When Ned “Nick” Nickerson was first introduced to audiences in the pilot episode of Nancy Drew, the only thing more complicated than his on-and-off-again romance with the teen detective was his inscrutable past and run-ins with the law. But fast forward to season 3, and Nick has flourished into one of the cooler heads in the town of Horseshoe Bay.

Now that he is newly engaged to George Fan (Leah Lewis), Nick has a whole life to plan while he helps the Drew Crew solve the latest mystery haunting their homes. But even as he prepares for the future, his past has a way of catching up to him. And sometimes George’s past creeps in too – as is the case in tonight’s episode, “The Vision of the Birchwood Prisoner.”

SCREENRANT VIDEO OF THE DAY

Star Tunji Kasim, who has previously wowed audiences onscreen in movies like The Good Liar and on stage in productions such as Antony and Cleopatra, spoke to Screen Rant about the twisty journey that Nick has undertaken. He shared his views on Nick and George’s romance, hints about upcoming plot points, and his hope for the future of the series.

Screen Rant: If I was in the Drew Crew, I would have gotten out of town after one season. But obviously, they are not only very loyal to the town, but also to each other. Can you share, from Nick’s perspective, what is it that keeps him so invested in these people and in the truth?

Tunji Kasim: The truth is a large motivator. And I think also, ultimately, the root of what these guys do is good. They solve mysteries that usually revolve around murder, and bad things happening. I suppose, especially for someone like Nick, it’s hard to just walk away from that and not do some good in the world and not do what you can to make things better. I think that’s a large motivation for Nick.

Also, he’s invested, deeply invested in these people that he’s found himself sharing his life with. Obviously, George is a significant part of that right now. They’re engaged to be married, so that’s a huge motivating factor for him. He has that romantic history with Nancy [Kennedy McMann], and also a friendship with her now – and also with Bess [Maddison Jaizani] and Ace [Alex Saxon]. So, I think the people keep him around.

But within that, as we will explore in season 3 and we have in the past, Nick also has some demons he’s running from. I think there’s versions of Nick’s past that he is not quite ready to fully face. And I think in season three, we’ll definitely be diving into that and making him face those demons. There’s a combination of factors that keep Nick in this crazy town where crazy things seem to keep happening. But, ultimately, it’s the people.

You brought up George, and I’m so glad you did. As someone who devoured Nancy Drew books in my youth, I was very surprised when the show evolved from Nick and Nancy to Nick and George. What would you say makes George right for Nick, and what makes them work where Nick and Nancy did not?

Tunji Kasim: I think Nick and Nancy were obviously going off the books; they’re the canon. But I think they were in very different places in their lives at the time, and they weren’t quite ready. Nick wanted something and Nancy wanted something else, so they weren’t quite ready to be in a relationship with each other.

And then Nick and George happened semi-spontaneously, I suppose. I don’t think was necessarily anything that was planned by the writers or by us. It just kind of evolved, and it seemed to make sense, and we kind of kept it going – and then here we are engaged to be married. I think it’s a great thing, and I think Nick and George are fantastic for each other. I think they complement each other in so many ways.

I think Nick is a bit more of a reserved individual. He is very smart, intelligent, and all those things – but maybe lacks a bit of front-footedness. Where I think George has so much front foot; she’s all front foot, but maybe lacks some of the subtleties in life that Nick has. I think they definitely bounce off each other, and they can learn from each other. And Nick has a lot to learn from George. I think that ability to fight in your own corner and stand up for yourself and get what you want is definitely something he picks up from George.

What other obstacles are going to be in their path, aside from a shortened lifespan that hangs a big shadow over their heads and Nick integrating himself into her family?

Tunji Kasim: I think we explored that in one of the early episodes of season 3; what that’s like. And I think there’s just a lot to navigate going into a marriage with someone, especially for these very young people to be doing that. We’re definitely going to lean into all that dramas and all those more dramatic points of when two people get into such a serious, committed relationship with each other.

It’s one of those questions where I can’t really give too much away because I don’t want to spoil it. You got to tune in Friday nights. I think Nick and George are very good for each other in lots of ways but, inevitably, we are making a drama here as well. Let’s be honest. There will be dramatic story points, but I think there’s a lot of stuff to be mined and a lot of stuff to be explored.

The reason why I do what I do, why I’m an actor, why I play other people – as weird as that might be, I pretend to be other people for my living – is to explore those more complicated feelings and more complicated emotions that come up. This show definitely allows us to do that. And amongst all the supernatural and the ghosts and the drama and the murders, you also get to inhabit these very complex, fully-formed people. It’s something I hope we do very well on this show, and we are equally as committed to the emotions and the people as we are to the supernatural and the fantastical.

So, yeah, I think we’ll definitely explore those things with Nick and George. There’s a lot of fertile ground to be plowed. I don’t know why I went to a farming metaphor.

Outside of the romance, I love when they switch up the character dynamics. I know fans loved Nick and Bess spending some time together and teaming up. Are there any other unexpected dynamics for Nick coming up this season, or actors you’re excited to be working with?

Tunji Kasim: I think it’s just great to work with every single actor as we go along. I’m paired with Leah Lewis, who plays George, most of the time. But I think it’s a lot of fun when I had scenes with Alex Saxon [who plays Ace], where we’re freezing the hearts and all that stuff. And teaming up with Maddison as Bess, that’s also a lot of fun. Nick and Nancy, obviously, will also team up on things and go off and solve this or that.

Is there one in particular? Going back to talking about Nick’s past, there are people from Nick’s past that show up. It’s been a lot of fun to dive into that with Nick. But I think there might be some more Nick and Bess coming up to say that – I’ll just say that. And that’s an absolute joy. That’s a lot of fun. Because Nick and Bess are quite different characters, and that allows Maddison and I to have a lot of fun with whatever scenes we do together; exploring their complementary energies.

Looking back on Nick’s past, what are you proudest of in terms of his growth? Or what has stood out to you most in terms of his character evolution?

Tunji Kasim: It’s twofold. I think for me personally as an actor and as an artist, in telling Nick’s story, there was a pitfall of having a Black man that’s been through a correctional facility. I think that could be a cliché in a lot of people’s hands, and it has been a cliché in the past – something that’s taken for granted and told lightly as just an exciting, dramatic story point. But I think what we’ve done in this show is explored the reality of that as much as we can within this medium.

Obviously, this medium is this medium, but we’ve really explored and pushed what the reality is for someone to live with an altercation where he killed a man and was charged with manslaughter. What does that do to a human being and how do you carry that weight around with you when it happened to you so young? How do you try and get on with your life? And we’ve really explored that and really delved into that and been unashamed about that. We’ve done it with a lot of complexity and a lot of nuance – I hope, anyway. I would hope that anyone who has gone through a similar experience watching Nancy Drew can relate and can link into that in some way.

I was very fortunate to actually speak to three or four teens and young men who had just gone through the juvenile correctional system in an attempt to bring some authenticity and some kind of meaning to Nick and his experiences as a human being. I think, personally, that is something we have done very well. And it’s something that we continue to do.

I think as Nick, his personal growth is getting to a point where he is more accepting of himself. We’re still working on that, and we’re still pushing towards that. That is a large part of season 3 for Nick. But even since the start of season 1, I think [his arc has been] his acceptance of himself – not just his personal past, but also his acceptance and assertion of himself within society. We went into a few episodes where Nick explores his ethnic identity within Horseshoe Bay, and what that is for him. Talking about George’s assertiveness, she very much helped him go, “No, you are you, and you love that. You enjoy that, and you stand up for yourself. If someone gives you gumf, then you give gumf back” – I don’t know where gumf came from. I never use that word.

But yeah, I think that was a large part of Nick’s development in season 2, and something that I was very happy for him to experience and get to do. And his relationship with George just continues to push him and allow him to affirm himself more and more as a human being. So that’s very great and satisfying.

Aside from acting – which you do on the stage as well as on the screen, I know you like to give back to the community. You ran a 5K last year, and you’re doing another challenge this year. How do you prepare for that, and why is it so important to you to be involved in that way?

Tunji Kasim: Yeah, I think there’s two things converging there. Physical health is very important to me, and I think giving back to communities [puts me] in a fairly privileged position. You always think about the haves and the have-nots in the world, and you’ve got to make sure that that is as equal as possible, and it’s not too much of a difference. You’ve always got to get back. I think it’s very, very important.

It’s something maybe I share with Nick. And I think it’s easy to take privilege for granted, and it’s easy to take for granted comforts in your life and assume that everyone else must be living this life as well. It’s easy to forget that is not the reality for a lot of people, unfortunately. For the large majority of people, that is not the reality, so it’s very important to stay connected to humanity and make sure you’re giving back if and when you can.

And I think the physical health side of things is important. You only get one body in this life and, for me, I want to make that body as healthy as possible and make it last as long as possible. Physical health and doing challenges like a 5K or running 1000 kilometers in one year, which is my challenge this year, are important. Physical health manifests into mental health; the two are very much connected. It’s something that motivates me, and when I get the opportunity to take the two – to take a physical activity and marry it with some charity – and do some good, that’s a win-win.

Finally, do you have any other projects in store or coming up outside of Nancy Drew?

Tunji Kasim: Not as of yet. There’s a few things in the works. We’ll see.

But we hopefully will get to season 4, so you’ve got to work your schedule in and amongst that happening in the new year. You’ve always got to keep an eye on that, while also making sure you’re exploring other opportunities if and when you can.

Auditions and meetings and stuff like that are happening around now for future projects. Hopefully, stay tuned. But you alluded to me doing theater in the past, and I think I would just love to get back to theater. That’s been locked down and denied to artists and observers for so long due to the pandemic, so it’s nice to get back to a place where that is opening back up in London. Hopefully, I’ll get an opportunity to go back home and do some theater. Tread the boards in London again. That’d be pretty fantastic.

Nancy Drew airs new episodes every Friday night at 9pm ET on the CW.

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About The Author


Tatiana Hullender
(635 Articles Published)

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Tatiana Hullender is a writer at Screen Rant, focusing on film and television, as well as a co-host of several podcasts. In the interviews she conducts for Screen Rant, she seeks to learn what drives each creative mind and how different experiences influence the same narrative. As a graduate of Columbia University in New York City, Tatiana studied theater and comparative literature. She has been passionate about all manner of storytelling since being exposed to Jane Austen and BBC adaptations of her work all at once. But Regency satire of manners isn’t the only genre she loves, as a love of comic books naturally developed into a love of cinematic universes and their superheroes. So long as a story has heart and humor, there’s a chance of finding something to enjoy in the telling of it.
Visit @myrcellasear on Twitter to follow Tatiana’s articles, interviews and podcasts including: The Flash Podcast, Pop A La Carte and Ladies With Gumption. Subscribe to them on the Podcast app, or contact her directly at painted(dot)out(at)gmail.com.

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