Greg Daniels’ new series for Amazon, Upload, takes the eternal question of what happens when we die and gives it a fascinating sci-fi twist. In the series, people can choose to have their consciousness “uploaded” into a virtual afterlife and, for those willing to pay a premium, that afterlife is a pretty posh heaven with all the comforts and privilege of the (very upscale) real world. For Kevin Bigley‘s character, Luke, that glittering afterlife comes after suffering serious trauma in the real world and it’s something that Bigley says lets Luke truly seize every opportunity after death.
Videos by ComicBook.com
Warning: potential spoilers for the first season of Upload below.
In Upload, Bigley plays military veteran Luke. In life, Luke suffered the loss of both of his legs during his military service and after five years in a wheelchair, ultimately decided to end his life, completing suicide by being scanned for upload. It’s a grim backstory for the character, one that’s a bit jarring when viewers meet him in the series. The uploaded Luke is a jovial, cheerful, if not somewhat immature man who is out to enjoy everything he possibly can and it’s something that Bigley says is influenced by the trauma experienced in his life.
“I think maybe it’s because he had such a traumatic life that he thinks that this one’s more worth seizing,” Bigley told ComicBook.com. “It’s funny that he’s really kind of seeking out Nathan (Robbie Amell) because he’s one of the only younger spirits. He’s a character who rejects wisdom so maybe that’s probably why he’s enjoying himself and not really thinking about the ramifications of a virtual realm and is more kind of thinking about how he can exploit them for more of their pleasures and whatnot.”
Over the course of the series’ season, Luke is one of the characters who seems most himself throughout, though there’s a nuance to him, something that Bigley says reminds him of Bill Murray’s character in Ghostbusters.
“The arc is very interesting for Luke, and I don’t know if there is that prominent of one,” Bigley said. “I think that’s kind of what makes him a funny, beautiful character and all of these characters who are changing and at least it’s very subtle near the end there about this care for somebody other than himself. I think that there, it always reminded me of, and this is not self-aggrandizing, but as far as how the character is written is Bill Murray in Ghostbusters, is that even surrounded by this paranormal apocalypse, he’s just trying to get laid. And the DNA of that is very, very funny. So, in the face of all of this, there’s just Luke just trying to figure out ways that he can just get drunk or something.”
Upload is now streaming on Amazon Prime Video.
