The Diplomat: Rufus Sewell on Why His Character and Keri Russell Are 'Fantastic' and 'a Pain in the Ass Together' (Exclusive)

Anyone who watched Diplomat he probably wondered at one point why Hal and Kate Wyler were still married.

“They know each other well,” Rufus Sewell, who plays Hal Wyler opposite Kate Keri Russell, tells PEOPLE. “They know what they like and what they hate about each other, sometimes [what] they love the things they hate about each other, and they hate the things they love about each other. Maybe it’s a marriage on the way out, but sometimes it’s a marriage that feels like it’s on the wane right in the middle of a change.”

‘Diplomat’ Star Rufus Sewell Marries Actress Vivian Benitez In 11th Century Castle In Wales — See Photos!

Sewell, 57, says that Diplomat creator Debora Cahn set out to show that “the seeds of divorce and hatred and lust and hatred for the way your partner breathes are very much a part of many long-term relationships.”

“I heard her say recently that people whose relationships don’t work out in the end, it’s not because someone fucked someone else. It was because they didn’t like the way the other person was breathing,” says Sewell.

Rufus Sewell as Hal Wyler and Keri Russell as Kate Wyler in the first season of ‘The Diplomat’.

Netflix

As for the Wylers – who Sewell says use “political arguments as foreplay” – the British actor thinks: “They’re fantastic together and a hassle together and it’s all part of the same thing.”

In real life, Sewell married actress Vivian Benitez in July. He says he portrays someone in a marriage that is not very loving Diplomat it hasn’t affected how he views long-term relationships.

“I just tried to see things with my own eyes and really try to be honest about my own descriptions of the world, not the descriptions of the world that the media would give me,” he says. “My experience in life tells me when I read this script that it’s just beautifully accurate.”

Vivian Benitez and Rufus Sewell at the premiere of Old at Jazz at Lincoln Center on July 19, 2021 in New York City.

Taylor Hill/FilmMagic

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In the 2nd season DiplomatHal relies on Kate to help him physically as he recovers from his injuries in the explosion at the end of Season 1.

“He feels frustrated by the physical limitations and the fact that he can’t be as active and agile, the same way I felt when I was filming,” says Sewell. “The fact that he has to ask her to help him with even the most mundane personal things — it’s not that they have a problem helping in that way, but he feels like it’s almost a premonition of what might happen to them in terms of his age. And I think it drives him a little crazy.”

Hal’s physical limitations in Season 2 also present a disruption in his relationship with Kate. “Even if it’s a pattern that you both complain about in terms of who does what, it can be quite upsetting when that changes,” says Sewell.

Diplomat Season 2 trailer answers burning questions about Netflix’s political thriller — watch

Despite his own failures, Hal continues to advocate for Kate to become Vice President of the United States.

“They worked together in the past when he was No. 1 and she supported him. I think there were times in the past when she might have been willing to make sacrifices that he didn’t want her to make because of his belief in her potential, not [wanting] anything about their potential relationship that would prevent it from progressing,” says Sewell. “And I think there’s a difference in his belief in her and her idea of ​​herself that meant he felt he had to be a bit tricky in the way he managed people and events, and even her. All these dark talents are employed with a very good heart behind them.”

Sewell admits he doesn’t know where life will take the Wylers, but he has started filming the third season Diplomat in New York. “We don’t know how long this will last,” he says. “But you thought the end of the first season was a shock? Just wait for the end of the second season! I can’t wait for the reaction of the public.”

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Diplomat season 2 is currently streaming on Netflix.

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Source: HIS Education