Fire Country’s Kanoa Goo Explains What It Was Like Working With Max Thieriot As The Director
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The anticipation is real as Fire Country gets ready to air the penultimate episode of its freshman season. Between having two massive country stars write exclusive songs for the show, Bode’s freedom being at stake, and the knowledge that Season 2 of Fire Country is a guarantee there’s a lot to look forward to with episodes 21 and 22. However, one of the most exciting elements of the May 12 episode is the fact that Max Thieriot, the co-creator, star and producer of the CBS drama, directed it. And Kanoa Goo, who plays Kyle on the show, opened up about working with Thieriot as a director.
Thieriot will be the second Fire Country cast member to take over the director's chair this season. Kevin Alejandro directed the mid-season finale of the CBS drama last winter, and now the Bode actor is taking his turn to lead a major episode. Kanoa Goo, who was introduced as Bode’s potential rival Kyle in episode 18, got to work with the series co-creator and star on episode 21, and he told CinemaBlend how much he loved the experience, saying:
He's wonderful. I was really taken with how calm he was on set, and just how confident and honestly just loving [he was]. He was so so kind and so warm to everybody, and I could tell that from my first episode. It makes a difference when the people that are in charge and running things have that type of open energy to their cast and their crew. I think it all trickles down and aligns everybody's energy of what they're trying to do and create. I definitely felt that as the new guy stepping onto set and getting to work with him on his episode was great.
Along with respecting Thieriot as a director, Goo also explained how much he admires him as an actor too, saying:
Also he's such a good actor. I've admired his work for a long time. It's always great when a director knows how to talk about acting and knows how to communicate about a scene and what's going on with the character.
Both Goo and Thieriot have worked on different network dramas over the last year. The Kyle actor played a role on The Rookie before joining Fire Country, while the Bode actor previously was a regular on SEAL Team before leaving the show to work on his own CBS drama on the 2023 TV schedule. Considering the success Thieriot has found with his two shows, specifically Fire Country, it makes sense why Goo looks up to him.
While speaking about how Thieriot works as a director, Goo recalled watching the him work with another guest performer on the show, saying:
It was with another guest actor, just kind of popping in and she was a little bit older, and just so sweet and talented. And the way that I watched him work with her, I remember him saying: ‘You let me know what you need, you know? If you want to do another take, we'll do another take and I'm here for you. I don't want to tell you what to do. You just do it and we'll work around you.’ Obviously, that extends to every actor, myself included. But, I just remember that was one of the first scenes we shot for that episode, and I just remember really admiring and respecting how he was taking care of this woman, this actor.
It sounds like Max Thieriot is a class act as a director, and really thrived in the position. Considering he wears so many hats professionally on Fire Country, I could see him returning to direct more episodes in Season 2.
To see how Thieriot directed the penultimate episode of Fire Country’s first season, you can watch the last two episodes live on CBS at 9 p.m. ET on Fridays, and you can stream all available episodes with a Paramount+ subscription.
