Apple TV+‘s Foundation is cerebral, stunning, and an excellent showcase for Lee Pace. Throughout the show’s three seasons, Pace has played different versions of Brother Day, the middle-aged clone of the original Emperor Cleon I. Each Brother Day is brilliant, brutal, and beautiful, even if they respond to the crises of the moment in different ways.

In past seasons, Brother Day would casually execute enemies or gleefully go to war. However, the Brother Day we meet in Foundation Season 3 is a bit different. As Empire contracts and the end of everything looms near, this version of the character is in his “Lebowski” era. Meaning, he hangs around a pleasure garden full of zoo animals for kicks. His closest relationship isn’t with the android majordomo Demerzel (Laura Birn), but his beloved mistress Song (Yootha Wong-Loi-Sing). The grand armor of Empire is gone. In its place is a relaxed robe and sarong.

“The costume was comfortable,” Lee Pace said, laughing, when DECIDER asked him about this playing this “fun” new 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+.