Arrow On-Set Video Interview: Stephen Amell Talks Season 2

We spent some time on the Vancouver set of Arrow last week, getting interviews with several members of the cast. One of those people that we talked to was Stephen Amell, who fans of Arrow know as “Oliver Queen,” the guy who puts on a hood and chases after people with a bow and arrow.

Below, you can find video from part of Stephen’s group sit-down; more will be posted between now and Wednesday, so be sure to follow @GreenArrowTV on Twitter for updates to know when we are posting more. But first, let’s see what Stephen had to say about Oliver’s state of mind when Season 2 picks up. Spoilers are discussed… and we actually start off with what may be a bit of a spoiler — that Season 2 starts with Oliver back on the island of Lian Yu.

“The way that it was pitched to me was that the island, for Oliver, is kind of like his Fortress of Solitude, actually,” Stephen explains. “In that after everything that went down with Malcolm and The Undertaking and Tommy, that there was just nothing in Starling City for him. So, in that case, he goes where he is most comfortable, which is the island,” he says.

Why would Oliver want to go back to a place that brought him so much trauma in the past? “The worst thing that’s probably ever happened to him in his life would be a toss-up between his father committing suicide and Tommy dying, neither of which happened on the island, although I guess with his dad, it was in close proximity,” he explains. “We’ve only seen a very short portion of Oliver’s time on the island, so maybe it gets better,” he hints.

Stephen seems to be very happy with where Season 2 has gone so far… both behind the scenes and for his character. “The show is a lot freer. We’re in our second season. We’ve only had one new director so far, so everyone that’s come in has sort of known the game plan. We’re doing a lot of the things that worked for us last year and not doing the things that didn’t work. I think the storytelling is tighter. But for Oliver, he has much less of a weight on him. There was very little that was heroic about what he was doing last year save for what he attempted at the very end. It was all vengeance and revenge, and the burden of his father, so for Oliver, this year, he’s just much more relaxed. Much more easy-going. Because what he is doing and how he is spending his nights is making him feel good. He’s not really chasing ghosts anymore,” he says.

Below you can find Part 1 of our video interview with Mr. Amell. Come back soon for more, and don’t miss the season premiere Wednesday, October 9 on The CW! Images from the premiere can be found here.