Nikki Muller recalls her audition for HBO series Westworld as a brief and private affair. The actress and TV host of Swiss-Filipino descent shared with 8days.sg that there were a few character profiles but fewer details. Nevertheless, Nikki got the role of the ‘Financial Advisor’ for the Season 3 episode ‘The Mother of Exiles’.
The episode was aired on April 6, Monday. Nikki’s character was supposed to arrange a dodgy transaction for robots Dolores (Evan Rachel Wood) and Caleb (Aaron Paul). The scene was shot at the National Gallery Singapore.
Nikki’s theory on why she was selected for the role was because, during her audition, Nikki had a Swiss-German accent. She revealed that even though the role was meant for a man, they considered her because she did something different.
For the shooting, Nikki did her makeup at 5 am and went to National Gallery Singapore after 7 am. The shooting ended before 6 pm so it was an entire day and they did it during the National Day period. Based on the equipment and the number of people from many countries, Nikki remarked that it was a huge show.
Nikki finds Evan Rachel Wood and Aaron Paul very professional gave their 100 per cent to their lines even when the camera was not on them. Nikki learned from this experience that the director kept prompting and changing the trajectory of how she delivers her lines so that they have options in the editing room.
Aaron Paul and Rachel Evan Woods were amazed by Singapore as it is their first time here. Nikki also shared that working with Jonathan Nolan was intense in the way he asks the actors what they would do in the scene and whether the scene works for them.
Nikki is the host for The Food Detectives but she did not recommend any local cuisines to the international cast and crew. There was some Singaporean food at the buffet on-set. Rachel Evan Wood had a strict diet so she had to be careful of what she ate.
Singapore-based actor Bobby Tonelli also shared the same scene as the ‘Attendant’ and Nikki was grateful for him being around as she sees him as a big brother. Nikki shared that there was a high level of professionalism as the turnaround was so fast. When they heard ‘cut’ everyone repositioned.
Nikki did not have a personal assistant but there was always someone looking after you, she shared. She noticed that there were stand-in actors for everyone even for someone with not that many lines. /TISG