actor Earl Byron Played Lara Croft’s lovable Maori best friend for over a decade. He has played Jonah since the 2013 remake of Jonah Tomb Raider together with Rise of the Tomb Raiders, Shadow of the Tomb Raider, Currently co-starring in the Netflix animated series Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft.
As the heartfelt central figure and big brother in the Tomb Raider series, the character of Jonah has been the center of reason and unity in Lara Croft and her friends’ best and worst moments. Now, Belen is reprising the role in Netflix’s new Tomb Raider adaptation. Hayley Atwell by show host Tasha Huo.
We sat down with actor Earl Bailen to talk about his role in the new series.
This interview has been edited for clarity.
Christian Angel: Okay, tell me about the show and where in the timeline this story takes place.
Earl Byron: Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft Continuing the cunning adventures of everyone’s favorite archaeologist as she attempts to track down a stolen artifact and the thief who stole it. With the help of her friends, some shadow work, and a ton of tricks, can she save the world? Who knows? The show takes place shortly after the events of the previous game, Shadow of the Tomb Raider!
Angelis: Your character has been a loyal compatriot and, oddly enough, the heart of the series for ten years. What has it been like playing Jonah all these years?
Byron: What a great experience. I consider myself extremely lucky to have played this role for over a decade – honestly, how many people get the chance to do that? Part of it is also that by playing a character for so long, you have the opportunity to organically make discoveries or realizations that you can then bring into your performance. I’m so grateful because working on Tomb Raider not only gave me the opportunity to play a character that I probably wouldn’t have been able to play on camera, given the climate of the industry at the time, it also helped create a lot of opportunities to work on other really cool things. project.
Angeles: Do you find any similarities between Maori and Filipinos?
Byron: I do – our people share a common ancestor and thankfully, despite thousands of miles apart and centuries of colonization, something remains. Things like hospitality, respect for elders and the importance of community continue to this day. In our languages, even though they are very different, some words have the same origin. What always confuses me is the number five. It’s pretty much the same from Taiwan to Rapa Nui. “Lima” in many Filipino languages - “rima” in Maori. Furthermore, while the practice of tattooing has disappeared among many cultures in the Philippines, it has never left the people of the Cordillera region of the country – the Bartok. Same as Māori tā moko.
Angeles: I heard you read the comics by Rhianna Pratchett and Gail Simone. Tell me what you think about that, and how their run affected your character development all those years ago?
Byron: Oh yeah, I read all the Dark Horse comics – you mean the comics between TR 2013 and Rise of the Tomb Raiders, and the ones that took place before Shadows Mariko Tamaki and Colin Kelly/ Comics by Jackson Lanziger. I really like them all. It would be great to see what kind of adventures Lara Croft goes on between games. As far as characterization goes, I think every bit of it helped to better understand and flesh out Jonah’s backstory in my head and give momentum to things. It makes things easier for me – you have to invent less. So yeah, haha, I picked up every floppy disk on release day, digital if necessary. I hope to put them all on trade at some point.
Angeles: Jonah and Abby are engaged, and their upcoming wedding is a recurring arc about family this season. I love that this story has a family theme. How important is family to you?
Byron: Family is very important—whether by blood or discovery. Family can help keep you grounded when you find yourself adrift and lost. Of course, Jonah is so family-oriented, and that tends to seep into every part of my portrayal of him. I think it’s all going well. While I don’t think it’s necessarily emotionally healthy to tap into real-life emotions to peak yourself in action, you can get a little deeper into it. Don’t be completely immersed in it all the time – I think you’ll find yourself sinking into the depths of despair. In my self-talk, I call it “getting in touch with reality,” and when I say it out loud, it sounds funny. But yes, it’s a tool I use sometimes. Specifically, I remember a scene in Shadow of the Tomb Raider where Lola and Jonah are talking around a campfire about their lost loved ones and their families. I had just lost my mom a year before we shot that film, and I remember consciously bringing some of that into the scene. There may or may not be another scene in this game on a rooftop after a tsunami, which was influenced by a situation in my real life where things went wrong. Who knows?
Angeles: A little spoiler midseason, but needless to say, I think it’s easy to feel for your character when he disappears from the scene. To use your words…what was it like to have a “different” attitude towards Jonah?
Byron: Haha, I think that’s cool – variety is the spice of life, and it’s always fun to change things up here and there to keep people guessing while staying true to the basic reality. I won’t go on so as not to bring spoilers for the unfortunate world.
ANGELES: Is this recording any different? What was it like working with Hayley Atwell instead of Camilla Luddington?
Byron: The process of recording a show is very different from gaming. In the game, we did quite a bit of performance capture – all of our actors were captured in reflective clothing and head-mounted cameras in a huge motion capture space. There’s also a lot of work in the studio, but at least for the main games, most of the work is done in volume. For The Legend of Lara Croft, this was entirely a solo recording in the vocal studio, especially considering we started recording at the height of Covid protocols – which leads to the second part of the question . In fact, I haven’t had the chance to work directly with Hayley or any of the other actors on the project – but that’s the norm with most animation and video games these days.
Angelis: Essentially, you know him best. Who is Jonah to you and the team?
Byron: Jonah is someone who has been in the back of my mind for the past ten years – but honestly, I think he represents the best of me. He is the most patient, empathetic, and caring version of me. He is definitely the better cook. For this franchise, I think he’s become one of the pillars of this Lara Croft-based family. I’m grateful to be able to play my part in all of this.
You can watch Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft on Netflix now
