Bernard Holland was presumed dead at the end of Apple TV's Silo Season 2. The hated character is back in Season 3, but Tim Robbins believes the character's most dangerous ideas are very much alive, and he may be as well.
As the acclaimed dystopian drama conquers once again the imagination of the audience, consolidating as the most watched series on the platform this summer, the Oscar-winning actor is convinced that if Bernard were running society today, he wouldn't spend his time deleting posts or silencing critics on social media.
He would make sure everyone stayed busy fighting each other.
"He would be creating situations where he's putting out hot-button issues that are making the two sides fight," Robbins told this reporter during an interview promoting the new season. "As long as they're divided, he can have control over the society. That's something as old as the hills... The power stays in power as long as the people below them are fighting with each other."
It is a chilling assessment that feels less like science fiction and more like a commentary on the digital age, where social media algorithms often amplify outrage, polarization, and conflict.
The comparison is especially timely as Silo continues to explore how information can be manipulated to preserve authoritarian systems. Based on Hugh Howey's bestselling trilogy, the Apple TV series starring Rebecca Ferguson returned for its third season on July 3, expanding beyond the underground bunker to reveal the origins of the silos while following Juliette Nichols' struggle to uncover the truth after the rebellion that ended Season 2. The new season introduces parallel timelines that examine how fear, secrecy, and political decisions shaped humanity's future.
Although viewers believed Bernard died in the Season 2 finale, the last episode reveals that the head of IT survived the devastating fire, setting the stage for one of the series' most complex character arcs as he confronts the consequences of the system he spent years protecting.
For Robbins, however, Bernard's true power never came from violence but from understanding human nature.
"The people below them are fighting with each other," Robbins said. "As long as they're fighting with each other and talking about all this other stuff, they won't realize how much they have in common, and how much more they have in common than they have with thcommon and power like Bernard."
The comments carry additional weight coming from Robbins, whose career has long blended art and political engagement.
The Academy Award winner for Mystic River has spent decades portraying morally complex characters in films including The Shawshank Redemption, Jacob's Ladder, The Player and Dead Man Walking, the latter of which he also directed. Beyond Hollywood, Robbins has been outspoken on issues ranging from war and civil liberties to criminal justice, often arguing that artists have a responsibility to challenge audiences rather than simply entertain them.
That perspective, he said, shaped the way he approached Bernard. Instead of judging the authoritarian leader, Robbins searched for the humanity behind his decisions.
"This is something that I really value in my experience as an actor," he said. "I'm constantly having to play people I wouldn't necessarily have met in real life. What it does is it forces you to understand the humanity in people that you disagree with."
For Robbins, acting is an exercise in empathy.
"It does not enter with judgment," he continued. "You have to invest in their dignity and their humanity and understand that difference of opinion is just something that is going to happen. It doesn't mean someone's evil."
That philosophy mirrors one of Silo's central themes: systems of control become strongest when people stop questioning those in power and instead turn against one another. Robbins suggested that social media has only accelerated that dynamic.
Asked how Bernard would behave if he were alive today, the actor didn't hesitate. Rather than obsessing over criticism directed at him, Bernard would use algorithms themselves as weapons.
"He would be creating situations" that keep society divided, Robbins said, describing a strategy that has existed throughout history but now operates at unprecedented speed through digital platforms.
Robbins lamented what he sees as the disappearance of respectful disagreement, recalling a time when people with opposing views could still find common ground.
"I remember a time when you could go to a bar and have a conversation with someone that was totally opposed to you politically... but you could have enough respect for that person to buy them a drink," he said. "I think we've lost that part of us."
He even reflected on the meaning of the word "respect."
"'Re' means go back. 'Spect' means see," Robbins explained. "Take a step back and look again. Don't judge immediately. There's more to the person that you may disagree with than you think, and you might have more in common with that person than you would if you don't talk to them."
Those ideas resonate throughout Silo Season 3, which continues to examine how fear, misinformation and secrecy can sustain institutions long after people stop believing in them. Whether Bernard ultimately finds redemption or remains one of television's most compelling villains is one of Season 3's biggest unanswered questions. For Robbins, though, the character's greatest lesson has little to do with science fiction. It's a reminder that societies become easiest to control when citizens stop listening to one another. And in 2026, he believes that may be the most realistic part of Silo.
