Greg Daniels new series for Amazon, Upload, takes the eternal question of what happens when we die and gives it a fascinating sci-fi twist. In the series, people can choose to have their consciousness uploaded into a virtual afterlife and, for those willing to pay a premium, that afterlife is a pretty posh heaven with all the comforts and privilege of the (very upscale) real world. For Kevin Bigleys character, Luke, that glittering afterlife comes after suffering serious trauma in the real world and its something that Bigley says lets Luke truly seize every opportunity after death.
Warning: potential spoilers for the first season of Upload below.
In Upload, Bigley plays military veteran Luke. In life, Luke suffered the loss of both of his legs during his military service and after five years in a wheelchair, ultimately decided to end his life, completing suicide by being scanned for upload. Its a grim backstory for the character, one thats a bit jarring when viewers meet him in the series. The uploaded Luke is a jovial, cheerful, if not somewhat immature man who is out to enjoy everything he possibly can and its something that Bigley says is influenced by the trauma experienced in his life.
I think maybe its because he had such a traumatic life that he thinks that this ones more worth seizing, Bigley told ComicBook.com. Its funny that hes really kind of seeking out Nathan (Robbie Amell) because hes one of the only younger spirits. Hes a character who rejects wisdom so maybe thats probably why hes enjoying himself and not really thinking about the ramifications of a virtual realm and is more kind of thinking about how he can exploit them for more of their pleasures and whatnot.
Over the course of the series season, Luke is one of the characters who seems most himself throughout, though theres a nuance to him, something that Bigley says reminds him of Bill Murrays character in Ghostbusters.
The arc is very interesting for Luke, and I dont know if there is that prominent of one, Bigley said. I think thats kind of what makes him a funny, beautiful character and all of these characters who are changing and at least its very subtle near the end there about this care for somebody other than himself. I think that there, it always reminded me of, and this is not self-aggrandizing, but as far as how the character is written is Bill Murray in Ghostbusters, is that even surrounded by this paranormal apocalypse, hes just trying to get laid. And the DNA of that is very, very funny. So, in the face of all of this, theres just Luke just trying to figure out ways that he can just get drunk or something.
Upload is now streaming on Amazon Prime Video.
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