Alex Honnold talks out about being a ‘villain’ in HBO’s ‘Dark Wizard’

In a latest episode of his podcast, world well-known rock climber Alex Honnold obtained candid about what he describes as being “cast as the villain” in HBO’s new four-part docuseries “The Dark Wizard.”

The collection explores the life and legacy of Dean Potter, an excessive climber and BASE jumper who made a title for himself by means of his dangerous climbs, highline walks and BASE jumps, particularly in Yosemite National Park. Potter died in a BASE jumping accident in 2015. In the collection’ third episode, administrators Peter Mortimer and Nick Rosen discover Potter’s rivalry with Honnold, which developed in the early 2000s as the 2 males started competing with one another over numerous climbing initiatives in Yosemite Valley.

Their rivalry began to escalate in 2008, when Honnold turned the primary particular person to climb Half Dome with no security gear or ropes, which is called free soloing.

“I had mixed feelings when Alex came around,” Potter mentioned in footage included in “The Dark Wizard.” “You know, partially I was like, f–k. I wanted that. Another part was just like, that’s the way it goes. You know, Alex has been real competitive with me, trying to do things that he knows I want to do and you know he’s younger, he’s real competitive… He knew that was my life’s goal, and he did it before me because he was a competitive, kind of like, twerp.”

By 2012, Honnold had tackled a number of initiatives that Potter had his eyes on, together with one of many best achievements in climbing historical past: a free solo ascent of the West Face of El Capitan.

“2012 is a big f–king year, because I basically did everything that Dean had ever done or wanted to do, and generally in better style and, you know, faster and whatever,” Honnold mentioned in the episode. “Yeah, poor Dean.”

In a latest episode of Honnold’s podcast, Climbing Gold, Honnold expressed that he discovered it “interesting” to be solid in “The Dark Wizard” – for the primary time ever – as a villain.

“We did, like, 12 hours of interview, and they basically took all the most extreme stuff and turned it into, like, ‘Extremely competitive! Hates Dean!'” Honnold mentioned. “You’re kind of like, oh. It’s slightly annoying.”

Honnold went on to name Potter his “childhood hero,” and mentioned that in the fourth and ultimate episode, which airs May 5 at 6 pm, the 2 males had a “kumbaya moment” on the Telluride Film Festival previous to Potter’s dying. He added that the feats of his 2012 climbing season got here extra as a results of attempting to finish as many initiatives as he might whereas in Yosemite Valley, and fewer out of any want to “one-up” Potter.

Even in the podcast, although, Honnold continues taking not-so-subtle jabs at his hero-turned-rival.

“I always sort of thought that, in some ways, he was probably happy to not have to do some of those things,” Honnold says of the climbing challenges he accomplished earlier than Potter. “You have to believe in his heart of hearts, he’s kind of like, ‘Thank God I don’t have to do that.’ Because if you really wanted to do it, he could have done it six months ago or, like, a year ago, but he just hadn’t.”

Despite his portrayal in the series, Honnold described “The Dark Wizard” as “amazing.”

“I’m glad they made it, regardless of any opinions about me being cast as a villain,” Honnold said. “Dean was such a hero of mine, and actually the entire technology of climbers. And it makes me barely unhappy that individuals who get into climbing now may have by no means heard of him, as a result of, you recognize, he died… And so it is good to kind of keep in mind his legacy in a way.”