9-1-1 Star Oliver Stark on Buck's Breakup, Buddie Drama to Coming

Note: This story contains spoilers from “9-1-1” Season 8, Episode 6.

Perennially in love and injury-prone firefighter Buck (Oliver Stark) had his heart broken again on Thursday night's episode of “9-1-1” when his boyfriend of six months, Tommy (Lou Ferrigno Jr.), suddenly broke up with him.

Buck and Tommy were celebrating their sixth month when Buck learned that, before he came out as a gay man, Tommy was engaged to Abby – yes, The Abby (Connie Britton) – for two years. He was upset that Tommy was able to lie and stay in a relationship with his former girlfriend until Josh (Bryan Safi) explained to him a few years ago how much harder it was to talk openly about his sexuality.

Buck took advantage of this moment of doubt and decided to deepen his relationship with Tommy by asking him to move in. However, Tommy thought “Baby Bi” Buck would break his heart if they got more serious and decided to end things instead. Stark told TheWrap that this is likely the last time we'll see Tommy, although he “could imagine us ending up in emergencies at the same time and things getting awkward between them.”

As for Abby's possible return, the actor said that the show already gave closure to the couple in the season three finale.

TheWrap spoke with Stark about what it means for the newly out bisexual character to break up with his very first boyfriend. “It's going to be a while before we actually see him back on the market,” the actor said of the “devastating” end to his recent relationship.

He also discussed 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: Thank you for being sad. Buck's tumultuous love life is still as tumultuous as ever. He is still looking for the one and his happiness. But it takes a few tries to find the right one.

When did you find out that Buck's relationship with Tommy would end?

I knew early in the season it was a possibility. I don't think it was resolved until we started filming the episode, maybe the episode before. The episode before that is the Halloween episode, namely [had a lot of] Buck and Tommy. This reintroduced and restored them so that the gravity of the breakup could make sense to the characters and to the audience.

Is this part of the Billy Boils curse?

I do not believe that. [Laughs] The curse has been lifted and now it's just bad luck for Buck.

Buck actually has more than enough bad luck. It's hard to say what was rougher: his love life or the fact that he was hurt so many times.

[Laughs] Probably his love life. His love life isn't always his fault, while in his professional life he often puts himself in the firing line.

And that was his first queer relationship, so it meant a lot to him.

That was the case, and it really comes through in the breakup scene, how important that relationship was to him and how much it meant to him and so how devastating it is to see it end. And in such a sudden way, we've gone from asking Tommy to move in with him, which is a pretty big step, to completely crashing. It's pretty run down.

I didn't expect this Abby connection, that she was engaged to Tommy for two years before he came out.

Me neither! That was a complete coincidence. In season 1, she talks about her fiancé named Tommy. And then in season 2, [Ferrigno]The character was introduced, [but was] I don't think that was ever intended The Tommy. But now that we're at this point in the story, it felt like a great opportunity to use that connection and kick off some things for Buck and Tommy.

Buck was initially very upset that Tommy had lied to Abby for so long.

Buck is an extremely emotional person and is sometimes prone to knee-jerk reactions. Abby was very important to him and even though that relationship was a long time ago, he obviously still cares about her and respects her.

When he found out that Tommy had hurt her, he initially reacted defensively and wanted to protect her. And of course it took talking to Josh to get some insight into what Tommy also went through and how difficult some of the hurdles he had to overcome were. Tommy had his strange awakening at a different time and had to go through things that Buck doesn't have to go through. Clearly there is still a lot of work to be done on this front. But hopefully we live in a more progressive time than in previous years.

Of course, heartbroken, Buck immediately goes to Eddie, who is also going through a lot. Can you talk about how they always support each other?

The work they do is one based on utmost trust. Together they find themselves in situations in which it is a matter of life and death and in which they have to trust each other completely. This obviously helped strengthen their bond. And they also bonded over many things in their personal lives, including Chris, Eddie's son. They've built a real bond between him and Buck because they're able to play a role in his life.

It's a testament to their relationship that they both go through difficult and very different things and both deal with it in very different ways, but both want and are willing to do this together. So yeah, it's a really nice testament to their relationship and the trust they've been able to build over the years.

The “Risky Business” dance seemed more like something Buck would do.

[Laughs] I'm glad that wasn't the case. I'm glad it was given to Ryan and Eddie. That's part of the power of the moment, that Eddie breaks out of his shell a little bit. We often see him as an introverted character and for him to seek joy as the priest sets him on the path to do it seems like a really big step.

And what a great scene too. I was there filming it because right after, Buck came in and said, 'This is incredible. People are going to absolutely love this.' And of all the actors who get to do it, it's Ryan [who starred in two “Step Up” movies] is the right choice.

Some viewers would like to see Buck and Eddie together as a couple. I know you've been asked this before, but what are the chances of this happening?

That's a tricky question. Buck is now an out bisexual man, Eddie is a straight man. We're at a point now where we understand that sexuality is probably on a spectrum, but he's mostly talking about being a straight man, and [a romantic relationship with another man] is not part of his journey.

I don't know what the future holds. I think that's a question [showrunner] Tim Minear. I want them to continue to be there for each other no matter what. But they will also face some difficulties. We talk about the strength of their relationship, and that is tested in different ways.

When can we expect that episode where they have “trouble”?

We're filming out of commission, but I think it's just before the mid-season break.

Can Buck please stop being physically and emotionally hurt?

[Laughs] Well, as Tim often says, if the characters don't get hurt, we probably won't see too much of them. So in the world of “9-1-1,” that’s probably not such a bad thing.

“9-1-1” airs Thursdays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on ABC and streams the next day on Hulu.