Robbie Amell (Nathan), Andy Allo (Nora). Liane Hentscher/Prime Video
Upload stars Robbie Amell and Andy Allo are looking back at how far their characters’ relationship has evolved over three seasons.
“Season 1, [Nathan and Nora] have this amazing relationship, but [Nora] goes home at the end of the day and it’s kind of like you’re dating somebody but there’s no risk of moving in together or spending too much time together,” Amell, 35, exclusively told Us Weekly while discussing season 3 of the Prime Video series. “Season 2 you see us trying to get to the point where [Nathan] downloads and then season 3, it’s almost as if we’ve moved in together and we’re experiencing more of each other than we’ve ever had.”
Amell noted that after a long three-season journey together, the fan-favorite couple are in a place where they can’t be “perfect” around each other all the time — but that’s not exactly a bad thing.
“At first that can be a little scary, but you also learn to love those things and see something you see even more in that other person,” he continued, noting that it’s the series creator Greg Daniels — and the rest of the writer’s room — are who to thank for crafting such grounded relationships in an otherwise off the wall comedy.
“They’re so good at finding those [moments] in a sci-fi satire,” he said. “They still find these real truthful moments between people and it makes our jobs a lot easier. Just so we can play.”
Upload, which premiered in 2020, follows Nathan (Amell) in the afterlife as his consciousness gets uploaded into a virtual world. While adjusting to his new plane of existance, he befriends his Angel (Nora) and the pair eventually fall in love.
Season 3 of the series reunited viewers with Nathan and Nora after Nathan was successfully downloaded into his physical body — and brought back into the real world — at the end of season 2. As he integrated back into reality, a second backup copy Nathan was uploaded into Lakeview after Horizon couldn’t locate the original. While “original” Nathan — or as the cast lovingly calls him, “meat Nathan” — continued his relationship with Nora on earth, “new” Nathan reignited his romance with ex-fiancée Ingrid (Allegra Edwards) after being put on a “factory” setting, which doesn’t include memories of Nora.
Despite Nathan not being able to recall his relationship with Nora, there are clearly feelings that exist between the twosome — something Allo, 34, feels was important for the characters to explore.
“New Nathan and I, we acknowledged that there’s always going to be something there, but he’s consciously choosing to be with Ingrid,” she told Us. While she joked that any Nathan’s “heart” will always be with Nora, she added that the “growth” of “old” Nathan is what makes their relationship so special.
“Yes, there’s still a bit of [Nathan] wanting his body fat to be a certain level and all this stuff — but it’s less about that,” she quipped. “It’s less of the looks and more really what’s inside.”
Both Nathan’s are only six months apart in memory. Creating two unique characters from a set of clones could be a challenge for any actor, but the “incredible writing” made Amell’s job “easier” — even if filming scenes occasionally got “pretty wild.”
“We had an acting double who would come in and I would read both sides to him to show him how I was going to say it,” Amell told Us. “And then he would read off camera for me and then I would change and I would put an earpiece in. And I would do the dialogue to nobody, but I would hear my old dialogue so that I had timing to go back and forth off of my own words. So it was very weird and I was just kind of like, ‘Well, I hope this works.’”
According to Amell the process was “a lot of fun” even despite its challenges. That was also true for Edwards, 36, who got to fall in love with “new” Nathan — while also reconnecting with her former flame.
“It had the feeling of being with an old friend, which I think was new for Allegra with Robbie in a way, in playing it together,” Edwards shared of scenes between the ex-fiancées. “Ingrid and Nathan to that point, hadn’t had the most deep relationship, but it also felt different for both of them to be a little sloppy around each other, just physically and then emotionally.”
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For Edwards, the scene in which “old” Nathan and Ingrid get drunk — and almost sleep — together, rang true to two exes reuniting after being apart.
“It felt like you would feel with an ex who you weren’t with anymore, but still had feelings for,” she recalled. “It did have a different feeling to it. It wasn’t about image. It was just about two friends connecting and being honest with each other and it felt really real.”
Edwards joked that being in a “beige, no air conditioning, cruddy room, sitting on the floor” while filming “helped” their dynamic come to life. “Sweaty, sweaty and, gosh, just a hint of BO,” she added, laughing.
Season 3 of Upload is now streaming on Prime Video.
