Thomas Doherty Finally Had His Pinch-Me Moment With ‘Paradise’

Thomas Doherty Photograph by Easton Schirra

When you see Thomas Doherty on screen, it’s easy to become starstruck with his piercing blue eyes, charismatic personality and magnetic presence. He may appear as this unattainable heartthrob, but you may be surprised to learn you have more in common with the 31-year-old Scottish actor than you realize. He’s really just a fanboy at heart.

He was going through all the emotions during his latest project, taking on the role of Link in season two of Hulu’s post-apocalyptic political thriller Paradise. It was not only a new challenge for him as an actor, but he also got to cross a few things off his bucket list, like working with some acting greats.

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“They always say, ‘Never meet your idols,’ but she’s near and dear to my heart,” Doherty says of his co-star Shailene Woodley, before continuing his praise of the show’s mainstays, Sterling K. Brown and Julianne Nicholson.

But before Doherty got fully lost in all his enthusiastic compliments of his co-stars while chatting with The Hollywood Reporter over Zoom on a Monday morning in late April, he quickly caught himself. “It’s annoying because you watch interviews and you watch people in shows and they’re like, ‘Yeah, we’re like a family.’ I’m like, ‘Fucking bullshit. No way. You guys don’t even like each other,’” he says. But now he understands where those people are coming from, as he “can’t stop talking about how amazing these people are and how amazing the show is,” he adds with a wide grin.

Before Doherty scored his pinch-me moment on Paradise, he was already making a name for himself, first with his breakout roles in Disney’s The Lodge and the Descendants franchise, and later with his charming yet intense roles in the Gossip Girl reboot and the second season of Tell Me Lies.

But taking on the role of Link, a rugged yet kind member of a group of survivors known as the Cancer Cowboys, was a whole new challenge. He also underwent a physical transformation at the beginning of the season, with wild hair and a scruffy beard rendering him nearly unrecognizable — even to himself at times.

“After 10 hours on set, you forget that you look like this scary person and then you catch a glimpse of yourself in the mirror,” Doherty says with a laugh. “Just being on the sets as well. The Graceland set is on Melrose Avenue in a soundstage, but you go in for so long you think that you’re there, and then you come out and you’re in L.A. and it’s sunny and you’re like, ‘What the fuck’s going on?’”

Below, Doherty unpacks stepping into Paradise, why you shouldn’t ask him about quantum physics and what’s next for his character in season three. He also shares his career goals and his reaction to the success he’s seen post Disney.

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What was it like to step into the world of Paradise for season two, especially after the show had such a successful first season, and join an iconic cast led by Sterling K. Brown and Julianne Nicholson?

It definitely was the kind of next step in my career in terms of scale, but also, like you’re saying, the plethora of actors I was working with, I’d never been surrounded by that before. I’m such a huge fan of Shailene [Woodley] for so many years, so just the opportunity to work with her was [something you] jump at it. They always say, “Never meet your idols,” but she’s near and dear to my heart. She’s just a beautiful, beautiful human being.

We had this amazing opportunity — me and Shailene and the other Cancer Cowboys — where we were joining this very well-established production. We were truly the new kids on the block. The first episode really gave us an opportunity to acclimatize to the culture and find our footing, so that when it picked up again in episode two and the All Stars came and joined us, we were settled in a lot more. Julianne as well, what an amazing moment. I think Julianne is the coolest person I’ve ever met. I’ve met some cool people. I live in New York City. I’m in Hollywood and she takes a biscuit, for sure. Then you have Sterling, a leader who practices what he preaches and is very inspiring to a younger actor like myself.

Julianne Nicholson and Thomas Doherty at the end of Paradise season two. Disney/Ser Baffo

(Laughs.) I mean, if I worked with really cool people like Sterling and Julianne, I’d also want to just sit and talk about them, too.

Honestly, it’s annoying because you watch interviews and you people in shows and they’re like, “Yeah, we’re like a family.” I’m like, “Fucking bullshit. No way. You guys don’t even like each other.” (Laughs.) And I can’t stop talking about how amazing these people are and how amazing the show is. With season three, I can’t stop telling people, “It’s going to be bigger and better,” but it really is. It’s so good. I can’t believe what Dan [Fogelman, creator] and his team are coming up with.

I have to admit, I didn’t recognize you initially in season two. What was that physical transformation at the beginning like for you? Did it help you embody Link?

All these tiny things that these two artists [Zoe and Michael] came up with — the beard — and then you’re working with Coxy, head of the costume department, and he just really collaborates with you and lets you feel like you’re Link, like you’re in this post-apocalyptic world. I can’t take any credit for any of that, but it definitely helps. That’s Dan. He doesn’t leave anything to the imagination for the audience, but also for his actors.

I’m looking in the mirror fucking getting afraid because after 10 hours on set, you forget that you look like this scary person, and then you catch a glimpse of yourself. And just being on the sets — I mean, you’re in the Graceland set, which is on Melrose Avenue in a soundstage, but you go in for so long and you think that you’re there. Then you come out and you’re in L.A. and it’s sunny and you’re like, “What the fuck’s going on?” (Laughs.) So it’s not just that for the audience, it’s also like that for me. I’m like, “Oh God, yeah, Thomas. Your name is Thomas.”

Thomas Doherty in Paradise season two. Disney/Ser Baffo

The quantum physics stuff with Alex in season two definitely had viewers’ heads spinning. As one of the actors having to make sense of that in the show, what did those conversations look like with Dan Fogelman? Do you have a full understanding of it now?

Don’t ask me about that. I don’t know. (Laughs.)

I swear I wasn’t going to ask you to define quantum physics or anything.

I used to love it before the finale came out because everyone would ask these questions and I’d always go, “I can’t tell you.” Little did they know, I can’t tell you because I don’t know. (Laughs.) All I could do was understand the most basic, basic, rudimentary idea, not even the understanding of it, just the idea of it that you could probably explain to a 10 year old. As long as I had that, you trust the writing. Because I did try to understand it and it’s really intense. You start to get in your head with it and that starts to impede your acting and your connection with it. It was Julianne who really helped me with that because I was stressing out. I was like, “I’m what?” She was like, “Don’t.” We would laugh in the green room. She was like, “It’s best just to not get lost in your head with it.”

At the end of the season (spoiler alert!), Link learns so much in such a short amount of time, including Sinatra thinking he’s her dead son, Dylan; that Annie died and discovering he has a child; all while trying to get out of the bunker. Were you ever nervous about being able to process all those different emotions authentically on screen?

No, not really because when he finds out all of this stuff, he finds out in the space of 10 seconds in a very, very high-pressure life-or-death situation. It actually might be his mom. He just lost his best friend, Geiger. He’s got a baby and Annie’s dead. You can’t process that. So it’s like that level of confusion and that’s kind of it.

Then in season three, that’s when we start to see the processing happen. So we never really see Link properly process it. I mean, we’ve all received bad news at one time in our life, and you feel this kind of numbness, this kind of, “What?” And then he gets hit four times and he’s about to die. So it wasn’t actually too intense. It’s quite easy to personalize that information.

Thomas Doherty in Paradise season two. Everett Collection

When you reflect on season two and the heavy themes woven into the storyline, from AI and humanity to global devastation and government corruption, what did you take away from it?

The idea that no matter how awful the world may seem, the powers that be, how awful they may be, we always have a choice. They can take away things, they can manipulate certain ideas and all the rest of it, but they can’t take away your choice. And it’s scary the world we’re in right now with all this AI stuff and certain leaders and wars, but they can’t disconnect you from your heart, where your real humanity exists, not in your brain; your real morality and humanity exists in your heart. That’s what I really love about this season. I love Xavier’s (Brown) character for that.

As you look to season three, what can you share about Link’s future? Do you have personal hopes for your character?

I know everything. I’m not going to tell you any of it. (Laughs.) I can’t tell you anything. Are you joking? You know, I can’t tell you. (Laughs.)

It’s going to be bigger. I don’t know how they’ve done it. I was kind of apprehensive about coming into [season] three because I didn’t know … I don’t have the writer’s brain like them. I don’t have that level of talent that these writers have and that Dan has, and he’s done it. It’s going to be bigger and better.

Sterling K. Brown and Doherty in Paradise season two. Disney/Ser Baffo

It’s been several years since your breakout roles on Disney. Having found so much success after on other shows, outside of Disney, do you ever find yourself reflecting on the early career days?

I am proud of myself, but it is so much luck. So much fortune. It’s so much work behind the scenes that I’m not even necessarily privy to. I get to pull up and do what I love to do, but it’s all been facilitated by this amazing team I have. My mom and dad have facilitated a life and opportunities for me that they never had. They grew up in poverty and working-class Scotland. So the takeaway isn’t necessarily pride. It’s definitely gratitude. Who knows? I might never work again or I might continue to work. I’m 31 and the ego’s starting to quiet down a little bit and it’s a really beautiful experience to render to God or to the universe or whatever your belief is.

Do you have a dream genre or role you hope to take on in the future?

I love playing characters. I want to be the villain. I want to be a James Bond villain. I really, really want to do a rom-com. I did Girls5eva. That was my first experience of comedy and I had the best time. But then I’m also helping my friend, Eli Brown; he’s written this amazing script that we want to do together. I’m excited to do that. I love musicals as well. I’d love to do a La La Land-esque kind of [film]. I actually have Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone tattooed on my arm. Honestly, I’m so open. I’m so open as long as the writing is good and the people involved are good people; sign me up.

You also worked with Eric Dane on Family Secrets, which will be one of his final onscreen roles once it’s released. What was it like getting to work with him before his death?

I was in a bit of an odd place in my life, quite a difficult time for me. And Eric, not really knowing me, saw that. And I went to dinner with him a few times and he was hugely instrumental in getting me from a certain place in my life to where I am now. I’m not going to pretend that we were like best guys or whatever, but we were in Serbia shooting this movie and he would take me for dinner and talk to me and stuff, and it was really incredibly impactful on where I am now. And he was kind of the first person that started me on this journey to get me to a happier, more content place in my life. And I’ll forever be grateful for that. And he’s really funny as well. It’s a real heartbreak.

When you’re not filming or working, what does your perfect day off look like?

No alarm. I’ll wake up about eight, nine. Drink my water, have my coffee, play with my dog, and try to just properly rest. I don’t mean sit and vegetate on a sofa and scroll on my phone and watch TV. Just really rest and try to still myself. I’ve got some of the most amazing friends, most incredible people I’m so fortunate to have in my life. Connect with them, connect with the family back home, check in. Because when you’re working and pretending the world’s ending and someone’s holding a gun to your head, it’s quite a lot. So it’s good to just check in and reground with these amazing people. I’m honestly kind of boring. I love grocery shopping. (Laughs.) I love Home Depot!

Now I’m in L.A., so going to the beach, going for hikes, being outside. Like you were saying prior with AI and the state of the world, I’m like, “Oh my God, did you see this picture of this person? I can’t believe they did that.” And everyone’s like, “Thomas, that’s AI.” So I can’t trust myself on this thing, so I try and stay away from social media. I like to reconnect with myself and with nature.

If you had to describe what makes Thomas Doherty, Thomas Doherty, what would you say?

I don’t think I could answer that. I do regard myself as quite a loyal person to the people I love: my friends and family. I like that part about myself. I’m in this nice learning time in my life where I want to be an honorable person. So maybe it doesn’t make me who I am, but that’s definitely what I strive to be. To have honor and hold myself to a standard and not have who I am determined by external things.