DAVID ARQUETTE Dr. Emmett Snyder 

What attracted you to the project? 

I loved the script and it had a great cast. Above all, I love working with female directors and Dee is wonderful. 

What surprised you most about your character, Dr Emmett Snyder? 

Just how easily and unconscionably the character falls into the trap of going along with these dangerous government sanctioned actions. 

Driven by the experiment, Snyder is willing to push ethical boundaries. How did this resonate for you? 

Historically when governments behave badly, they have minions that help push their agenda. I thought it interesting to play a character brain washed too that degree. 

How did it feel to play a character who is willing to kill in the name of militarization of the world? 

Snyder embodies a lot of what’s going on in the world right now. I am a news junkie so it wasn’t too hard to turn on the TV and get inspiration 

Do you have a favourite line from the film? 

“We’ve got to follow protocol.” 

JACKSON GALLAGHER Matthew Allen Mills 

What attracted you to the project? 

The physicality of the role and the chance to work with a top stunt and fight team. 

What surprised you most about your character, Matt Mills? 

His wry sense of humor, even in the dire situation he finds himself in. 

What is it about this human lab-rat that allows Mills to muster the courage to go the distance and survive? 

The core of Mills story is a father trying to get his own life back to protect his daughter. He will stop at nothing. Parental love drives his survival spirit. 

How did you find the strength in the character to push Mills through the challenges imposed upon him in each spoke of The Wheel? 

Mills is physically and mentally trapped. Haunted by guilt, he struggles at first to find the strength to overcome his own demons, but it is ultimately his instinct and his physicality that fuels his determination. 

In the search for the perfect specimen, the Corporation trades off ethics. Do you feel this story is relevant to audiences today? 

Even though the story is set in 2099, the technology that pushes boundaries in its integration into the human experience is well amongst us. The desire to explore the human body’s potential could lead human kind to an ethically ambiguous situation. 

Do you have a favorite line from the film? 

“Good Luck, Mills” and “Why am I here?” “What program?” If only Mills knew what lay ahead! 

KENDAL RAE Dr. Allison Turner 

What attracted you to the film? 

Conceptually the story of one man’s will set against a monolithic facility where science and technology meet, is at once exciting and frightening.

What surprised you most about your character, Dr Allison Turner? 

Allison is the moral compass of the story. She has her own demons but ultimately makes moral choices, even if it jeopardises the experiment. The twist at the end however, leaves doubt as to her genuine motivation, which makes her even more interesting. 

How did you navigate the story and emotional layers of your character; the female controller of this inhumane experiment? 

Allison is filled with flaws and contradictions. She has a vision to be a groundbreaker in her scientific field, but at what cost? This fundamental inner tug-of-war makes her dynamic. 

You have worked with the Director Dee McLachlan in the past? How did that impact on your work together on this film? 

To have a history with a Director allows for shorthand in communication. Sometimes a look. is all that’s needed. That’s what Dee and I have. There is a great level of respect and trust between the two of us, which in turn positively informs the creative process. 

Advances in nanotechnology have led to the development of weapons that are attractive to governments who want to wage war without actually declaring it. With extremely high payoffs, the military industrial complex is willing to push these pioneering boundaries. Their aim is to invent, control, and exploit unique biotech phenomena, encountered in matter at sub-100-nm length scales. Unethical human experimentation is the new reality, allowing weapons manufacturers to partner with jails to test subjects – human lab rats. Satoshi Telefair Industries, a super-sized global research corporation and provider of choice for the military, operates experimental apparatus The Wheel.

Motivated by greed, their scientific breakthroughs blur the lines between war and peace, military and civilian, public and private, the physical and digital, ethical and unethical. A symptom of this unhinged society is a lack of empathy and Satoshi Telefair has unconscionably taken advantage of this by developing AE-57, an anti-empathy serum, to disconnect one’s mind from one’s emotions. 

The experiment is geared to break Mills, but his instinct keeps him alive. His entire being goes into sensory overload as he adapts and modifies his body. His emotional transition is heightened by hallucinations that force him to believe his daughter is within the confines of the facility.

Even escape offers no end to Mills’ distress, as the nano-blood continues to flow through his veins. Shadowiness within each spoke limits both Mills and his assailant’s vision, adding to the frightening reality, a stark contrast to the exterior of the facility, bathed in bright, yet cold sunlight. Accentuating the ominous nature of this intricate maze, each spoke of the facility is identical and the corridors mysteriously lead to dead ends or go in circles. In an all-out battle, can Mills beat his controllers at their own game?