Aaron Paul has shared details about his two separate appearances in Black Mirror season 6 episode Beyond the Sea. He explores how he approached the role of Cliff and David.
“This is a historical piece and you can tell Cliff is persistent. I’m sure his dad was a lot stricter,” Paul said in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter. “In his eyes, he’s probably a really sweet, tender, kind, loving father, but the romance, the passion has departed from the husband and wife (played by Kate Mara).”
Paul continued, “On the other hand, as you said, David is the romantic. He’s cultured, and when you meet him, he’ll draw portraits of his children and then the beautiful home of Cliff and Lana (played by Auden Thornton). So I just tried to study Josh (during rehearsal). Again, I’ve known him for so long and he’s very similar. He has traveled extensively and is very smart. He just has an inherent charm and that’s why I tried to absorb as much of him as possible.”
Paul is then asked why Cliff avoids intimacy with his wife Lana. For the actor, the robot aspect only partially explains his character’s discomfort.
“It’s part of it, but I feel like he just has an ingrained baggage,” he said. “Some of the excitement has gone and he just doesn’t feel comfortable communicating to further this relationship. He’s kind of stuck in his habits, and the tragedy is that everything that happened forced her to have these tough talks.”
What is Aaron Paul’s next role?
Paul will next headline sci-fi horror film Ash alongside Eiza Gonzalez, who recently starred in Ambulance and I Care a Lot. Gonzalez plays a woman who wakes up to find the rest of her space station crew dead of unclear circumstances. Paul’s character is sent to rescue her, but both wonder if they should trust the other. The film is directed by musician Flying Lotus, who previously directed the Ozzy’s Dungeon segment of V/H/S/99.
Paul also recently reunited with Breaking Bad co-star Bryan Cranston. The two actors appeared as themselves in the fifth episode of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia Season 16.