Ben Daniels will be joining the third episode of Isaac Asimov space saga Foundation for season 2 on Friday July 28 20223.
Ben's character is the Empire’s former military fleet General Bel Riose. He’s actually been a disheveled and bitter prisoner (see the first-look picture above) on the penal colony of Lepsis. But as the Empire’s Cleon rulers have now learned about the flourishing of the Foundation settlement on Terminus and its growing influence on nearby planets they realise their prisoner Bel Riose, who was previously ruthless and unpredictable, is the perfect military leader to send into the far reaches of the galaxy to confront the Foundation.
Android servant Dermerzal (Laura Birn) visits prisoner Bel Riose to request he returns to the Empire’s home planet Trantor to prepare a new military mission. As well as offering his freedom for doing so, she also has a very personal issue to blackmail him with… He has a husband who he dearly wished to meet once again.
Here, Ben Daniels gives us the lowdown on playing Bel Riose in Foundation season 2...
Interview: Ben Daniels on playing Bel Riose, aka The General
Tell us what part of the galaxy Bel Riose is from and how he figures into this grand tapestry of Foundation Season 2?
Ben Daniels says: "Okay, to set him up, General Bel Riose is a general of the Empire, and he's based on a character called Bel Riose that Asimov wrote in a story called the Dead Hand, which would later become known as The General and is now part of the 'Foundation' series.
"In turn, Asimov based him on a real-life Roman general called Flavius Belisarius, who was one of the greatest generals of the Roman Empire. And like Bel and Day, Belisarius had a very tricky relationship with Emperor Justinian.
"And he's from a very poor background, Bel, as was Belisarius. Belisarius was from a farming background. When I create a character, I like to give them as vibrant a backstory as I possibly can. So I make up a lot of stuff, and I cherry-pick. A little bit like a magpie, I kind of like get lots of trinkets and make a nest. But so I have him coming from a planet called Florina. I apologize to Asimov fans everywhere because I've conflated a lot of stuff to my own ends.
"But there's a planet called Florina in an Asimov short story called Currents of Space. And I've set this planet on the outer reaches, far away from the center of the earth, of the civilization. And on Florina there's a shrub that grows called kiat. This is way too much information I know but this shrub produces a fabric called kiat which is a mixture between silk and cotton. This is in the original Asimov story, and it only grows on this planet. If you take the seed and grow them anywhere else in the galaxy, they just produce cotton. So it's highly desirable on this planet.
"So I've set this planet on the outer reaches and attacked constantly by bandits to get this product. So I've put lots of ex-military on there. So Bel grows up with ex-military parents, with a lot of military around him, as did Belisarius, the original Roman guy. And yeah, he learns the tricks of the trade. And Belisarius had this incredible three-dimensional military-strategic mind even from a young boy. He's like a kind of chess player. And so Bel also has that. He's based on him and rises through the ranks and becomes a top general."
Demerzel says that Empire needs Bel Riose's skills. He does have a set of particular skills. What are they?
Ben says: "His great thing is that he can arrange these things called enclosures. They're called inclosures in the book but for some reason, they change the vowel for the TV show. They're called enclosures. So he can take a fleet and he can surround a planet so no one can get out or get in. It's, it's kind of guarded from all angles at all times. And his fleet works seamlessly. His fleet and his sailors adore him so they work as a very tight unit."
What did Bel do to humiliate Day back in the day?
Ben says: "He disobeyed an order — there was a battle called the Lemel Cluster or it was at, somewhere called the Lemel Cluster where Day started to counter mount and he started to, you know, sort of interfere with Bel's plans and wanted kind of like a shock and awe moment. And that would have like created a head-on collision between two of Bel's ships. And this is again sort of cherry-picked from various stories. And so Bel, you know, realizes the same result by not following the order but in doing that, he saves the lives of hundreds of his sailors. And Day can't bear the fact with his huge brittle ego so just slams him away."
How do you think season 2 compares to season 1 in terms of size, scope, and story?
Ben reveals: "I think the differences for me are there are lots of emotional storylines in this season to latch onto. I always respond to that as a viewer anyway. I loved watching season 1 because it's such an incredible spectacle, and I've never seen anything like it on television. It looks amazing. During lockdown, I installed a home cinema. And when they sent me two episodes to watch, I was blown away. It just looks extraordinary. I suppose they're just building on that, the worlds that they've set up and how it looks. So for me, the main difference is the emotional threads within it feel stronger to me than they did in season 1."
Who is Bel Riose?
Bel Riose was a major character in Isaac Asimov's Foundation novels where he was also known as 'The General'. He first appeared in the second novel of the saga Foundation and Empire. In the book Bel Riose was shown to be the last great general of the Galactic Empire serving under Cleon II. He dreamed of glory and often expressed a negative opinion towards the Empire's cultural and technological decline. The character will be different in the Apple TV+ adaptation as many others have been. He first appears as a prisoner in the TV series in Foundation series 2 epiosde 3, when visited by android Demerzal who knows Bel Riose will want to see his husband again.
Some time after their loving reunion, a now spruced up and back in military uniform Bel Riose and his warrior husband Glawen Curr set out for a mission in the galaxy to do the Empire's bidding. In episode 4 of season 2 they arrive on the planet Sivenna looking for an informant. But they soon run into trouble.
Who is Ben Daniels?
Ben Daniels is a top British actor who's had some top roles including playing Princess Margaret's husband Lord Snowden in The Crown season 3.
From 2002 to 2004, Ben played Finn Bevan in the BBC1 drama Cutting It about a Manchester hairdressing salon. He’s starred in British dramas such as Law & Order: UK and The Paradise, plus US series including House Of Cards and The Exorcist. He also starred in the 1996 movie Beautiful Thing.
Foundation season 2 launched worldwide on Apple TV Plus on Friday, July 14 2023. Subsequent episodes in the 10-part series then launched weekly every Friday.
* How to watch Foundation season 2: stream the epic sci-fi show online
