‘Fire Country’: Max Thieriot on Working With Jared Padalecki & Why Bode’s ‘Cautious’ About Gabriela

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Dare we say Bode’s doing well right now on Fire Country? Max Thieriot certainly agrees.

“I think that he’s in a really good place,” the star, co-creator, and executive producer (who has also directed episodes—he’s busy!) tells TV Insider ahead of the November 15 episode, the first with Jared Padalecki.

After all, he’s moving on to Phase 3 of his firefighter training. His relationships with his friends (Jordan Calloway‘s Jake and Jules Latimer‘s Eve) and parents (Billy Burke‘s Vince and Diane Farr‘s Sharon) are great. He and his ex-girlfriend, Gabriela (Stephanie Arcila), just hooked up.

“I think that he’s really optimistic about his relationship with Gabriela, but he’s also cautious at the same time just because he has sort of been getting these mixed messages from her and her unwillingness to really put a label on it,” Thieriot explains. “Obviously she keeps drawing the two of them together but at the same time is quick to kind of push him back.”

Eric Milner / CBS

Bode’s also cautious because he’s used to things not going his way. “He’s kind of waiting for that letdown, waiting for the rug to get pulled from underneath him because nothing ever actually feels like it’s this good in his life,” says Thieriot. “And so it’s kind of trying to keep his head down and stay focused on the task at hand and stay committed to the job and do everything that he can to get through each day and each phase. But I think at the same time, he’s always looking over his shoulder.”

The next challenge for him comes from his Phase 3 instructor, Captain Camden Casey, played by Padalecki, also a friend of Thieriot’s. (As executive producer Tia Napolitano told us, the part was written for the Supernatural star.) Thieriot says it was a lot of fun working together on Fire Country.

“It was something Jared and I had talked about. We’re just really excited about this opportunity to potentially work together and just the support from the studio and network and all the producers was all there,” he shares. “And as soon as it felt like it was a possibility, I think there was a lot of excitement around it. And so Jared and I were just honestly excited to get to spend a bunch of days together and hang out and work together for the first time and then also just be us and laugh as friends. So it was a lot of fun and I think everybody really kind of enjoyed having him up and be a part of the family.”

Bode just completed Phase 2, and his instructor (and best friend) Jake passed him after he saw that he could follow his lead and not be a solo operator. But Camden is described as such, which could be what Bode doesn’t need.

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“Bode’s doing his best to walk this line and be a firefighter who operates by the book, and Camden is certainly not that guy,” Thieriot previews. “I think that Camden does things a different way, which creates a little conflict between him and Jake and him and Vince and Sharon. They see that Bode’s doing so well, but now here is this instructor who’s kind of pushing Bode to be Bode in a way.”

He continues, “But I think that’s because Camden sees a bit of himself in Bode and they have a lot of similarities in the way that they act based on their instinct and gut feeling and make decisions based on what’s happening in the moment versus following the checklist. That’s a scary thing for everybody in Bode’s life to see because of decisions that Bode’s made in the past. The two of them obviously will work well together, but at the same time, I think their similarities and tendencies will also create conflict between the two of ’em and it’ll be really fun for everybody to watch.”

Expect to see not just Camden have an impact on Bode as his instructor but vice versa as well. “Camden is able to take away a lot personally from Bode and Bode is able to take away professionally and personally things from Camden,” says Thieriot. “So they both certainly leave an impact on each other.”

What are you hoping to see from Camden and Bode during this three-episode arc? Let us know in the comments section below.

Fire Country, Fridays, 9/8c, CBS