‘Bosch: Legacy’ Season 3 Interview: Titus Welliver

Titus Welliver (Harry Bosch) in ‘Bosch: Legacy’ Season 3. Credit: Tyler Golden/Prime. Copyright: © Amazon Content Services LLC.

Currently available to stream on Prime Video is the third and final season of ‘Bosch: Legacy’, which is based on characters created by author Michael Connelly and is a continuation/spinoff of the groundbreaking seven season series, ‘Bosch’.

The series once again stars Titus Welliver (‘The Town’) as Harry Bosch, Madison Lintz (‘Parental Guidance’) as his daughter Maddie Bosch, and Mimi Rogers (‘The Mighty Quinn’) as Honey “Money” Chandler, as well original series actor Paul Calderón (‘King of New York’) reprising his role as Det. Jimmy Robertson

Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with actor Titus Welliver about his work on ‘Bosch: Legacy’ season 3, the decision to end the series, playing the character for the final time, if he is happy with how Harry’s story ends, if he will reprise his role on the upcoming spinoff ‘Ballard’ starring Maggie Q, and bringing back fan favorite characters like Paul Calderón’s Jimmy Robertson.

Related Article: ‘Bosch: Legacy’ Season 3 Serves Up a Bittersweet Ending for the Series

(L to R) Maurice ‘Mo” Bassi (Stephen A. Chang) and Harry Bosch (Titus Welliver) in ‘Bosch: Legacy’ season 3. Photo Credit: Greg Gayne/Prime. Copyright: © Amazon Content Services LLC.

Moviefone: To begin with, as a hardcore fan, I’m heartbroken by the ending of ‘Bosch: Legacy’. Can you talk about the decision to end the series now, and what was it like for you to play this character for a final time?

Titus Welliver: Well, here’s the thing. I did not know that. Nobody knew that. We were already talking about what we were going to be doing in season 4. So, as Harry would say, “That’s above my pay grade”. I don’t know all the different machinations or reasons. Am I saddened by that? Deeply. You know, I love the people that I work with. I have formed a very close, deep bond with the character, even though he’s a fictional character. There’s a part of that that penetrates you to a certain degree when you do that. When you breathe life into a character, they become some sort of odd manifestation. So, I miss Harry. I really missed him. I know if I could get on the phone and call him, I would. I really do miss the character. I miss working with this group of people and the joy that it’s brought me for a decade was such a tremendous privilege.

Titus Welliver (Harry Bosch) in ‘Bosch: Legacy’ Season 3. Credit: Tyler Golden/Prime. Copyright: © Amazon Content Services LLC.

MF: Without giving away any spoilers, can you talk about crafting Harry’s final moment on screen? How involved were you with that, and are you satisfied with how Harry’s story ends?

TW: No, because we were not aware at that point when we shot that. There’s no closure at all. That’s not atypical for ‘Bosch’. We would leave things kind of hanging. But as far as when you see the final scene, it’s not a ride off into the sunset. It’s not a so long. It feels like the end of a season, but it doesn’t feel like the end. As Harry would say, “Closure is a myth”. There is no closure. What it does do is it introduces the character of Renee Ballard, who’s played brilliantly by Maggie Q. She fully embodies the character, and it was such a tremendous pleasure working with her. We got to do some solid work together and laughed our asses off. She’s very deeply funny, and very gracious and generous as an actor. That relationship is introduced, and I think very well realized. So, in that regard and that they are doing this ‘Ballard’ show, I think it tees it up well for that, but it will not feel like this is teeing up for a spinoff. The only finality is that it’s the 10th episode, but there is no closure.

(L to R) Madison Lintz (Maddie Bosch) and Titus Welliver (Harry Bosch) on set of ‘Bosch: Legacy’ season 3. Photo Credit: Eddy Chen/Prime. Copyright: © Amazon Content Services LLC.

MF: So, here is the million-dollar question: With the ‘Ballard’ series in the works, is it possible that we could see you return as Harry Bosch on that series at some point?

TW: You never know. Hollywood is a strange and aerial place, right? There’s talk. Since this season has come out and it’s the final season clearly even on the poster and all the ads and everything. I have people coming up to me on the streets very vexed and not happy about it at all. But they’re also really enjoying this this season, which always makes me feel good because that’s what it is for. It is meant to entertain and to give our audiences that which they have invested so much time in, not only the viewers of the show, but the readers of the books. They get that it’s a kind of mutual gratification there. But the temperature in the public over the years has been very warm, and there’s a kind of personal connection that people feel with this character, which I find interesting. They feel a connection and a kind of ownership of the shows. I was just in in New York, and I had this one guy who was a New York cop say to me, “This is our show. We’ll let you know when we’re tired of watching it. So go back to these guys and tell them we’re not ready to go. We’ll let you know.” I was very moved by it, but it was also great because it was coming from a cop, and it had a genuine emotional tone to what he was saying. He wasn’t doing it with a smile. He was kind of emphatic in a way, which I was touched by.

Det. Jimmy Robertson (Paul Calderon) in ‘Bosch: Legacy’ season 3. Photo Credit: Eddy Chen/Prime. Copyright: © Amazon Content Services LLC.

MF: Finally, can you talk about how this season ties up loose ends from not only ‘Legacy’ but the original series as well, and having the opportunity to bring back fan favorite characters like, for example, Paul Calderón’s Jimmy Robertson?

TW: Paul Calderón and I have known each other for 30 years. Prior to even knowing him, I was always very aware of Paul. You know, we both come from New York. We’re New York theater guys and then we worked together a million years ago on a show called uh, ‘New York Undercover’. So we go that far back. His realization of the Jimmy Robertson character is an absolute chef’s kiss of work. First, you get an actor who brings a level of gravitas and we’ve been blessed over the years to have actors on the show that have a certain caliber. Obviously, any opportunity to see Crate (Gregory Scott Cummins) and Barrel (Troy Evans) again always brings a smile. I love those guys so dearly. I never had to really act with those guys. First, Troy Evans and I have known each other also for probably about 30 years and he and I are extremely close. Playing any element of humor or buoyancy with them, the hardest part of my job doing scenes with Troy and Greg was not losing it and cracking up because that was the banter that existed in between takes. We were all crying laughing. But to bring back Jimmy Robertson and then to circle back and that relationship between he and Bosch, their contemporaries, they are from the old school, and their relationship in the past has been contentious. He’s investigated Bosh once before and now he’s thrust into this. So, there’s mutual respect that exists there, but he saves Bosch’s life, and we see the beginning gestation of a different kind of relationship between those two characters. But Bosch maintains his silence about certain elements of things. Robertson respects that, but they move past that and the fact that Harry says, “Let’s do this again sooner than later”. So, as an audience remember, you go, “Oh, that’s cool. These guys, it’s not a love fest, but it’s a genuine relationship”. But we never get to see it realized and then his character is so suddenly taken out and that infuriates Bosch. So, then you see Bosch ignited into this parallel investigation, which leads and connects other threads. All cases are personal with Bosch, but I think in this season, when he’s hired to find this family that’s disappeared, any detective will tell you that all cases that they work, and I’m speaking particularly about murder cops, takes a piece of them. We see that with Harry and him looking into the abyss, but they will all say unanimously, the cases that haunt them are cases that involve children. So, Harry investigates the darkness probably deeper than he’s ever looked, maybe except for the times where he confronted the killer of his mother, and when he confronts Dockweiler, who kidnapped Maddie. We see an element of that with this. It penetrates him in a way. I think the audience will really worry and or question if this is something that will push Harry into a place of compromising his moral compass, which we know to be flawless, right? “Everybody counts or nobody counts”. But this one is very specific, and we see him unravel a bit.

“The sun is setting on the epic saga.”

TV-MA3 SeasonsMay 5th, 2022

What is the plot of ‘Bosch: Legacy’ Season 3?

Season Three of ‘Bosch: Legacy’ is based on Michael Connelly’s best-selling novels ‘Desert Star’ (2022) and ‘The Black Ice’ (1993). The murder investigation of Kurt Dockweiler (David Denman) brings dangerous secrets to light and threatens to ruin the lives of our three principal characters. The disappearance of a family haunts Harry Bosch (Titus Welliver) and forces him to confront the limits of justice. In a hotly contested race, Honey “Money” Chandler (Mimi Rogers) is poised to become the next District Attorney of Los Angeles, and Maddie Bosch (Madison Lintz) gets entangled in a series of violent follow-home robberies.