Upcoming actor Will Harrison received positive reviews for his performance in Amazon Prime Video's "Daisy Jones and The Six," a role he got just after school.
After auditioning for other roles on the show, such as Billy Dunne and Eddie, Harrison was eventually cast as Graham Dunne, a guitarist, after the intervention of actress Riley Keough.
The role was a dream come true for Harrison, who already had experience playing the guitar. However, he still had to work hard to satisfy the demands of the part, improving his playing skills in the process.
Harrison plays Graham in the anticipated Amazon Prime Video drama "Daisy Jones & The Six." On the show, Graham is the younger brother of The Six's founder Billy and the rock band's lead guitarist. He is enchanted by fellow bandmate, keyboard player Karen Sirko, who he falls in love with.
While speaking about being cast as one of the main characters in the series, Harrison said, "This project is a dream come true in so many ways, I can’t even begin to express..for now I’ll just say that I am feeling so stupid lucky to be a part of it, and I cannot wait for everyone to see this incredible character and story come to life."
The show was special for him as he got the role straight out of school. Harrison conceded that that was the biggest project he could have gotten at that stage of his career. Despite having to wait for a year and a half from the moment he was cast until he got to perform, the wait was worth it for the actor.
Previously, Harrison had worked on other projects, including short films such as "It's Perfect Here" in 2015, "Venefica" in 2016, and "In Arms" in 2017. In 2017, he had a one-episode appearance on the award-winning CBS thriller "Madam Secretary" starring Téa Leoni and Tim Daly. He recently worked on a play, "The Coast Starlight."
When Harrison heard that there was a search for the cast of the rock and roll band series, he was intrigued and went to audition for the part of Billy. The role was eventually given to more established actor Sam Claflin which made Harrison concede that being Billy would never have worked out for him.
Harrison also auditioned for the role of Eddie, which later went to Josh Whitehouse. However, during that Zoom call, Riley Keough, who was listening in, pointed out to producer Lauren Neustadter that Harrison was not Eddie but Graham. That led to more callbacks, with him being tried out for Graham until he finally landed the job.
Harrison was initially not excited about the idea of playing Graham, but it didn't take long for him to change his mind. Harrison said that he also realized he liked the role of Graham better after he read the sides for his part. He added that the moment Karen told Graham she had an abortion was the turning point for him.
Another reason playing a character in a rock and roll band was a brilliant fit for Harrison is that he already had experience playing the guitar, albeit not an accomplished guitarist.
Luckily for the cast, the making of the series was delayed for over a year by the Covid-19 pandemic, which gave the actors ample time to practice. That allowed the cast to become better at performing the music.
Harrison said that he improved the way he played the instrument. He also believes that the show would not have been as good without the extra work they put in.
Harrison was skeptical if he would ever do a live show, saying it sounded "extremely daunting." Nevertheless, he reiterated that with their ability, it was likely possible. After taking home the Stratocaster guitar he played at band camp, the actor may be getting more practice.
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