Dark Matter: Simpson on Crouch, Edgerton, Braga, Doppelgangers & More

Posted in: Apple, TV | Tagged: Dark Matter

Dark Matter: Simpson on Crouch, Edgerton, Braga, Doppelgangers & More

Apple TV's Dark Matter star Jimmi Simpson discussed showrunner Blake Crouch, co-stars Joel Edgerton and Alice Braga, doppelgangers, and more.

Published Thu, 15 Oct 2026 15:37:08 -0500
by Tom Chang
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Article Summary

• Dark Matter star Jimmi Simpson explains why Ryan Holder’s empathy and survival arc let him play against type.
• Simpson praises Dark Matter creator Blake Crouch as writer-showrunner, calling his hands-on vision a best-case scenario.
• Jimmi Simpson breaks down the key differences between Ryan’s alternate selves and the shared humanity connecting them.
• Simpson discusses Dark Matter doppelganger themes, Joel Edgerton’s dual role, and his chemistry with Alice Braga.

Jimmi Simpson is one of the industry's most talented character actors, always looking to challenge himself, no matter the genre or medium. He's developed a knack for playing tortured souls and villains, which has benefited him in drama and comedy, with memorable works like Netflix's Black Mirror, HBO's Westworld, Apple TV's Pachinko, AMC's The Walking Dead: Dead City, and FX's It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. A unique opportunity to play against type came on the Apple TV sci-fi series Dark Matter from showrunner and author Blake Crouch, in which he plays Ryan Holder, who's an empathetic and brilliant neuroscientist and closest friend of physicist Jason Dessen (Joel Edgerton), the focus of the series, who's kidnapped into an alternate version of his life, leaving him to fight to return to his life to prevent the alternate version of himself from taking over his family. At the end of season one, Ryan finds himself trapped in Jason 2's world and finds a way out, meeting with Amanda Lucas (Alice Braga), Jason 2's girlfriend, as he tries to find his way out. Simpson spoke to Bleeding Cool about playing a "genuine human" and tapping into Ryan's perseverance, Crouch being in the position to showrun his own TV adaptation, distinguishing how he plays each version of Ryan and what they have in common, and working with Edgerton, Jennifer Connelly, and Braga.

Dark Matter Star Jimmi Simpson on Ryan's Struggle for Survival, Alternate Selves and More

Bleeding Cool: When you first signed on to play Ryan, what intrigued you about the role, and what did it allow you to do as an actor that you normally didn't do in your other work?

Simpson: Well, I'm not always…[laughs] it's funny. I get cast to play the guys that are up to no good, and again, I don't know if it's my eyebrows, I don't know what it is, because that's the furthest from my life. So whenever there's a genuine human who means well in an interesting story, I'm really drawn to it, and that's what Ryan was, and so it was such a pleasure to step in, be a guy's best friend, be looking out for him, and honestly caring for him. Then, I just also love to play complicated humans as well, so when this sweet, successful gentleman is thrust into a world where he now has nothing and no way to go home, I love playing that. I loved the end of season one, where this same well-intentioned man is literally made a victim and then must make a choice: Do I wither, or do I try to find the path out?

What's it like working with Blade Crouch in this unique position where there's no one else adapting his work on this frame?

You can dream about the novelist of a beautiful story being the writer and the showrunner, but it rarely happens, and so in this situation, having the man who wrote this book that is one of my favorites not just write the script, but then be on set every single day to make sure and to keep an eye on things so that this story is being told the way he intended is really the best-case scenario. You add that Blake Crouch and Jacque [Ben-Zekry] are two of the sweetest and kindest people I've ever met as showrunners, and I can't believe I'm there; I really can't. With, like, season two to actually have the source material with such a sweetheart, being able to articulate the things you didn't know you needed to know yet about 'Dark Matter' is I'm lucky, Joel [Edgerton] and Jennifer [Connelly] are lucky, I think Apple's lucky, and the audience is really lucky that this package was put together this way, and that trust was given in Blake to help really reach the goal of sharing this story with everyone. Yeah, it's lucky, and I'm really fortunate.

As an actor, what has been the biggest challenge in distinguishing each Ryan, and what overlap do you allow yourself?

Well, they both have meant well their whole lives. Neither one of them is cruel, and both have large empathic centers, but then both have had their entire understanding of existence completely dismantled, so the one who had his life pretty clean and clear is really thrown off. That's Ryan 1, and it's just like I've had control for so long. The control is like an external condition where it's almost an illusion, and so because everything changes inevitably- loss, wins- so with Ryan 1, when that condition is changed, it's really jarring, and it takes him a beat to orient himself. Whereas Ryan 2, who hasn't had that experience, that external experience of always having his path clear and having money, another life complication is just like, "Oh, well shit, what are we doing now? Okay, I guess this is what we're doing," so it was fun playing like the shock and the pearl clutching of Ryan 1, like, "What is happening to me? I don't control my circumstances," and then also Ryan 2 is like, "This is what's up. Everybody wants to go home too," but that's also a universal feeling, but sometimes you can't go home. In the case of Ryan 1, sometimes when you go away from home, you realize maybe you're bigger than this life that you had gotten used to.

Are there any acting exercises you did with Joel on doppelganger work, any tips that he gave you?

I wish I had the capacity to absorb all of Joel's acting chops. I think both of us are playing characters with solid souls, but circumstances have changed those people we're playing. I think Jason 2 does have a deep, dark side, but like most of the bad guys I play, it's born out of love: misplaced, confused, not super appropriate, but the love of a woman that he said, "No," not too long ago. That's kind of like akin to my shift in 'Westworld' as William. Love breaks his heart, and then he's forced to break everything else to see if he could get relief. That's Jason 2, and that's why he's the center. Jason 1 and Jason 2 are the center of this piece because they're so dynamic. Ryan's situation is less love-based. It's a little bit more about exploring self. But again, as I said, one of them has had an easy path, so difficulties are shocking, and one of them has had a difficult path. So, more difficulty is how life is.

What did you enjoy about developing Ryan and Amanda's relationship and your scene work with Alice this season?

There's just so much. When two people have experienced something so completely outside of the realm of, like, normal human experience, there's an enormous comfort in finding each other that's almost inexplicable. It's just there; it's a life jacket. The two characters don't have to convince each other they're not crazy. They already know, and Alice is such a wonderful actor. She brings so much emotional truth to these very bizarre circumstances, so the chemistry came pretty easily, and we'd known each other casually through mutual friends for years, and had always wanted to work together. That adds another layer of trust: "I know you. I know I've wanted this," so let's just drop in.

New episodes of Dark Matter, which also stars Dayo Okeniyi, Oakes Fegley, and Amanda Brugel, stream Fridays through October 30th on Apple TV.

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