SEAL Team’s AJ Buckley Showcases a New Side of Sonny, Hinting at His Texas Hometown at ‘The Next Chapter of His Life’
CBS’s SEAL Team, with three new episodes set to air in Season 3, has left much of Team Bravo in a tailspin, having to make tough decisions both professionally and personally.
Will this reluctant return to his hometown really benefit Sonny? And will rejoin Bravo in battle before the season ends a bit early? TVLine chatted with AJ Buckley ahead of this Wednesday’s episode, airing 9/8c on CBS.
How cool is that car? When I appeared on set, Spencer [Hudnut], our host, said, “I won’t give you the details of what the car is, but I gave you the grueling ride best.” So whatever the reaction [on screen] was, I was actually seeing the car for the first time. Meanwhile, the crew and everyone was like, “Dude, that car!” It reminds me of the Trans Am Burt Reynolds drove in Smokey and the Bandit.
As far as dad goes, I’m really glad we got John Savage. He’s a talented, classic character actor, and I’ve been a fan of his for a while now, so that’s awesome, man. And any time you get a chance to go deeper and peel back the layers of a character whose shoes you’ve worn for so long is really exciting, as an actor. Spencer told me that this will happen later in the season, that we kind of understand what’s behind Sonny and why he’s the way he is. Meanwhile there are a lot of changes going on for everyone.
TELEVISION | I talked about it with Max [Thieriot]. Every Bravo member had balloons flying into the air.
Yes. Change is good for everyone, but it’s just how you deal with it and I think Sonny is not a person who likes change. He enjoyed his routine and loved being with his brothers, and now he felt separated from them. He is forced to see who he is and for the first time he is able to see a lot of himself in his father. He said, “There’s a chance I’ll be alone,” and I think that scared him. He realizes he has to do some inside work and that’s when the character of Hannah really comes into play. She’s played by Rachel Boston, who is wonderful to work with and she’s the one who really brings out this dangerous side of Sonny that we haven’t seen before.
She plays a big role. This has truly been an exciting journey for her – and likely will be in the future. There are some really interesting dynamics there with her. She plays a strong, honest Texas woman with a real history of them being best friends in high school. In some ways, I think Sonny always thought she was “the one who got away,” so when they first met, the connection was instant. They both found each other at the right time in their lives and they planted a lot of seeds, so to speak, for this to become something much bigger.
TELEVISION | Did we mention any of the past inciting incidents that caused Sonny to “disappear” from Texas?
I think they go deep into that, and a lot of it – without giving anything away – has to do with Sonny coming from a broken home. His family didn’t have a lot of stability, so I think he kind of had that moment of, “I’m 18 and I’m going out and living on my own. Throw everyone away.” He’s the type of person who never looks back and he realizes that you should never do that.
You have to be able to put down roots somewhere, you have to have some place that you call home, have stability, and I think enough time has passed for him to realize this is where his heart is. he was and is always there, and now we are seeing the next chapter of his life. He still wants to serve his country and be on the team, but for the first time he can look a little beyond that past, five, 10 years down the road, to where he can get to. I don’t think he’s ever had those thoughts before.
