Russ Willard

"*When someone says something's impossible, I prove it's possible.*"
—Russ Willard
**Russ Willard** is a character on the Prime Video series *Tales from the Loop*. He is the founder of the Mercer Center for Experimental Physics, also known colloquially as "the Loop." He is the father of George Willard and father-in-law of Loretta Willard and has a young grandson named Cole and an older grandson named Jakob. He admires Loretta, but also sometimes resents her and doesn't take her entirely seriously. He has a wife named Klara. He is portrayed by Jonathan Pryce, as well as by Adam Hurtig as a younger version of the character, and Toby Hughes as him in his 40s.

## History

### Founding the Loop and the Vagabond project

Russ Willard was very brilliant and driven man. In his early adulthood, he founded the facility in Mercer, Ohio called the Mercer Center for Experimental Physics, known colloquially as "the Loop." In all of this time at working at the facility, he never once took a sick day. One day, he discovered that one of the employees of the Mercer Center for Experimental Physics, Alma, had stolen a piece of the Eclipse, known as "the beating heart of the Loop." He visited her at her home and pleaded with her to give it back, telling her that she did not understand what she was doing. Alma, however, did not listen to his pleas and instead used in an ill-fated experiment that resulted in her own disappearance and which caused her daughter Loretta to be temporarily transported many years into the future.

At some point after founding the Mercer Center for Experimental Physics, he created an android known as the Vagabond. The Vagabond, however, did not turn out as expected and was feared by the people of Mercer, Ohio. He sent it to live on a nearby island to protect it from the people of Mercer, who feared it. He married a woman named Klara and had a son named George Willard. When George was a young boy, he ventured to the island of the Vagabond on a dare and ended up having a harrowing encounter, and also lost one of his arms to a badly infected insect bite, having to have it replaced with a mechanical one. Russ then told him to never speak of what he had seen on the island.

### The Echo Sphere and death

He doted on his grandson, Cole, and enjoyed spending time with him. When Cole asked him what he did for a living, he told him that when people said that something was impossible, he made it possible. One day, he took Cole out into a large field in Mercer, where he showed him an unusual object known as the Echo Sphere. He told Cole to shout into this and Cole did so, hearing six echoes in response. Russ explained that the number of echoes showed how long someone would live. From the number of echoes, Cole would have a fairly long life, well into at least his 80s. Cole then asked Russ if he thought that he could beat his number, but Russ told him that it wasn't a game. Nevertheless, Cole insisted, so Russ shouted into the sphere, but did not hear any echoes back. Cole asked him if it was broken, but he replied that it was working just fine. From this, Cole learned that his grandfather would soon pass away.

Russ revealed the truth of his failing health to the rest of the family in a conversation at the family home. Each reacted in a different way, George and Loretta both wondering if there was something they could do, but told that there was nothing. At the Loop, Russ had a conversation with Loretta in which he asked her if the Loop was really what she wanted. She told him that it was and he told her that he had spoken to the board, and it was hers. He then gave her some advice: that she should take a sick day sometimes, as the time would pass in the blink of an eye and she would wonder where all the potential went.

Not long after this, Russ began to experience serious health troubles. He collapsed at home and ended up being hospitalized. Cole paid a visit to the Eclipse at the Loop, hoping to find a way to save him, but learned that while there were many strange things that were made possible thanks to the object's power, it was not possible to save someone from death. Later, Cole visited Russ in the hospital, but Russ did not recognize him, instead shouting for his wife, Klara. He passed away shortly after this incident and a memorial service was held for him, his body having been cremated.

## Behind the scenes

* The younger versions of Russ played by Adam Hurtig and Tony Hughes only appear either from behind, at a distance, or mostly off-screen.
* Russ appears in the opening of the premiere episode of the series, "Loop," directly addressing the viewer, the only character of the series to ever do so. In the video "Talking Tales from the Loop" produced for the Prime Video Club, Munya Chawawa discusses this sequence, stating that scene gave him an ominous sense that the character was up to no good, even though the character is not portrayed as a villain on the series and theorizes that Russ Willard is himself the Loop.

## References

1. ↑ What's On TV - Tales from the Loop on Amazon Prime...
2. ↑ TV Guide - *Tales From the Loop* Review: Amazon's Otherwordly Sci-Fi Series Is Remarkably Grounded in Reality
3. ↑ YouTube - Behind the Scenes: Tales from the Loop | From Paintings to Screen
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Loop"
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Enemies"
6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 "Echo Sphere"
7. ↑ Prime Video UK - "Talking Tales from the Loop"