‘9-1-1’ Star Oliver Stark on Buck’s ‘Painful’ Breakup and Abby’s Twist
Note: This story contains spoilers from “9-1-1” Season 8, Episode 6. Heartbroken — and vulnerable — firefighter Buck (Oliver Stark) had his heart broken again on Thursday night’s episode of “9-1-1,” when his boyfriend Tommy (Lou Ferrigno Jr.) abruptly broke up with him after six months of dating.
Buck and Tommy had just celebrated their six-month anniversary when Buck learned that, before he came out, Tommy had been engaged to Abby — yes, that Abby (Connie Britton) — for two years. He was upset that Tommy was able to maintain a relationship with his ex for so long while living a lie, until Josh (Bryan Safi) explained that being open about one’s sexuality is much harder than it was just a few years ago.
Buck seized on that moment of doubt and decided to double down on his relationship with Tommy by asking him to move in with him. However, Tommy thought that “baby bi” Buck would break his heart if they got more serious, and decided to end things instead. Stark told TheWrap that this may be the last we see of Tommy, although he “could see us going through emergencies together at the same time, and it was awkward between them.”
As for the possibility of Abby returning, the actor said the show wrapped up the pair’s relationship in the Season 3 finale.
TheWrap spoke to Stark about what being dumped by his first boyfriend meant to the newly openly bisexual character. “It’s going to be a while before we actually see him back on the market,” the actor said of the “devastating” ending of his latest relationship.
He also touched on how his character can (almost) always rely on his best friend and work partner Eddie (Ryan Guzman) and the unexpected connection between Tommy and Abby.
TheWrap: I’m sad that Buck is single again.
Oliver Stark: Thanks for being sad. Buck’s tumultuous love life is as tumultuous as ever. He’s still searching for his soulmate and happiness. But it takes a few tries before you find the right person.
When did you know that Buck’s relationship with Tommy was going to end?
I knew from the beginning of the season that it was a possibility. I don’t think it was addressed until right before we started shooting the episode, maybe the episode before that. The episode before that was the Halloween episode, and it [featured a lot of] Buck and Tommy. That reintroduced them and reestablished them so that the weight of the breakup could have meaning for the characters and for the audience.
Is that part of the Billy Boils curse?
I don’t think so. [Laughs] The curse has been lifted and now it’s just regular bad luck for Buck.
Buck has more bad luck than he’s ever had to deal with. It’s hard to say which is harder, his love life or the fact that he’s been hurt so much.
[Laughs] Probably his love life. His love life isn’t always his fault, whereas he often puts himself in a difficult position when it comes to his work life.
And this is his first gay relationship, so it means a lot to him.
Yeah, and it’s really lovely in the breakup scene, how important this relationship was to him and how much it meant to him, and so it’s heartbreaking to see it end. And in such a sudden way, from asking Tommy to move in with him, which is a pretty big step, to then going down to nothing. It’s such a downfall.
I didn’t expect that connection with Abby, that she was engaged to Tommy for two years before he came out.
Me neither! It’s a perfect coincidence. Back in Season 1, she talked about her fiancé being called Tommy. And then in Season 2, [Ferrigno’s] character was introduced, [but] I believe, never intended to be that Tommy. But now that we’re at this point in the story, it seemed like a great opportunity to use that connection and stir up some things for Buck and Tommy.
Buck was initially really upset that Tommy had lied to Abby for so long.
Buck is an incredibly emotional person and is prone to reacting viscerally at times. Abby is incredibly important to him, and even though that relationship is in the past, he clearly still cares for her and respects her.
His initial reaction to knowing that Tommy had hurt her was to be defensive and want to protect her. And obviously talking to Josh to get some perspective on what Tommy went through, and how difficult some of the hurdles he had to overcome were. Tommy had a different awakening to his sexual identity and had to go through things that Buck never had to. There’s clearly still a lot of progress to be made on that front.
