Oliver Stark discusses the 118’s “more evolved state” after the time jump and Buck’s next iteration of himself.
Oliver Stark is back on our TVs as Evan “Buck” Buckley in season 9 of ABC’s 9-1-1. The procedural drama explores the high-pressure experiences of police officers, firefighters, and dispatchers, drawing from the real lives of first responders and the situations that they regularly face. I had the chance to speak with the actor about how Buck is handling the new changes of the 118, the importance of further exploring his character’s bisexuality, what fans can expect from the new season, and more.
On Buck’s Bisexual Experience
“Buck will find himself in situations where he talks very openly and freely about the fact that he is attracted to more than one gender, and I just think it’s important for the show to do that because I think there is some naivety around it for certain audiences. I don’t think it’s intentional; sometimes it’s just from lack of exposure to something, right? If you live somewhere and you don’t happen to know anybody bisexual, then maybe you don’t understand it.”
“So, I think for a show like this with such a widespread, varied audience to get to tell those stories is really lovely and really important, and a chance to spread an education on the subject,” he expressed. “It’s gonna happen in a very natural way on the show, in a way that Buck is just dealing with it and just going through it, and it’s not like, ‘Hey, this is a PSA.’ It’s just part of Buck’s experience, and he’s figuring things out.”
Still Feeling The Loss Of Bobby Nash
“I think it’s a case of it not being consciously present in his day-to-day, right? He’s not in every moment thinking, ‘Oh, I used to do this with Bobby,’ but it’s in those quieter moments. It’s when the chaos isn’t happening around him and he’s just spilling his heart out to his nephew that you take note and you register like, ‘Oh, yeah, this is different now.’ I don’t think it’s always at the forefront. I think it’s when, as I say, the world around you quiets, that you really get to dive into how you’re truly feeling.”
How Season 1 Buck Would Feel About How Far He’s Come
“One thing I love about Buck is that he has grown, he has matured, and he has become a really great firefighter, but he hasn’t lost the essence of who he is. He is still somebody that wears his heart on his sleeve, that wants to run first into the fire. He didn’t lose that rawness that he used to have. He just learned to channel it better. So I think he’s still the same Buck, he just knows now how to apply it in a more productive way.”
Watch my full interview below:
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Sophia Soto
Sophia Soto is a writer and interviewer with a passion for all things entertainment. She is a Senior Reporter at The Nerds of Color and contributes to Awards Radar, What to Watch, Screensphere, Nerdtropolis, and Temple of Geek. You can see her past work on Den of Geek, Yardbarker, Remezcla, Young Hollywood, Looper, Paste Magazine, Primetimer, Soundsphere, Brit + Co, and Starry Constellation Magazine. Her current favorite TV shows include Outer Banks, Tell Me Lies, and Percy Jackson and the Olympians. Additionally, she is a complete Marvel nerd! Connect with her on X (@srsoto26) and Instagram (@srsoto264).
