BY IRVIN RIVERA

Vulnerability connects us with people to levels that we usually don’t imagine. Somehow, when someone opens up themselves to us, it unlocks a lot of deep-rooted feelings and thoughts that makes us sense the general connecting threads that universally connects us all as humans. Vulnerability not only bridges gaps, but it also makes us fall in love with a person, whether it be real or fictional - and that’s the case with our featured talent, 9-1-1’s Oliver Stark.

Oliver has played Evan “Buck” Buckley in the series for six seasons and was able to show us the dynamic, complex evolution of his character. The audience and the fandom was not only able to connect with Oliver, but also fell in love with his character Buck. Oliver attributed this to his vulnerability, and his ability to convey openness while navigating the life of his character’s complex narrative.

Charm connects you with the audience on the surface but being vulnerable creates a deeper bond.

In a world that appears to be more connected and open because of globalization through social media, we still seem to be disconnected. Filters, AI generated imagery, and various layers of facades that we've created to present ourselves virtually and into the physical world, often stifles that ability to be vulnerable and genuinely connect with people. But then again, vulnerability is a conscious choice. To be vulnerable entails a lot of fear, opens you to criticisms and invites others into your life, to your emotions, to your heart. It takes courage to be vulnerable, and just exist as yourself. But how do you do that? That’s the challenge. There’s no linear path to vulnerability but it's still entirely possible.

In this Collector’s Issue, read on as fan-favorite Oliver Stark talks about his vulnerability, his time in the show, Buck’s constant non-linear evolution, his challenges, where he draws his inspirations from, and what kind of book he would be if he was one.

This issue has been a long time coming and highly requested by the fans. We hope you all enjoy it!

I first met British actor, Oliver Stark back in 2017 for a photoshoot for a different magazine. This was back when he was doing press for Into the Badlands. We did a full black and white shoot, documentary style, walking around the streets of Melrose in Los Angeles. Aside from his charm, I remembered him being nice to everyone, giving people time, and being open to our ideas for the shoot.

Fast forward several years later for this A BOOK OF shoot, he mentioned how he still loves the photos from our first shoot. He said - “I kept thinking while I really love those photos. Then it hit me. You captured me for who I see myself as” but that’s not entirely on me. I think it’s because he was also open and collaborative during the process. When someone lets their guard down, becomes vulnerable and just opens themselves up to creating something, magic happens. I think that’s one of Oliver’s innate talents - to connect and to convey himself to the camera and the audience. That’s why it’s no surprise that Oliver, along with the cast of 9-1-1 was able to genuinely connect with their audience through their openness.

Although Oliver is one of the rising stars of his generation right now and was able to captivate the hearts of 9-1-1 audiences around the world, he didn’t see acting as a viable career from the start. Much like his character Buck, he also tried different jobs, until eventually landing his feet into acting.

With 9-1-1 being renewed for the 7th season, Oliver is excited for what lies ahead for Buck. After dying and coming back to life, he said it’s “Buck 6.0” right now and it will just get more exciting from here. Oliver also expressed his interest in doing more gritty roles as well as doing a character that’s sports-related. Read on as we talk about Oliver’s involvement in Ryan Murphy’s 9-1-1 universe, working with the talented ensemble of cast, the challenges he’s faced, his dream projects, and more.

What's it like to be in Ryan Murphy's 9-1-1 universe, working alongside these amazing people around you?

It was quite intimidating at the start of the show, to be honest with you. You know, I was coming in, and I knew that everybody around me was fantastically talented and brilliant at what they do. And I knew that the bar would be set very high. So, it was something that I found quite intimidating at the start of the show, but very quickly, that vanished because I realized how lovely everyone was and how down-to-earth, cooperative and openly generous everybody was. So, it's really been such a pleasure over the past six years to get to apply the craft with these people, because they're just such open characters, not just in the show, but off camera as well. And, you know, we've become such a tight-knit group of people and really became friends and family. And it's been such a joyous experience. And, you know, we spent a lot of time together by this point, we often make the point that high school is considered such a formative time in our years, and that's five years, and we've been together longer than that period now. So yes, we're ingrained in each other's lives and that's not a thing that, you know, when the show does eventually come to an end, that's not a thing that will die between us. We have been bonded by this experience and I think we're all very aware of that.

Do you think that openness created this bond amongst you that you can actually see transcend beyond the screen?

Absolutely. I think when you watch the show, one of the things that really draws you in is you want to be friends with these people. You want to sit in the back of the fire truck with them. You want to sit around the table, you want to run into the fire with them because you care about them, and you trust them and those relationships between them. So yes, it's definitely a thing that has been influenced by how well we get on as a cast, you know, to each other all the time during hiatus. We've been on holidays together. As I say, if the show was to go away tomorrow, those things wouldn't change. We are true friends, and I think that can only help the work that we get to create and it absolutely does influence it.

A lot of things have happened throughout the seasons of the show, there's always some crazy things happening. Now let's talk about the challenges and the highs that you've experienced, that you can easily remember. And how were you able to rise above those challenges as well?

Sure, the most immediate thing that comes to mind - this is some years ago now, is when we were shooting the beginning of season three. We did this tsunami episode. So, to make it, we went down to Mexico, where they had these water tanks built. And we had basically recreated Santa Monica, within these water tanks so that it could then be flooded. And, you know, my character is there, along with Gavin McHugh's character, Christopher. And the first day there was so physically exhausting. I consider myself fit and athletic but I was so wiped out by the end of the day. I went back to my hotel room and by this point, myself and Gavin were the only cast members down there, everybody else was coming out three or four days later. And I went back to my hotel room after the first day, and I got in this hot shower and genuinely, I cried, not because of how tired I was at this point, but because of how proud I was to be here getting to make this and it felt like I was living my dream. It was a huge-scale production, so many people's hard work had gone into it. And I just stood in the shower, and I just had this overwhelming sense of accomplishment, that I don't think I'll ever forget how I felt in that moment. So I think that’s probably going to be a high. And then I would say there's, you know, smaller moments between us. I remember Aisha turned to me once, and it had been a scene of myself, her and Kenny Choi and she said, you know, who knows how long we can make this show together for. But I do know that I could work with this cast for the rest of my life. And it was just such a lovely feeling of knowing that we're all on the same wavelength. And we're all aware of what a joy and pleasure it is to get to share this thing together.

And it's really tricky, especially if you have this big cast ensemble, with so many different storylines going on. But you guys are still able to manage to make us feel like you're a family.

There's no ego in the show. We're all aware that the spotlight moves around characters, and we're all there to support each other. And, you know, it's about making as good of a TV show as we're able to make this. There's no ego, which, I think, is in itself quite a rare thing.

You see the passion in there, and it's really incredible to watch everybody grow. And speaking of that instance that you mentioned earlier, when you felt so proud like it's a dream come true. Was acting a dream for you since you were young?

No, it was not a thing - not consciously anyway. It wasn't a job I grew up thinking about as part of my future. Looking back now, I do see that as a child and as an early teenager, it was brewing in the background. I liked to be performative and put myself out there. And I liked to have it feel like I was putting on a show for people. But I didn't think that acting was a viable career path. In fact, early on, I didn’t think it was consciously a possible career path for anybody. It wasn't until I was maybe 16, 17, 18 that I started thinking, wow, this is a thing that I really, actually love to do. And I wonder if there is a way that I can make this my living. I think prior to that, I had much more interest in sports and trying to make a career out of that. And then I had these random thoughts, like - I'm going to be an entrepreneur, I'm going to be a hotel owner, I'm going to be a construction worker, just odd careers.

You sound like Buck.

Basically, yes, yes, yes. Well, yes, and I guess, most of us. You know, I think some people from a very early age know what their calling is. But I think for the vast majority, you have to try a few things out before you find your way.

And now you're here doing it.

Yes, and now I'm here doing it. And you know, I’m forever grateful for that, because I do think it's important to remind yourself. You know, I speak about how lovely shooting the show is but obviously, there are tough days, and there are difficult times, and it's important to take a step back and remember, hey, I'm so lucky to be here. And that, I think, presents a great perspective to it all.

And speaking of that, fans love 9-1-1 and especially Buck. I see it online, why do you think that's the case? Where do you think this love is coming from? How are you able to create this impact on the audience, either consciously or subconsciously?

I think in a big part, it's down to how open and vulnerable he is. He really wears his heart on his sleeve. And I think the only thing that we can really connect to, is his vulnerability. And he is a character that in so many ways, due to what we're used to seeing in years gone by on television, you wouldn't think of being particularly vulnerable. You know, he's in some sense, he's very, like old school, macho, macho, and likes to run into danger and be the hero, but then at the same time, he's sensitive. And he really cares about those around him, and he breaks down sometimes. And I think that yes, the only thing that, as people, not only can connect to but want to connect to is being let inside of another person's vulnerability.

What is your dream project?

I really want to play as an athlete. There's something about sports movies, you know, and there have been really prudent sports movies and then more cheesy ones. I don't care, I love them all. There's something about competition that I really, really love and I think one of the things being that it seems like a more linear path of progression, you work harder, you train harder and you get better at something very simple that I've always loved. Like an underdog story, but yes, I've really wanted to play an athlete for a very, very long time. So, I don't know about “dream project” forever but that would be something that I'm certainly interested in doing at some point soon.

From the get-go, we kind of saw that in Buck. Going back to the pilot episode, where he was brash, and bordering on unlikable, and then we saw him get put in a situation where he was fired from a job in that episode and he had to tap into his vulnerability and kind of earn his way back. And so yes, I think from very early on, he was a character whose heart was put out there. And, you know, he was not afraid of it being a gaping wound for everybody to peer into. So yes, I think that's, if I was to put my finger on one thing, the main draw, and the main way that an audience has found to connect with him.

If you were a book, what book would you be and why?

Interesting. I'm torn whether I'd just list of like a real, or favorite book or, I think I would be a book about - this is a made-up book or maybe it's not a made-up book and I need to go and read it or, if it's a made-up book maybe I need to go and write it. It's about a young man who I refer to myself as a young man.