WotSeries had the opportunity to interview Isabella Bucceri (Faile) bout Season 3 of The Wheel of Time, which was released on Prime Video on March 13, 2025.
Read more to hear about training for battle, her audition process, and what costume she wishes she could take home. If you missed them, be sure to check out our other Season 3 interviews.
Cait: We have really loved watching you be fine yell for us on screen this season. And can you tell me a little bit about how you came to the role, like what your audition process was like and how you heard about the show?
Isabella Bucceri: Yeah. The audition process, I mean, the casting process was kind of a bit of a whirlwind for me. I think I was living in the UK, but I was visiting family in Australia. So I’d gotten the audition there and put it down. But I had no clue it was Wheel of Time. Like they had code names for everything. So you were kind of just trying to Google something that wasn’t coming up and just like, what’s happening? I worked out later that my code name was Failon and I think that’s the mixture of Faile and Falcon. But yeah, I think I was in Australia and then maybe two days after I sent in the audition, I got the call that there was going to be a chemistry read in Prague. And so yeah, I had to fly back to Europe, which was probably, I don’t know how…I think there were delays, but it ended up being like a 36 hour journey and do this chemistry read in like two days. And I was terrified because I had this jet lag. I was just like, how is this going to work? But I don’t know.
I remember waking up the morning off in Prague and kind of going, if I don’t get this wrong, I’m probably never going to be in Prague again. So I think, mixed with the adrenaline, I just went on this run at 6am, which is so unlike me because I’m not a runner in any sense. And then I think it helped because in the audition, in the chemistry reads, it just felt really nice to be. Everyone was so welcoming. Marcus [Rutherford], the actors were so generous. And then two days after that, I got the call that I was offered the role. And then a few weeks after that, it was… in training in Prague.
Cait: Yeah, I recently did a 39-hour trip to Singapore, so I feel you on the jet lag. It wasn’t for anything as exciting, though. So did you know about The Wheel of Time before your audition, like as a show or a book series, or is this their first interaction with the content?
Isabella Bucceri: Yeah, it was my first kind of step into the world. I didn’t know about the books, but a lot of my friends and family did. So, I mean, when they found out they were ecstatic because they were such fans of the books. And then I told them my role and they were just like, so yeah, that was really exciting. And then, you know, once I started doing my own research, I was like, this is incredible. This world that I just didn’t even know existed. So yeah, that was very exciting.
Cait: So have you, what was your training like? Because the knife skills and the acrobatics, like the scenes of you fighting this season are just fantastic. Can you tell me a little bit about that process?
Isabella Bucceri: Oh, thank you. It was, yeah, it was intense. I think Faile is one of those characters that they really needed to nail the fighting because that is kind of one of her only ways of keeping up with the others. And I was, yeah, I was really excited to dive into it. But it was quite intimidating, I think, because you go in and these stunties who are just incredible at what they do, and you think there’s “no way I’m going to be able to do what you do.” But day by day, it just kind of comes through. And yeah, I think that was one of the…at the beginning, I was kind of terrified. But by the end of it, I kind of just wanted to dive…I just wanted to go back to the gym, I just wanted to keep training, because you get into a rhythm of it. I think some of those, especially those last scenes in the battle, you felt like you’re doing a dance and it became really exciting. And quite just fun to almost just fly through it.
Cait: You do actually look like you’re flying at some point. I’ve seen episode 7 and it’s fantastic. I think I have like 30 seconds left with you, so I’m going to ask super quickly, if you could have taken any prop or costume from any of the stories home with you what would you have taken home?
Isabella Bucceri: Oh my gosh. There’s a lot. Probably one of the gowns that the girls wore, they were incredible. I think, you know, Faile’s was very practical and everything was functional. So I think that would have been exciting. Just put on one of those gowns for a day.
Cait: Well, thank you so much. I wish we had more time to chat and good luck. I hope we see more Faile and her knife skills in future seasons.
Isabella Bucceri: Thank you.
The third season of The Wheel of Time, based on Robert Jordan’s fantasy book series, premiered on Prime Video on March 13, 2025. All episodes of the first three seasons of The Wheel of Time are now available on Prime Video. The series is co-produced by Sony Pictures Television and Amazon MGM Studios.
Editorial note: For clarity and readability, we’ve made minor edits to this interview, such as removing filler words and repetitions. The responses remain true to the original recorded conversation.
I love books of all kinds and especially Wheel of Time (I even have a tattoo!) I also love video games and building community online. Blue/Brown ajah (don’t make me choose) and Spoiler Gaidin for the show-only crowd. Find me @feelinmyshelf.bsky.social
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