Apple TV+’s Foundation is a thought-provoking and visually impressive series, offering an outstanding platform for Lee Pace’s talents. Over the course of three seasons, Pace has taken on various iterations of Brother Day, the middle-aged clone of the original Emperor Cleon I. Each Brother Day is depicted as intelligent, ruthless, and striking, albeit with different reactions to the crises they face.

In earlier seasons, Brother Day was known for his casual executions and eagerness for war. However, the Brother Day introduced in Season 3 of Foundation has evolved. With the Empire shrinking and an ominous end in sight, this version of Brother Day enters a more laid-back phase, reminiscent of “Lebowski.” He spends his time in a pleasure garden filled with exotic animals for entertainment. His strongest bond isn’t with the android caretaker Demerzel (Laura Birn), but with his cherished mistress, Song (Yootha Wong-Loi-Sing). The imposing armor of the Empire has been swapped for a comfortable robe and sarong.

“The costume was comfortable,” Lee Pace remarked with a laugh when DECIDER inquired about portraying this more “fun” version of Day. “He didn’t have to sit on the throne and execute anyone.”

Sure, Foundation Season 3’s Brother Day isn’t much for the rigors of ruling Empire, but he’s still technically yet another clone of the original Cleon I. Pace explained that this nuance was what really excited him about Foundation Season 3.

“It was really fun to take everything we know about Cleon and twist it,” he said. “Because they’re different characters, but they’re also the same. There’s a sameness to them.”

“So he still is clever, he’s still as intuitive, but he’s disillusioned. He’s deeply damaged. And he is responding to this dire moment in the galaxy, not by sitting on the throne and ordering violence around. He’s doing what he wants, making himself happy.”

One of the unique habits that this version of Brother Day has adopted — much to the chagrin of Brother Dusk (Terrence Mann) — is bringing extinct animals out of the genetic library for his own amusement. As Foundation Season 3 continues, fans will notice that one pet is a particular favorite: a ferret named Capillus.

“There were a few ferrets, there definitely were a few ferrets,” Pace said, revealing the behind-the-scenes ferret secrets. “There was a calm ferret. There was an ornery ferret. There was one blind and deaf ferret.”

“One of the the unpleasant things about working with the ferret is that you get not only ferret smell on you, but you get cat food smell on you. Because you have to hide the little smears of cat food on your body to get the ferret to crawl up your sleeve and out your shirt and stuff.”

Nevertheless, Pace said he loved working with the ferrets, be they calm, ornery, or blind and deaf.

“I’m a big fan of the ferrets,” Pace said.

Foundation Season 3 Episode 1 “A Song for the End of Everything” is now streaming on Apple TV+.