Jack's Dynamic With Susan Duffy In Reacher Season 3 Explained By Star Sonya Cassidy: “She Doesn’t Know Whether She Can Fully Trust Him”

Reacher season 3 has continued the show’s rein as one of Prime Video’s most successful original series, with an ever-expanding world that has grown to include characters like Sonya Cassidy’s Susan Duffy. The show is, of course, centered around the character of Jack Reacher, originally a creation of author Lee Child and portrayed with impressive book accuracy by Alan Ritchson. Although season 3 brings the character of Reacher closer to his lone wolf origins, it also invites new working relationships.

Susan Duffy was highlighted by ScreenRant’s Reacher season 3 review as one of the new power players this season, and Cassidy’s performance is key. Cassidy is a veteran television actor whose impressive resume includes The Man Who Fell to Earth, The Last Kingdom, and Lodge 49. Cassidy’s role as an undercover agent with the DEA in Reacher season 3 will surely showcase the actor’s many skills, as the character will need to talk (and fight) her way out of some risky situations.

ScreenRant’s Liam Crowley interviewed Sonya Cassidy about her work as Susan Duffy in Reacher season 3. Cassidy discussed her approach to nailing a Boston accent (an accent which, in some galaxies, is pretty controversial) and spoke at length about how her character worked within a team and fit into Jack Reacher’s world. Cassidy also shared her personal method to turning in a great performance.

Duffy’s Relationship With Reacher Is Uncertain, But Strengthening

“She Doesn’t Know Whether She Can Fully Trust Him”

Jack Reacher is known to be a lone wolf, and Susan is the leader of a tight-knit team. “I think initially she doesn’t know whether she can fully trust him,” Cassidy says of how the two characters interact, with a key caveat: “She trusts her gut, and her gut is telling her, ‘this is a guy that I believe in this moment when he tells me what he is telling me. And this is a guy that’s also willing to go undercover.’” Ultimately, “I’m going to see where this goes,” says Cassidy of Duffy’s mindset, praising her DEA agent’s judge of character in the process. The timing plays a big part: “Thank God he comes into her life, because this is a situation that has gone from bad to worse. In all her years in the DEA, she’s never had to deal with this … Reacher comes in and it gets even more complicated, even more dangerous, and even more entertaining for us to watch.”

Cassidy also believes that Reacher’s trust of Duffy is validation of the character’s competence: “I think it’s a testament to Duffy that Reacher goes undercover with her and the DEA, because he doesn’t need to. He could just crack on and find Quinn and would be fine doing it himself.” Still, “They work well together, but at the same time, there is that Reacher quality of, ‘Who the hell is this guy? Can I trust him? What’s his story?’”

Cassidy Details The Dynamic Between Duffy & Her Team

“They’re In New Territory”

In the premiere episode of Reacher season 3, Duffy is faced with a decision in which her rookie, Steven Elliot (played by Daniel David Stewart), wants to take charge. It was one of what will surely be numerous tests of her leadership ability. “I think, in this instance, they’re in new territory as a team, because she’s running this case off the books now,” Cassidy said. “If we weren’t, I think there would be more leeway.”

“We’re hitting the ground running,” the actor said, “it’s moving at 80 miles an hour, and people could die, and the clock is ticking. So, she is very much leading the charge.” Even with Reacher in the picture, Duffy continues to hold her own: “When Reacher comes into it, what I like is that as much as he brings so much that is immensely helpful, they are a team. They’re both side by side and going, ‘Okay, well, let’s do this. It’s terrifying, there [are] a lot of unknowns, but you’ve got my back and I’ve got yours.’”

Duffy’s determination also makes her a leader in the eyes of her team. “She will lose everything over this if it means making it right,” Cassidy said. “It’s a testament to her,” she continued, “that the guy who’s about to retire stays by her side, and the young rookie who could, and probably should, just get out while he can looks up to her and wants to stay.” As for how Duffy reacts to all that? “F***ing tough love,” explains Cassidy.

Movies Taught British Actor Sonya Cassidy How To Deliver A Convincing Boston Accent

Cassidy Also Watched Old Interviews With Working-Class Bostonians

Sonya Cassidy was born in Bristol, but Reacher audiences wouldn’t know it from the way she speaks as Boston-based Susan Duffy. “I just listened to as much Boston as I could–various films,” Cassidy said. She continued: “I found some great things online: old ‘80s interviews with Boston longshoremen being interviewed working at the docks. There are some great Boston Globe clips from when Whitey Bulger was caught.”

But Duffy doesn’t sound like a caricature of a Bostonian. “That’s pretty heightened Boston,” Cassidy said of her accent inspiration, “I took it to the extreme in order to bring it down with a dialect coach and make it as smooth and believable as possible.”

Cassidy Shares Her Method For Turning In Quality Performances

Part Of It Is That “I’m Always Prepared”

When asked what she consistently brings to each role to ensure she’s delivering her best work, Cassidy began with, “I think I listen well. I really just try and be in it and respond to what the other actor is giving me.” But there is a very specific work ethic involved as well: “Also, I’m always prepared. I’ve noted my lines. I’m on time. I’m ready to work.”

It is a balancing act, Cassidy reveals, “I think you can see if an actor’s in their head and they’re thinking about it too much. I try and just work off my gut and off instinct, and just respond.” It’s fitting that’s how Cassidy said Susan Duffy operates, too: “If you’ve done your prep well enough, the character [is] in there, so that response is what they would do.Your emotions and your intuitions are your weapons.”

Check out our other Reacher season 3 interviews: