Freddy Carter Talks Netflix's "Shadow and Bone" and Advice for Students

Kaz is frightening but Freddy Carter? Absolutely lovely 🥰

He might be the leader of the Dregs but Freddy Carter is human after all and prone to feeling cold despite being British-born.

Freddy (aka Kaz from Netflix’s Shadow and Bone) took the time to speak to us before his appearance at Melbourne’s Metro Comic Con this weekend and confessed he was feeling the Melbourne chill.

“What surprised me actually on this trip is how cold it is,” he told Student Edge.

“Yeah, I’m gonna go and get a jumper I think.”

Amongst the weather, Freddy also chatted to us about his time on Shadow and Bone, what he wants to do in the future, and his advice for students.

Tapping into his character Kaz.

Based on the trilogy of the same name by Leigh Bardugo, Freddy found the novels extremely helpful when it came to getting into character.

“Trying to figure out how your character thinks and views the world is sort of the hardest bit for me…and it’s all there on the page so that was very helpful,” he said.

To really get into the character of Kaz, he had a little tick involving Kaz’s famous crow head cane to get him into the zone.

Although it seemed to (accidentally) get the rest of the cast going as well.

“I had a little sort of physical tic that I would do before every take which was just because I had the cane in my left hand and I would just tap it on the floor a few times to feel a bit more connected,” he said.

“It became a bit of a thing where I would tap it a couple times, just for me, not for anyone else.

“But then Kit [Young] or Amita [Suman] or some of the other people in it would then notice and start tapping their feet. It became a little ritual…a full tap dance routine.”

How did Freddy envision Kaz’s ending? 🤔

Unfortunately, Netflix confirmed in November 2023 that Shadow and Bone would not return for a third and final season.

Ugh, we are heartbroken. And for Freddy, he’s sad we won’t get to see Kaz’s ending.

“It’s sad with the show because we had started to set up different endings for people,” he told us.

“We at least set these characters who have a well-known path in the trajectory in the books, and we’d set them up on a different path.

“Because I’m such a big fan of the books, I think it all ties together so nicely at the end, I would love to have seen that play out.”

What’s next for Freddy?

We’ve seen Freddy play some sinister roles but next he’s keen to completely “flip that on its head”.

“I’d love to do more comedy…trying to flip that on its head and do some comedy would be fun,” he said.

“I personally love watching political thrillers and historical thrillers, those kinds of things really appealed to me.”

Freddy Carter as King Henry V? Um yes.

What's his one piece of advice for students/Gen Z?

“Oof, that’s a good question,” he says when he hears our question.

After pausing for a few seconds, he admits he spent a lot of time in school doing subjects he didn’t like.

“But at school you’re given so much time to do stuff you love as well,” Freddy told us.

“Because there will be subjects you love, and if you’ve got a sport you love, or being outside…whatever it is, you are afforded quite a lot of time to do that thing.

“I wish someone had just pushed me hard to do the things that I love as much as possible when you’re young.”

Catch Freddy at Metro Comic Con this weekend in Melbourne, 13-14 July 2024.

Header Image: Leigh Bardugo, Netflix and Phoebe Fox.