‘Outer Banks’ Star Drew Starkey Says It Felt “Strange” To Lose “Scene Partner” Charles Esten After Ward Was Killed Off

Drew Starkey has nothing but kind things to say about actress Fiona Palomo , who plays his onscreen love interest Sofia in the fourth season of the hit Netflix series Outer Banks . However, Starkey also admitted that filming this season felt a little “strange” without Charles Esten , whose menacing character was killed off at the end of Season 3.

Since Season 1, Starkey has portrayed Rafe Cameron — an unhinged Kook who would do anything, including kill, to gain his father’s approval. Rafe and Ward (Esten) were often a dynamic duo when it came to taking down the Pogues in their hunt for treasure. But at the end of last season, Ward died — and Rafe was left on his own.

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This season, however, Rafe seems to have grown closer with a Pogue named Sofia (Palomo), who was first introduced in Season 3. In fact, Sofia’s influence on Rafe becomes so strong that she’s able to successfully convince him to wire a large amount of money to a real estate developer who likely has some sort of hidden agenda.

“I think Fiona is amazing and she’s so giving and so sweet and a fantastic actor,” Starkey told DECIDER ahead of Season 4.

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According to the actor, Palomo fit right in — especially after Esten’s character was killed off.

“This season was a little bit strange for me because I kind of lost my scene partner in Charles Esten. So it felt a little different,” Starkey said. “But Fiona came in and I felt just immediately — it just picked right back up and felt comfortable.”

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Starkey also opened up about the challenges of playing Rafe, whose internal battle between good and (mostly) evil arguably makes him one of the most layered characters in Outer Banks.

“I think any character is challenging to play. You have the same kind of questions that you ask no matter who you’re playing,” he said. “But, I know that this experience on the show has made it a lot easier because we’re all surrounded by actors and crew who are so giving, and it feels like a very freeing process.”

“I think from the beginning, I’ve never felt like I had any restrictions put on me,” Starkey continued. “It was just, you know, creative control and do what you want. And we’ve all made a lot of bad decisions doing that. But, you know, it’s allowed us to make mistakes and grow.”

Outer Banks Season 4, Part 1 is currently streaming on Netflix. Part 2 will hit the streamer on Nov. 7.

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