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After making his name in the Star Wars prequels, Australian actor Joel Edgerton is no stranger to sci-fi – but the 52-year-old’s latest thriller is a particular mind-bender.

Based on the bestseller by Blake Crouch, Dark Matter originally saw physicist Jason Dessen (Edgerton) kidnapped by an alternate version of himself, hellbent on stealing his life. Now, in the second season, after reuniting with wife Daniela (Jennifer Connelly) and son Charlie (Oakes Fegley), Jason is on the run from infinite different Jasons. But how far can you run from yourself?

In Dark Matter, you play many different versions of the same character. How did you keep all the Jasons straight in your head?

I constantly had questions for Blake. I realised the key to differentiating the Jasons and how to play them was about what they’d experienced – what trauma they’d been through, or whether they were confident as a person, whether they felt like a failure.

Apart from, er, yourself, you also co-star with Jennifer Connelly – what was that like?

Jennifer being so good makes me want to be better. I marvel at her ability to switch into really deep, devastating emotion or a lightness of touch. She’s very clever at letting an audience know exactly what they should feel about her character. It comes from a place of deep preparation combined with an incredible instinct.

The way you talk about acting is very precise – do you think it’s a science or an art?

I think acting is a science and an art. Acting requires deep, 10,000-hour preparation that the audience never sees, but what they do see is the other part, which is the art – letting go.

Was there anything from your personal life that you could bring to the show?

The twin sons in Dark Matter are because of my twins. In the book, [Jason’s son] Charlie was not a twin, and the thing that Jason2 slips up on is he doesn’t know which toothbrush to use. Blake and I had a conversation – what if Jason2 was unaware of something deeply significant? I brought up, what if he didn’t know that he had lost a child, and was unaware of the anniversary of a death? Blake is so collaborative that he really ran with that idea.

Dark Matter also delves into the dangers of technology. How do you feel about AI, especially when it’s used for film-making?

I recently did a project about the potential dangers of AI. You could be really blindly optimistic about technology and you could be cataclysmically cynical about it. The hope at the best of times is to look into the history of human nature and think that every time we’ve brought these volatile, unknown, brilliant ideas to the table, like the internet, or nuclear power, we somehow manage to create a safety net. I hope AI is like that.

The show is also about turning points in life, paths not taken. Which “paths” – or jobs – most changed your life?

Star Wars and Warrior both opened up a whole bunch of doors to me. But with any job, it’s like you’re stepping on stones across a river. Even if the movie’s not amazing, you might have met someone who gave you wisdom that then helps you onto the next stone. It’s an accumulative journey – hopefully along the way you don’t fall in the creek!

Speaking of Star Wars, you haven’t always been very kind about your character, Uncle Owen, have you?

I joke that he’s one of the most boring characters in Star Wars because he’s not got a laser gun or a lightsaber.

Do you view him any differently now, especially after playing him again in the Obi-Wan Kenobi TV series?

One of the big reasons we think Uncle Owen was grumpy in A New Hope is because he didn’t want Luke to be filled up with crazy ideas. And I know what that feels like now because I’m a dad! I wanted to climb the highest tree when I was a kid, but now I don’t want my kid to climb the highest tree. I understand Owen more as I get older. So I don’t think he’s just a grumpy, awful uncle any more.

What do you think you’d be doing now if you never pursued acting?

When I was younger, I was standing at a crossroads, going, “Do I go to drama school? Do I go to art school?” I was very privileged, that I had family willing to support me going to university to study one of two things that were artistic. I do believe that, whatever path I took, whatever obstacles got in my way, I’d be doing something artistic. I’m not really good at other stuff!

Your work has taken you all over the world – do you miss Australia?

I think London is a very exciting city, full of really interesting people and great places. But we miss Australia a lot.

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