IAmA adorable Body Shop Tech on Westworld called Sylvester, Ptolemy Slocum, and I'm sure you have a lot of questions. AMA!

Not so subtle shout-out from /r/westworld! We're all big fans.

My question would be: What kind of player would you be in Westworld? White hat or black hat?

Here's my WW plan if I ever went: Go black hat, get as far away from the Sweetwater as possible, try to get adopted by Ghost Nation - run raids with Ghost Nation.

Did you go through a roller coaster of emotions when the script read

"Pack up your bags because your throat is getting slit open...............................just kidding Felix will fix it with a nose hair trimmer" ?

Edit: Removed a word

it was interesting to see the words on the page - i DID do that thing where your eyes panic and run around looking for what happens... i think i did react... but it was also as a fan i was like "oh shit whats gonna happen" - interesting question actually because i think i was reading it not even as the guy playing that part at first...

Obviously you can't tell us any details, but do we learn more about Felix and Sylvester's motives? People over on /r/westworld are struggling to understand why they are allowing Maeve to get away with so much, can they expect a satisfying resolution there?

Anyway, thanks for doing this!

In my experience, what we witnessed up to now is a series of small decisions that got way out of hand. For me I understood many of the small decisions in making them. I get the confusion but you have to realize that we're dealing with my character who believes he was always in control.

One thing which wasn't communicated well in the show was that Maeve is blackmailing him over the sex-bot prostitution ring he runs, which nearly went entirely over my head until somebody pointed it out later, so makes his actions seem very random.

Of course, even before I knew that, I sort of believed he was just scared of her and scared of being fired.

I think thats a quick line, you have to hear a couple times and/or watch it again. But the situation is pretty laid out. In more general terms, its safe to say that Sylvester does not want unwanted attention to come into his department.

Was the exchange with Felix outside the laboratory doors about how to deal with Maeve (and the events that followed) in episode 8 an intentional nod to Frank and Dave's discussion about Hal in 2001: A Space Odyssey?

oh wow! - good one - like that idea - and a much douchey-er version of it... thats funny

Thanks for doing this AMA! I have a few questions:

• What is it like working with Thandie Newton? She is absolutely killing it (heh) as Maeve.

• If you could change any part of Westworld (behaviour, narrative etc.) what would you change?

• If Westworld were to become real, would you go?

• Lastly, what is it like working on set?

• Thandie is a personal hero of mine, its hard to not be fully inspired by here - acting, sure, but as a human - its the kind of thing where a blessing to have ever spent time with her... you know those people? shes the REAL DEAL

• i would give raises to all the Body Shop employees...

• ABSOLUTELY - i would go too early - like when it first started - and i would get killed...

• it felt a LOT like the world does - WAY bigger then you are - insanity everywhere - overwhelming - and like "what the fuck is going on" - BUT i gotta say - every single person was literally the best at what they do AND they were all awesome people... thats a thing - they either hire "good humans" or they dont care when they are hiring - and every person was just 1000% cool...

Do you find yourself questioning reality because you're on this show? and do you know if HBO will make shows for the other worlds?

ABSOLUTELY. If you think its not a mind fuck to see Anthony Hopkins in one scene and you're fucking face in the next scene, then you have a better grasp of reality than I do.

Do you think of this job as potentially your "big break" in show business? [also, yes you can cuss on reddit]

It feels that way although I can't tell you the number of times I've felt that from other shows or commercials… and then I think to myself "THIS IS GONNA BE IT!" and let me tell you: its not it. I'm just really happy to be here and Ive mostly let go of most of that stuff by this point.

Is Felix a host? Why does he keep agreeing to Maeve's demands?

I need to know!

I genuinely do not know. I think it may help to just put yourself in his position staring at what he's staring at. Think about about what you would do, and think about why Felix did that.

It seems like HBO and Netflix are really the vanguard of entertainment these days. How does working on an HBO show differ from other networks you've worked with? Is there anything that communicates to you as an actor what the future of productions will be like?

thats two questions - 1) hbo is much more like working on film then TV... they hire vision and the motivation has been pretty consistently not "we gotta turn this show out" - and the end result is much more like a film set - vision and aimed at a vision... and a shit ton of production to get there - but no matter how much production is piled onto the production its all pointed at a vision... and you can feel it - this show is just like that INSANE level of money and things and people... but its really all there for a reason... its insane to behold... 2) i think there are people out there better suited to answer the future on this one... i think HBO/Nexflix model seems like an indication though...

Hi, Ptolemy!

Can you provide us 1 truth & 1 lie about the events yet to occur this season? (Obviously don't tell us which is the lie)

• Sylvester finally sneaks in an improvised "fuck" that was not scripted

• Sylvester becomes physically as attractive as Hector is by the end of the show

Yay, hello! Were Sylvester and Felix named that way as a nod to the cartoon cats?

Also, can you share your most fun/funniest story from production or on-set time from your work on season 1?

I have no idea. I didn't notice that until I read reddit. I don't believe it ever even came up on on set.

is it weird being around all those naked people on westworld in your scenes? lol

yes very very very very weird. The only thing I had to save me is that I wasn't wearing my glasses and I'll tell you its shockingly difficult to tell a naked boy form a naked girl when they are laying down 10 feet in front of you

Besides yourself, who is your favorite character and why? Huge fan so thank you for doing this. I FUCKING LOVE THIS SHOW!!

I like Armistice.

What was it like growing up with such a Greek name?

NOT EASY - but i assume it made me who i am??? lets hope - everyday its like this "where is that from" "its greek - but im not greek - i was named after a greek" (hope that satisfies them and we can move on) "oh where did that come from" phase 2: i was born on the eclipse of the moon - and i was born in kenya - he was an astronomer who lived in egypt - so its kind of astronomical and kind of an africa thing...

Do you dream of electric sheep?

i think sylvester probably dreams of sheep but then he has to fucking fix them when they fuck up...

Dude, why hasn't your character just killed off Maeve yet? Make it look like an accident!

If you've seen last nights episode 8, Sylvester definitely thinks he's going to win that episode. Super plan #1 idea.

What was the mood with the cast when there was a long hiatus in the middle of the show shoot?

yeah - solid question - a lot was up in the air on schedule - it especially got "????" feeling as the time to come back approached... and or went on longer then expected...

Westworld makes a point of saying that hosts have a backstory to ground their personalities. How much of Sylvester's backstory was given to you and has it/will it be revealed in season one?

Not too much really. I actually don't know anything about the outside world, not much about his past. I try to construct him and they would make adjustments based on his personality, not his history. I personally have a long story about him that has no basis in the canon.

How does one learn to "emolo"? :)

BAN THIS PERSON PLEASE

kidding.

Who was your favorite person to work with on Westworld?

My whole experience was Leo and Thandie. I can't choose between them but I will say Leo and I had a similar journey of "WTF is happening??????" so we leaned on each other quite a bit.

What was it like playing the role of Linus on Preacher? An old acting coach always used to tell me "Anyone can make the audience like you, that's easy. But if you can make the audience hate you, you've done a great job." In Preacher, you managed to make me hate you as well as feel sorry for you, you knocked it out of the park in my opinion.

yeah man... thats kind of my thing... honestly, i love dissonance - and humans are very complex - so i want to care about things that you almost dont want to care about - like a brain-fuck - but more like a heart-fuck

Great job on Westworld. I love Sylvester and Felix scenes. Do you have any info if Christopher Nolan watches Westworld or if he has any opinion on it, since he is a brother of Jonathan?

I have as good a guess as you. If my brother made a show, I know I would watch it. Beyond that I'm pretty sure they worked together in the past and influence each other. /u/jonathannolan could provide a better answer.

Boxers or briefs?

Boxer briefs: Uniqlo… or you mean in the show?

What is it like working with /u/jonathannolan?

My interpretation of Jonathan is that he's what I would call "vertical savant" in that he will simultaneously be talking about big picture narrative concepts, and then see small details like the location of props, numbers on a slate; he literally takes in everything and processes everything at once.

That being said he is totally chill guy. I get a lot of questions that seem to imply the Nolans are somehow scary or condescending, but this dude is funny, personable and in there with you. That whole set was very family oriented.

In love with Westworld, and have a million questions I'm sure will be answered in time, but only one at the moment...

How is your name pronounced? I can't wrap my head around it.

Sill Vest Her

HOW MANY TIMES HAS SYLVESTER MADE SWEET LOVE TO A ROBOT? (asking for a friend... who is a robot.)

How many grains of sand....

What is one little nugget that you can share that we can look forward to in your storyline over the next two episodes?

um... i think it will be interesting to see Sylvester after he gets his ass handed to him... what that does to his sense of ego/self/cockyness... on a performance level...

There is a thread of comedy in your character's interactions in the Westworld lab. What references are you drawing from? eg Homer Simpson, Costello, or the dickless bureaucrat from Ghostbusters etc.

I don't know if I was pulling from anybody. I have a lot of dickhead in me so I was pulling from that. I will say that I've always loved Michael Keaton's dickheads. His dickhead comedy is some of the best. and maybe some Fish Called Wanda.

Do you play video games? If so, what are you playing right now?

I've gotten back into Dont Starve. I feel like I had an addiction for a while so I moved to more indie games then I moved to just flash games then I cut it out completely and now I just do some Steam indie simple non competitive.

what was the thing or aspect you enjoyed most about working on the show?

Witnessing the level of complexity so far beyond anything I've ever seen. But that everybody was great human beings and more focused on family than I expected.

man... at first it was "job at all" - once i got there... it was so so so insane and amazing... and THEN they gave us character arc... its like a dream job of dream jobs...

Who do you agree/relate with more, sylvester or felix?

i think im more of a Felix in real life - i would take a chance on "this is life" even if i risk being wrong then: this is just a thing - nothing is special

Hello! Are the names of the characters on this show Easter Eggs? Sylvester & Felix are cats.... Bill(William), Ted & Logan all take an excellent adventure

i get most of this backstory conspiracy stuff from r/westworld - heard about all of it first here honestly...

Is William's character a younger Ed Harris (The Man in Black)?!?! I feel like that's where it is headed.

literally heard that idea first here on r/westworld - if its true how fucking insane this season is...

First of all Happy Birthday! Same day as Jimmi Simpson btw.

So how it feels to play most annoying character in the series? :)

No one thinks they're the most annoying character and I guess if you don't see a more annoying person around you, its probably you.

Sylvester genuinely thinks he's a charmer.

Why the hell is Felix aiding the host rebellion?! Are you gonna die btw?

i think overall Felix loves life and is like "this is happening" - and Sylvester is like "we fix big iPhones" (my interpretation)

Don't you think it's strange to us viewers that noone in the lab has a suspicion about what you both were doing with Maeve? Will we have a satisfying explanation about this?

i will say this minor thing that i know cause we asked about it too on set - but if you look around the scenes in the background there are less and less people around - more and more bodies stacked up - and less lights on.. cause at first she fucked us over by waking up in the middle of the job - but we dont make that mistake as much later on - and she is relegated to less traffic'd corners and off hours...

How did they do the throat cutting scene & what did that feel like? Did you have to research how to have that torturous reaction?

Whatever you did, it was a great performance! It got clutching my neck IRL as you squirmed.

Happy to see it didn't kill you(r character)!

That is ONE take for obvious reasons so the intensity of getting it right in one take plays into it. The panic is really, the blood is real, the build up on something like that is so intense. Days of prep all coming down to one moment. In some ways you just let that pressure become part of you and let it out. So for me, I just hold what technically I have to get done and we rehearse that but then once you go you just let the insanity take over because in reality its fully fucking insane already.

So, how was it working on Adam Ruins Everything? I saw that episode after Westworld, and now the character youplayed in that episode is totally the same as in Westworld.

LOVE THAT SHOW - so smart - so funny - love what they are doing - yeah that was a helpful character to play

How do you feel about the criticism of some viewers regarding Sylvester's/Felix's/Maeve's plot at the moment? I think your characters' actions are totally plausible and that other viewers are over thinking it, or there's a secret twist coming.

its been SO interesting as a person in it to read reactions - esp at first - but now im kinda into it! i just like the passion - i think people put themselves in there, in that moment and the choices would have been different - and so they ARE correct for themselves - for me... i get that they are BIG MISTAKES - esp looking back on how it plays out - but at the time sylvester is literally trying to "win" the ENTIRE time... and he thinks he is hopefully winning as much as is possible, each step of the way...

Hey sylvester, great episode there. Can you tell us what is your favorite thing about being in westworld ?

• 1. Ever being in WW at all
• 2. They give everyone an arc. Thats not normal. A lot of times you serve a role but on WW everyone is on a journey and it is so awesome.

What piece of instrumental music do you find incredibly beautiful (movie score, classical, etc.)?

Prokofiev, Romeo & Juliet, conducted by Mstislav Rostropovich

Would you rather fight one horse-sized Arnold or one hundred Arnold-sized horses? Or Felix for being such a damn robot-enabler?

just on straight math, If arnold is less that 2 foot tall I'll take the 100. Otherwise I'll take the one horse and I'm bringing Felix.

That stuff at the beginning... Is it milk?

I have no idea, I didn't even know that was in the show. We weren't involved in those sets.

Were all the dead bodies in the intake room mannequins or naked extras?

70% naked extras. They mostly only used "half bodies" for mannequins. Almost everything you see is a full person.

[deleted]

If you ask Sylvester, no: 21+ If you ask anyone outside of Sylvester, probably not so high.

Did they at any time make casts of your or Leo's face for the wall behind Ford's desk?

Or did they just scan it?

Great performance by the way, my man. Both of you guys play off Thandie exceedingly well.

nope - i got my neck cast for ep8... and those dudes have NO SHORTAGE OF HEADS - and thank you

What is it like working with Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy, can you please tell them: hi, everyone loves your art! :~) if that's not too sycophantic? :~P

oh man they are awesome - they really hold that insane ship on track both emotionally and factually - just to think of all they were holding in their head at all times... but also, and just as importantly - they are VERY cool people - with a very cool relationship - very funny and honest - man every time Lisa was on set there is just this calm... ask anyone... but for me, as impressive as the show is, i have always been equally impressed with them as people and the priorities they have ... this is not sunshine - they are legit... i spent most of my life as a fan - and put people like that in this distant frame... like they are all their work... dunno - they are great individuals...

Legitimate hard hitting question about Westworld, I hope you answer.(that's the point of these things right?!)

I personally like you and Felix and understand why you're both doing what you're doing with Maeve. Felix sees her as a person in front of him,not a host, and you, you're helping your friend, even if you don't outwardly seem like that kind of person.

My question to you is, there are a lot of Westworld fans who haven't taken to your storyline, perhaps you've seen them if you've browsed the sub, how do you feel about those negative reactions, and do you think there's a pay off in the final two episodes that'll really get everyone on board with your characters? No specifics obviously.

I apologize, this is long!

yeah - some of this gets into reading reviews - im okay with it now - its initially HARD to see and your like "BUT! but..." - but this is the point of experiencing a piece of entertainment socially... we get to express what we want and the negative stuff feels as good as the positive - still sharing... i will say this : i actually care about this guy Sylvester - i think he is trying his best and he cares a lot more then he's being given credit for - i think he is a broken individual and makes up for it by following problems with more problems - to cover bad choices already made - i def think he makes mistakes all. the. time. but i kinda get it - i dunno - i have NO ISSUE with people not liking his choices or not even believing them - we should all share what we think - but i get it...

What is it like working with Rodrigo Santoro? A fan from Brazil here!

He's so fucking hot and such a cool guy its not fucking fair.

Have you ever thought about going on Harmontown? Theyre fans of Westworld.

I love that show and watch that show live a lot.

On Wesworld, was the direction really tight, or did you have a lot of room to try out different things in scenes? (totally not trying to figure out if you're REALLY a host, promise)

this show is 100% "word perfect" - which means its ALL lines said EXACTLY as it is written... so thats real hard for someone who likes improv (like myself) and most of my work is making it look as much off-script rambling as possible... so direction is tight in that way... BUT they also know that and write it in a way that you can process your thoughts out loud - (and "fucks" actually hold up a lot of emotion outside of you - so they help!)

AmA thanks for the discussion. Happy Birthday btw, same BD as me. Why do you think Sylvester has not gone to any outside help if his whole plan was to decommission Maeve? You would think a simple call to the higher ups would be compelling enough for him to keep his job, regardless of how far they have broken protocol.

THANK YOU - yeah - for me internally - it was kind of 1) "i dont need your help - sylvester run boardertown" (body shop) 2) cannot take an audit - too many issues...

Did anyone every told you that you look like Louis CK?

No but I get called Trey Anastasio all the time (from Phish)

What would be the most annoying thing about actually working at WestWorld? The terrible lighting? The lack of desk space? Having to look, but not touch all the gorgeous pleasurebots?

What is Felix' most annoying habit as a co-worker and what is Sylvester's? And what is your biggest pet peeve in a real life co-worker?

I have no motivation to do any actual work today, so I'm re-watching WestWorld. It's a WW kind of day.

constant fear - LOTS of workload - lots of stress...

Felix is most annoying for not being Sylvester - or doing anything Sylvester wouldnt do... real life i HATE being a captive audience - like not being able to walk away from stories etc...

you are in for a good day! im gonna do that after the final

You were in Looking Season 1 right? I remember your character there but you disappeared from the show.

Also your name is really distinctive. Does that have any impact on getting attention in Hollywood? And how do you pronounce it?

yeah - they had a lot of story to get to - and he was fun texture but... necessary(?) i guess, not exactly... but that show was so emotionally tight - loved working on though

the P is silent like "tall-uh-me" is the main american pronunciation - more accurate would be "toll-eh-may" i dont care - just as long as you are trying...