Video. Check out the trailer: