After four years, James Reece is finally back.
Amazon Prime Video’s The Terminal List: True Believer premieres October 21, continuing the story of Navy SEAL James Reece (Chris Pratt) while expanding the world introduced in the original 2022 series. But for fans who watched last year’s The Terminal List: Dark Wolf, the new season also marks the return of a character who has quickly become a favorite: Raife Hastings, played by Tom Hopper.
Set years after the events of Dark Wolf, True Believer finds Raife working in the private sector and selling weapons around the world. But despite trying to build a life outside of the operator world, he remains haunted by the events of his past — including what happened to Ben Edwards and the guilt he carries over not being there for Reece when his family was killed.
Hopper, who was already a fan of Jack Carr’s books before taking on the role, spoke with Men’s Journal about Raife’s evolution, his complicated relationship with Reece, why audiences have connected with the character, and the part of Raife’s story he hopes the series eventually gets to explore.
Men’s Journal: When you first played Raife in Dark Wolf, audiences were meeting a character they didn’t really know yet. Now you’re coming into True Believer with people already very invested in him. Did that change the way you approached the character this time?
Tom Hopper: No. I always approach any role the same way, which is to play the truth of the reality that they’re in. What’s interesting about Raife this season is that he’s six or seven years on from where we saw him in Dark Wolf, but he’s still carrying a lot of that weight — what happened with Ben and the guilt of not being there for Reece when his family was killed.
In True Believer, Raife is working in the private sector, selling weapons worldwide, and he’s trying to make a job for himself. He’s very much a fish out of water. He’s working in an environment that he’s not used to, and he’s probably still seeking that operator lifestyle that he’s missing, which he ultimately falls back into because of everything that’s happening with Reece.
But in terms of my approach, it’s always the same. As long as I can play the truth of the character, then I’m hopefully doing my job.
Men’s Journal: How much of what happened to him in Dark Wolf is he still carrying when we see him again this season?
Tom Hopper: He’s still carrying a lot of it. He won’t admit it to himself, but he is.
That’s the thing with Raife. He’s very layered, and he will never let the men around him know the stuff that he’s dealing with in order to be a better leader. The guy could probably use some therapy after everything last season.
Men’s Journal: It was a bit of a hard watch at times.
Tom Hopper: He could do with a chat or two.
But that’s the thing — he never opens up about it. He’s always calm. He just locks it all away and will never let that affect the job at hand for him.
What I like about the way they’ve done Raife this year is that you can see that starting to chip away. You can see that it’s in there, chipping away. As we go through the season, he lets us know that by the fight that he wants. He feels like he needs to fight for something because he holds that guilt.
Men’s Journal: You were a fan of Jack Carr’s books before you played Raife. How important was that to you when you were bringing him to life?
Tom Hopper: I read Savage Son well before all the stuff came out about the show. I was a big fan of Savage Son, which, of course, is the one where Raife is very prominent as well.
So the idea of playing him and bringing him to life — especially for the Jack Carr fans — I took very seriously. I wanted to make sure I brought him to life authentically, or at least to the vision of what I thought all the fans would want. So, yeah, it was very important to me.
Men’s Journal: Was there a particular part of Raife’s story from the books that you were hoping would eventually make it onto the screen?
Tom Hopper: I want to make Savage Son. I think Savage Son has a story.
I want to make sure that we get to the point where we see what Raife’s family means to him. He’s an incredibly strong family man, and what the Hastings family name means to him. That’s the bit I want to be able to get to. I’m very hopeful that we get to do Savage Son and tell those stories and learn about his story back in Africa.
At one point, I would love to explore his life in Africa. In the books, we get to see a bit of that in True Believer, but we don’t explore that in the show. Him back in Africa, and really seeing Raife in his element — what he was brought up doing — that’s the bit I’d love to explore.
Men’s Journal: Raife has really become a fan favorite, particularly after Dark Wolf. What do you think it is about him that audiences connect with?
Tom Hopper: I think there’s a relatability to Raife. I think there are a lot of people out there who hold things back. A lot of people try and stay strong for the people around them, and they hold it back. They lock it all up inside.
But there’s also something about him — I don’t know if it’s the fact that they relate to him, but I think there’s probably something more about wanting to know more about him because he doesn’t let much go. He doesn’t put all his cards on the table.
I think that can be interesting as an audience member because you want to peel back the onion. You want to peel off those layers, and he doesn’t let those layers drop. He holds it all tight.
Men’s Journal: Raife is such a controlled character — very calm, even when everything around him is falling apart. What do you think Raife understands about Reece that maybe Reece doesn’t quite understand about himself?
Tom Hopper: I think Raife knows the real Reece. Raife knows Reece before he was a SEAL, and they both know that about each other.
He knows the boy behind the man. When men grow up, they’re still really the 12-year-old boys that used to be in there. I think when you’re aware of a friend’s weaknesses and vulnerabilities, when something happens to them, you truly know what that’s done to them.
Reece has been so defined by his career as a SEAL and who he is and what that means, and trying to just push on and push through. But underneath it, Raife knows exactly what that means to Reece and what he’s been through.
I think there’s something about that boyhood friendship that goes far deeper than just them being SEALs.
Men’s Journal: Now that you’ve lived with Raife through two projects, what do you understand about him that you might not have when you first took on the role?
Tom Hopper: I think what’s interesting about guys like this is their vulnerabilities. On the page, when you first read them, they just come across as the tough-guy SEAL.
What’s more interesting is what makes these really tough guys who have to do extreme things more vulnerable. Finding vulnerabilities in warriors, I always find an interesting thing anyway, because it’s the human behind the armor.
That’s what I think we see a bit more of this season with Raife — how he’s dealing with all those things from his past. They’re not obvious. They’re not things that you’re going to see straight away, but I like to think that I put them in there. There’s color behind the eyes that lets you know he’s dealing with that.
For me, that’s way more interesting than just being the tough guy. I think finding the human being behind him this year is really interesting.
The Terminal List: True Believer premieres October 21 on Prime Video. As for whether fans will eventually get to see Hopper bring Savage Son to the screen — and explore more of Raife’s family, his history in Africa, and the man behind the operator — that remains to be seen.
