His Dark Materials star Amir Wilson reveals an explosion happened on season 3 set

"We had to shut down for a day."

By Stefania Sarrubba and David Opie

27 Dec 2022

amir wilson, his dark materials season 3

BBC

His Dark Materials star Amir Wilson has revealed a surprising behind-the-scenes moment on the set of season 3.

The actor, who plays Will Parry on the BBC fantasy drama, recalled an explosion while filming the new instalment that led to the set shutting for a whole day.

"On that day, they were kind of letting off smoke into the cubes, so that when we opened it, smoke could kind of be revealed," he told Digital Spy in an exclusive chat.

"I think some gas got trapped, so it actually exploded on us. We had to shut down the set for a day.

"I think I've got it on my phone, because I got sent it. But we stopped filming for a bit, because they were pumping in smoke, and then it got trapped in, and it ended up exploding out on us.

"So there's a moment where Dafne [Keen] leans up to it, or something like that. I can't remember what actually happens. But Dafne gets close to it, and is seeing what happens, and then: [makes explosion noise] – obviously, thankfully, it came from the other side. But that was a pretty funny day."

BBC

Wilson also touched upon finally having his own CGI'd daemon this season.

"Being able to work with a puppeteer, to have my own daemon – I kind of felt left out. Everyone has had all this daemon talk for the last three years, and I've kind of always been left out of it. But being able to have my own daemon – it’s been cool," he shared.

"And working with Bobby, who puppeteers my daemon, was great, and it's nice to have those moments," he added.

Speaking about the third and final chapter, Wilson said the series comes "into a full circle".

"I think the wrap-up of the show was really nice. I think everything kind of comes into a full circle, and all those questions are kind of answered in a sense."

His Dark Materials airs on BBC One in the UK and HBO in the US.