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NEW YORK, Sept. 10 (UPI) -- Dexter and House of Cards alum Christian Camargo said the premise for Apple TV's See initially looked "absurd" to him, but he ultimately signed on because the prospect of playing a blind general in a post-apocalyptic world simply was irresistible. "When do you get an opportunity [like that]? It sounded like some sort of strange acting exercise," the actor told UPI in a recent phone interview.
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"And then I saw who was involved -- Steven Knight and Francis Lawrence and Apple -- and I thought: 'Well, they must know something. So, I'm going to just rely on that and go for it and explore.'"
Written by Knight and directed by Lawrence, Season 2 of the fantasy drama airs Friday nights on the streaming service.
Already renewed for a third season, it boasts a cast that includes Jason Momoa, Dave Bautista, Sylvia Hoeks, Hera Hilmar and Alfre Woodard.
The show takes place hundreds of years after a 21st-century virus wipes out most of the world's population, except about 2 million blind warriors, most of whom live in primitive tribes.
Camargo plays Tamacti Jun, a general charged with searching for and capturing those rare beings born with sight and considered by his queen to be witches with magical powers.
"This is a character who has lost everything and is pulled between not wanting to be around and having to be around," Camargo said about Tamacti Jun. "There's conflict there, and I think he really goes through a spiral in this season. So, that's fun to play."
The actor described his character as a changed man, a "moral figure" with newfound senses of spirituality and humanity in the latest episodes.
"There are all these people that want revenge, they want power," he said.
"Tamacti sort of sits in the middle because of all of the things that he's lost and learned in Season 1 in the moment between life and death. When he was stabbed by Queen Kane, I think he went to the other side."
In addition to having a fascinating character to play and story to tell, Camargo also likes that the series reflects issues and concerns with which people are grappling in 2021.
"This other world became a bit of a metaphor for reinvention, identity and what we're doing to our planet," the actor said.
"Not much has changed," he added, referring to the bleak future depicted in See. "We've gone so far ahead and, yet, we are still involved in this kind of tribal war, which you can say is very similar in politics and similar in everything we do as the human race."
Living during the coronavirus pandemic helped shape the actor's perspective of the series, particularly as it pertains to survival, family and how people treat one another.
"We saw sides of human nature, I think, we all thought we'd outgrown," Camargo said, implying the show is a warning of what people might face if they don't curb their uglier impulses.
"Here we are, in a world that is quite savage and it is in the future. And I think that is exactly what we were experiencing during the pandemic -- and still are in some ways."
Camargo, like his fictional character, is rooting for humanity to do better and strive for greatness.
"Christian and Tamacti are aligned," he said with a laugh. "Light is stronger than dark, and I think that is something that comes out of this show."
The actor hesitated to use the word "hope" when explaining the intent of the series, noting he thinks that suggests "hopelessness" exists.
"Humanity has the potential to bring more light than dark," he emphasized.
Season 2 was filming in British Columbia when the pandemic shut down production and forced the cast and crew to return home.
"It felt more surreal than the story we were telling," Camargo said, recalling taking an almost empty flight to California and stocking up on toilet paper to prepare for the unknown.
It wasn't easy to channel his creative energy into other projects while on lockdown during this tragic period of time, and Camargo likened it to being an artist in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks on New York and Washington, D.C.
"It felt like the world stopping in that same way, which is a hard place to want to create," Camargo said.
"You want to commune and be together with family and friends. That's where I really sank into," he added. "I was just taking that opportunity to go into the communion and the family and all of that, which is exactly what the show is about, as well."
It was months before production resumed, and when it did, the cast and crew didn't socialize much between scenes or after filming for the day because they were adhering to protocols meant to keep everyone on the set safe.
"It really did change the dynamic," Camargo said of the pandemic. "So, work became actually a more fun place to be because you are communing with people in some form."
