How do the choices we make in life affect the person we will become? That is the thought-provoking question posed in Apple TV+ science fiction series, “Dark Matter,” which stars Joel Edgerton.
The Australian-born Hollywood actor, famous for roles in “Star Wars,” “The Great Gatsby,” and “Warrior,” leads the cast of the TV adaptation of Blake Crouch’s hugely popular novel of the same name as physics professor Jason Dessen, who is suddenly abducted when walking home at night on the streets of Chicago and wakes up in an alternative version of his life.
To return back to his world and his true family, he must embark on a harrowing journey to save them from a most terrifying foe: himself. As “Dark Matter” acknowledges, some of the most frightening science fiction stories are those that are close to our own reality.
The series uses the real scientific concepts of quantum physics and dark matter to explore the idea of interdimensional travel, which currently stretches beyond our human capabilities.
“The best sci-fi gives you a conceit that allows you to amplify [certain] themes,” Edgerton told Variety Australia over the phone from Spokane, Washington. (Edgerton is currently in Washington state filming his next project, “Train Dreams.”)
“The idea of being able to have access to another version of your life really delves into thoughts about regret and whether the grass is really greener on the other side.”
Edgerton admitted that the role made him think about certain choices he’d made throughout his own life, and which moments had pushed him to where he is today, both in his career and personal life. However, rather than look at them through the lens of regret, he’s chosen to see those life-changing moments from a position of gratitude.
“Knowing what my life looks like now, I’m in a very happy place, particularly with the family side of things – I have twins that are three years old,” the “Loving” actor says. “If I imagined being able to reevaluate or question past choices then I’m sure my life wouldn’t look the way it does right now, and I wouldn’t exchange that for the world.
“My feeling about past regrets is that they are one of the building blocks of who you are today – not just the path that led you to this place but also who you are emotionally and philosophically contributing to your personality.”
This sense of gratitude is something that Edgerton incorporates into his everyday life, especially around his career.
“Not every actor loves what they do. There’s sometimes this strange feeling when you meet actors and you wonder, ‘How are you so cynical?’ We are very lucky to have the jobs that we have, if we are making a living. We get to do these really interesting things – you think every actor would have an abundance of gratitude rather than attitude.”
Edgerton was drawn to “Dark Matter” because of the unique concept, but also for the “rare” opportunity to play two versions of the same character.
Typically this would involve drastic character differences akin to Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, but it wasn’t so cut and dried with his character Jason in “Dark Matter.”
“I was dealing with a guy who was trying to become an imposter in his own life, so there’s no real physical or visual differences on screen,” said Edgerton. “Yet, [there are] questions of how would success change how a person moves through the world and, on the flip side, if you feel like you’ve given up on your dreams.”
Blake Crouch wrote the source material, and the American author also served as show runner on the TV adaptation, making sure his vision was brought to life on a massive scale. Edgerton was a producer on the series, helping to develop the backstories of various characters alongside Crouch.
“Blake was a remarkably collaborative person,” Edgerton revealed. “He has the aptitude and capacity to run the entire production and be there on a daily basis and be able to pivot on various scenes if we wanted to change anything on the fly. He has an expansive outlook on things. That could also have been a terrible thing, an author going, ‘You can’t do this,’ but his choices adapted the book in a really special way.”
Adapting popular books to TV and film might be nothing new, but it can still be a risky endeavour.
“The adaptation of a book is always a bit of a minefield, especially when it has a big audience. Every single person who has read the book has imagined their own version of these characters in their own image,” Edgerton said.
“When you’ve fallen in love with a book you have that visual world in your head, and then someone else says, ‘Now we are going to show you what we think it looks like in movie or TV form,’ and you hope it lines up with what you visualise.”
“Dark Matter” is available to stream now on Apple TV+.