‘SEAL Team’s A.J. Buckley & Toni Trucks Break Down the Sonny-Davis Relationship
Q&A
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Television shows love a will-they-won’t-they couple, and now SEAL Team‘s own Sonny (A.J. Buckley) and Davis (Toni Trucks) are giving fans a reason to talk.
The January 2 episode, “Backwards in High Heels,” ended with Sonny showing up at Davis’ door. Fans don’t know yet what will happen after she lets him in but TV Insider got A.J. Buckley and Toni Trucks themselves to weigh in on the exciting cliffhanger.
Plus, the duo spills on where things are headed and what they think about a possible couple name. Read on!
Last week’s episode left fans with a pretty big cliffhanger between your characters. What should fans expect from Sonny and Davis heading into the next episode?
A.J. Buckley: What’s interesting is the dynamic between the two of them. What they’re doing is against the rules — sort of the forbidden fruit. But I think that with Davis’ character, she’s always been there for Sonny. She’s been his best friend since she’s been on the team and has saved his ass so many times.
Sonny’s never been in a relationship before or had to be vulnerable or explain himself… and I think with Davis, there’s something that’s familiar and it’s easy. It’s kind of one of those things that just happened out of nowhere. Although it’s against the rules, I think in a weird way Sonny likes that. It pushes the envelope a bit.
Toni Trucks: I really loved filming this next episode so much in terms of development of the Sonny-Davis story because you’re all of a sudden navigating those dynamics. They’re dancing that dance that so many people are familiar with… and then, of course, with Davis and Sonny there’s this extra element of fraternization which is a very big violation within the military.
Davis and Sonny both are not really what I would normally refer to as emotionally available characters. [Laughs] So to see these two collide has been so fun… What I love about this episode is that you’re still left wondering. I like when we give the audience some room to speculate.
Throughout Season 2 there have been plenty of hints that Davis and Sonny’s relationship was heading in this direction. What has the fan response been like?
Buckley: The people really like seeing this side of Sonny… I love that you get a layer peeled back, that you find a new thing about him.
Trucks: It makes me so happy to scroll through everybody’s comments cause there’s such a wide net of opinions… The whole thing is hysterical. They care about these people… I love that [fans] are invested in these people.
The banter between your characters has been there since Season 1. When did you find out that they’d become more than friends?
Buckley: I heard rumblings that there was potential and I think the writers played with it a little bit in Episode 6 where we go to kiss out of nowhere. I think there was a big response from the fans and CBS that people really liked this and there was a good, natural chemistry between us. But there’s definitely some big twists and turns that will be coming up over the next little bit. It’s not easy.
Trucks: At the beginning of the season, we all get brought in to get some sort of very loose semblance of our arc for the first half of the season. And so when the season started, I think maybe the first episode of the second season, I had a conversation. And I was actually surprised initially but it’s so fun because sometimes… as a performer you have to just be ready for anything cause even though this might happen, something totally different could happen.
Davis is supposed to be heading off to OCS (Officer Candidate School). How will that come into play moving forward?
Buckley: It has its good and bad for obvious reasons but it’s good TV, I’ll put it at that.
Trucks: It’s really complicated, and what I’m looking forward to because we’re just getting into filming and how all of that will unfold. So I’m full of question marks like the audience. But I’m so curious because Davis and Sonny have such a strong friendship, so whether or not I leave for OCS still attached to him or not, I think that I can certainly give a not-so-spoiler spoiler that it’s gonna be complicated having her person not there.
As Davis pointed out in the last episode, their kiss was technically illegal, considering their positions. Could they be facing repercussions in the future?
Buckley: Yeah, there could be. I mean, from what I’ve understood, our producers on the show that are former SEALs [say] you would instantly lose your job. You’d be out. It’s so against the rules, 100 percent.
Trucks: There’s some fans that hope OCS actually happens this time because, if I’m not in Sonny’s unit, then it’s actually not illegal anymore. But if I end up not going to OCS, then it remains really complicated. And as of right now, the team is not aware at all. It is a secret that we’re holding through every mission.
The show is always dealing with serious issues but still has its moments of humor. Are there times where you break during a scene? Who breaks the easiest?
Buckley: The entire time that we’re filming it’s pretty light-hearted. I mean there comes the serious, emotional stuff… but a lot of the time there’s a lot of… pulling pranks on each other. It’s very rare that we stay serious for too long.
Trucks: Oh my god, yes. All. The. Time. We look forward to the gag reel because it’s non-stop… I would say the easiest person to break is definitely A.J. for sure. [Laughs] One of the best parts about working with A.J. is that he’s quick to laugh and very silly and fun.
Relationships are always a big deal for fans. What do you think Davis and Sonny’s couple name should be?
Buckley: Oh man, I don’t know… I saw some people blending — “Savis,” or something like that. I’ll leave it to the fans, but something to do with Sonny being a cowboy.
Trucks: There was a heated debate about this, which is great. Actually the SEAL Team writers on Twitter had a week long vote about it I think, and so there was a lot of things that were floating around which were very funny… “Savis” is what I keep seeing pop up, but who knows.
SEAL Team, Wednesdays, 9/8c, CBS
