In Steal on Prime Video, Sophie Turner and Archie Madekwe star as Zara and Luke, two friends and co-workers caught in a high-stakes heist at a pension investment firm. Their normal day quickly spirals into chaos when armed robbers storm the office and force Zara and Luke to carry out their demands. But when secrets come to life, trust is broken between the two throughout the season.
The two stars spoke with Blavity’s Shadow and Act on the shocking turns that the show and their characters take.
How the trust between Zara and Luke deteriorated
The series opens with Zara and Luke appearing to be allies, but their connection deteriorates as betrayals come to light.
“Oh my gosh. I mean, their relationship goes through it these two,” Turner said. “They start with being kind of each other’s only person that they can trust in the whole world. And it goes from that to sadly, no one can trust anyone in this show. And I think the saddest part about the whole story is what happens to their friendship.”
Madekwe added, “Yeah, it’s kind of lost. I mean, we really start with unknowing to the audience and to Zara, a betrayal. Luke is betraying Zara from the beginning in a way that he feels guilty about, in a way that he’s hoping she’ll benefit from, but it’s a betrayal all the same.”
He continued, “For Luke, I think a lot of the reaction, the response is kind of the weight of that guilt, like kind of sitting on his shoulders from the beginning. I think he feels overwhelmed. I think when it gets to it, he’s in over his head. I think he is clearly not equipped to deal with the situation that he’s thrown them both in. But it’s true, you think that they’re in it together, and the truth is, it’s not the case. And I mean, how can you recover from that?”
Would Zara ever give Luke money?
By the end of Steal, Zara comes into a large sum of money. But given everything she’s learned about Luke, would she share any of it.
“Nah, he doesn’t deserve it,” Turner said with a laugh. “Zara is going on holiday.”
Much like the audience, the cast experienced the show’s twists in real time.
“We didn’t even know… We only had the first three or four episodes initially, so we had no idea where the rest of the episodes were going to begin with,” Madekwe said. “It was incredibly shocking.”
Turner added, “I mean, we were literally filming episode four, not knowing what was going to happen to our characters or if our characters were involved on a deeper level or so. We were discovering in real time. And I mean, it just constantly was surprising us this script.”
The show leans into tangled motives, something both actors said challenged them while filming.
“I hope I see some people watching it with the pinboard and the string and piecing it all together,” Turner said. “That’s what I was doing mentally in my head while we were reading it going, ‘Wait, so he’s tied to that and she’s not…’ It’s a puzzle.”
Madekwe added, “There’s a lot of moving pieces…But they’re tightening the knot. That’s the thing, the whole story is them trying to undo these knots that they’ve created.”
Steal is now streaming on Prime Video.