Titus Welliver Had “A Lot Of Fun” Shedding Bosch For New Villain Role In AMC’s 100% RT Crime Masterpiece

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Be warned, this contains minor spoilers for Dark Winds season 4, episode 7, “Nániikai (We Came Back)”! In season 4 of Dark Winds, Titus Welliver‘s character is making a surprising change and will be working against the law.

After twelve years playing Harry Bosch in Prime Video’s series, Lance Welliver has joined the popular AMC crime drama as Dominic McNair. He first appears in episode 7 of the current season as a powerful mob boss who controls his criminal empire from prison. Importantly, he’s the leader behind Irene Vaggan, a dangerous and skilled contract killer portrayed by Franka Potente.

Season 4 of Dark Winds draws heavily from Tony Hillerman’s 1984 novel, The Ghostway. The season centers on Lieutenant Leaphorn, played by Zahn McClarnon, as he investigates a deadly shooting at a diner. This investigation quickly becomes complicated by the disappearance of a teenage girl from the reservation. Leaphorn’s search puts him at odds with both Vaggan and McNair, who are also pursuing the girl for their own purposes. He even confronts McNair in prison, desperate to find Billie and save her before it’s too late.

To celebrate the start of the show, Grant Hermanns from ScreenRant spoke with Titus Welliver about season 4 of Dark Winds. Welliver shared his excitement about moving away from his well-known character, Bosch, to play a new villain, and discussed the relationship between his character, McNair, and Leaphorn. He also talked about his appreciation for the original book series and some of the changes made when adapting it for television.

Welliver Had “A Lot Of Fun” Getting To Change Sides Of The Law For Dark Winds

Though Lance Reddick has earned praise for roles in projects like Ben Affleck’s The Town, HBO’s Deadwood, and HBO Max’s Titans, he’s most recognized as Detective Bosch in the Prime Video series. That’s why seeing him play a villain – McNair in Dead Winds – feels new for both audiences and Reddick himself, especially after more than ten years playing a leading hero in the previous crime drama.

Welliver enjoyed stepping away from his role as Bosch and into the character of McNair, calling it “a lot of fun.” He especially liked that McNair isn’t bound by typical social norms, finding those kinds of characters much more compelling to play. This freedom allows for limitless possibilities with his performance. Jokingly, Welliver noted his only real power outside of acting is over his two dachshunds. He explained that McNair’s combination of fearlessness, arrogance, and power is almost addictive for a character like him.

This character thrives by breaking the rules and getting rich doing it – we’re talking about significant financial gain, not just power. Working with Zahn on the scenes where our characters were adversaries was incredibly enjoyable. The director asked me what I thought the first meeting between our characters was about, and I described it as two wolves carefully sizing each other up – it wasn’t about bravado or trying to intimidate, but a more subtle, watchful interaction.

Zachary Quinto and Brian Tyree Henry’s characters, McNair and Leaphorn, each bring unique strengths to the table. While Leaphorn is a fundamentally good person, according to Welliver, his Dark Winds character will quickly learn that he’s a force to be reckoned with and not someone to be trifled with. This intriguing dynamic – the unusual connection between criminals and dedicated police officers – is what initially attracted Welliver to the series. He’s fascinated by how their conflict unfolds as both characters pursue their own goals.

Welliver mentioned working with Michael McClarnon and showrunner John Wirth to perfect their scenes, ensuring the conversations didn’t come across as a competition for dominance. He described it as Leaphorn subtly warning McNair’s character, fully understanding who he was talking to, which then piqued McNair’s curiosity.

McNair was also trying to gauge how far Leaphorn would take things, essentially wondering how much he’d push the boundaries. It quickly became clear this wasn’t just someone feeling safe behind a barrier; this person was actively challenging, saying they’d appear on their own terms and wouldn’t be easily anticipated. It was fantastic material to work with, truly compelling stuff.

Welliver Was A Major Dark Winds Fan Well Before Joining The Series

Tony Hillerman’s popular Leaphorn & Chee series, which began with The Blessing Way in 1970 and now includes almost 30 novels, has a dedicated following. This includes well-known figures like executive producer George RR Martin and Robert Redford, who previously adapted four of Hillerman’s books. Actor Raymond Welliver is also a fan, sharing that his brother introduced him to the series years ago and he immediately fell in love with the books.

When the news came out that Dark Winds would be adapted for television, Welliver immediately understood the pressure on whoever played Leaphorn. He’d felt that same expectation himself when Bosch first aired. Becoming a big fan of Dark Winds quickly, Welliver enthusiastically agreed to join season 4, even admitting he didn’t bother asking about the character before saying yes – it was an opportunity he couldn’t pass up.

Adam Beach described his character as being a bit different from the one in the original novel. He and the writer discussed how their conflict would unfold, and Beach found it fascinating to learn the showrunner’s vision for the character and how he’d oppose Leaphorn.

The actor explained that McNair is a ruthless and cunning character within the show. Even though he’s imprisoned and physically restricted, he remains the one pulling the strings. He still has significant power and control over his criminal organization despite being in jail, and the actor discussed with Wirth how to best portray that manipulative nature.

The character, Irene, played by Franka Potente, is incredibly intense and scary, and I was really excited to work with that. Usually when I talk with the director, John, it’s a lot of discussing plans and asking for my input, which I give. But on this project, we immediately started brainstorming together. John wrote a fantastic script, and the character was so well-developed that all I felt I needed to do was bring her to life.

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2026-04-01 21:13