Tulsa King Season 3: Robert Patrick On Jeremiah’s Fiery Finale Fate

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Be warned, this contains spoilers for season 3 of Tulsa King! The intense conflict between Sylvester Stallone’s Dwight Manfredi and Robert Patrick’s Jeremiah Dunmire reached a dramatic conclusion in the latest season. One of the actors was particularly shocked by how things ended. Jeremiah Dunmire emerged as the main villain this season after Dwight discovered, through Mitch (Garrett Hedlund), that a local distillery owner was being threatened and forced to sell their business by Patrick’s character.

Okay, so Dwight really pulled one over on Dunmire, winning the distillery at auction thanks to his money and charm. Big mistake for him, though, because it immediately made him and his guys targets. Jeremiah, furious, started sending his son Cole around to constantly harass us and mess with our plans to get the distillery back up and running. But even though Dunmire seemed powerful, things started to change during season 3. Manfredi was really good at getting people who worked for Jeremiah to switch sides, and it worked! It got so bad that Dunmire’s guys actually kidnapped Annabelle Sciorra’s character, Joanne, which led to a seriously tense showdown at the end.

To celebrate the latest episode, Grant Hermanns from ScreenRant spoke with Robert Patrick about the season finale of Tulsa King. Patrick shared his thoughts on finishing his role as the show’s villain, revealing he didn’t find out how his character’s story would end until filming was already underway. He also discussed his scenes with Annabella Sciorra, highlighting the emotional depth they brought to his character.

Stallone Gave Patrick A Unique Note That Made His Death Scene All The More Impactful

Throughout much of the Tulsa King season 3 finale, “Jesus Lizard,” Patrick’s character, Jeremiah Dunmire, engages in psychological battles with Joanne. The situation escalates dramatically when Dwight and his team attack the Dunmire property to rescue her. Jeremiah and Manfredi manage to dodge some bullets, and Jeremiah almost shoots Dwight, before the two men end up in a physical fight near Jeremiah’s distillery.

Although Dunmire landed some effective blows, Manfredi ultimately won the fight, physically carrying him to a hook and suspending him over a bonfire. Manfredi then lectured Dwight, trying to appear morally superior, but sealed Jeremiah’s fate by setting him on fire. This mirrored how Jeremiah had killed Theodore Montague earlier in the season, completing his story arc with a fitting, fiery end.

Thinking about how that scene ended up, Patrick admitted something interesting. He said while they did spend a lot of time discussing it, he hadn’t really planned it out in detail before filming. He wanted to get on set, feel the atmosphere, and let the scene unfold naturally. He felt that over-preparing would actually make things less flexible, and he preferred to be open to whatever happened in the moment.

Patrick explained that as an actor, he tried to react naturally to the unfolding events, experiencing the story as if it were happening to him for the first time. He didn’t know how the story would progress, and discovered things as they filmed each scene.

The actor shared that his character’s death wasn’t planned from the beginning. Sylvester Stallone told him during filming of Tulsa King season 3 that he was “really trying to figure out a good way to kill you off,” something the actor himself had also been considering. But when he found out his character was going to be burned alive, his immediate reaction was, “Oh man, that’s a terrible way to go.”

As Patrick considered it further, Jeremiah’s death started to seem logical. It mirrored how Jeremiah had previously betrayed and harmed his close friend, Montague, and how he’d passively allowed a disaster to happen to someone else – similar to a scene with Stallone’s character. Patrick realized there had even been a subtle hint about Dunmire’s fate earlier in the season, something he hadn’t connected until after it happened.

There’s a memorable scene with Sly at a funeral – it’s where we first see him. He talks about how awful burning alive must be, comparing it to a simple burn on your finger and asking you to imagine that pain all over your body. It was a clever hint of what was to come, and it made sense later on when they actually showed it happening.

Patrick described filming the season 3 finale of Tulsa King as a fun experience, saying he and the crew really enjoyed themselves. He especially praised Sylvester Stallone, noting that despite the late hour, Stallone arrived prepared and delivered a powerful performance with his monologue. He was completely focused and ready to go, even after a long day of shooting.

Patrick remembered that Stallone, a former colleague from the films Cop Land and Eye See You, had advised him to act “defiant” during his death scene. This was a surprising direction, as Patrick had originally considered portraying the character as vulnerable, even imagining him calling out for his mother.

Patrick recalled a surprising moment: “Suddenly, Jeremiah just started screaming for his mother.” He admitted the situation was strange but believable, explaining, “You never know how people will react.” Patrick added that Sylvester Stallone had suggested responding with defiance, which he supported and ultimately adopted as his own approach.

After Dunmire’s death scene shifted to a direct, face-to-face confrontation with Manfredi – where Manfredi even threatened to set him on fire – Patrick felt it was the right direction. He was able to refine his performance during post-production, adding several screams and ultimately being pleased with the final choice.

Patrick Loved Exploring The Vulnerability Of Dunmire Near The End Of Tulsa King Season 3

ScreenRant: We last spoke just before the Love Ride. How was that, by the way?

That event was amazing! We had around 10,000 people show up, and both Gene Simmons and the Chevy Metal band were fantastic. Everyone had a great time, and the weather was perfect – a beautiful 90 degrees here in California.

The finale of Tulsa King has a lot going on, and one of the most interesting parts is the dinner conversation between Jeremiah and Joanne. They’re subtly testing each other, playing a kind of mental game. Joanne brings up the idea that Jeremiah has regrets, which clearly upsets him. We already know he’s grieving the loss of his wife and son, but it makes you wonder if there’s more to his sadness – other things he regrets as well.

As a movie fan, what really struck me about this character is how everything seems to be colliding for him at once. It’s hard to pinpoint exactly what’s going on, a lot of it is hinted at rather than explained. You get the sense that years of trauma – losing his son, the mystery surrounding his wife – have really taken a toll. He’s clearly beating himself up over things. And now, at the end, he’s facing the heartbreaking realization that he’s losing his connection with his son. I think he was raised in a really harsh environment, and he unfortunately repeated those patterns with his own kids. He’s starting to understand that those old, tough methods aren’t working anymore, and it’s throwing him off balance. He’s losing control, both of his relationship with his son and of his own sense of reality. It’s like everything is just falling apart for him.

The scenes with Annabella were powerful because my character really revealed his feelings to her. He confessed he’d never harmed a woman, and I added a line about his father possibly being abusive towards his mother – they ended up cutting that, but I thought it added depth. I wanted to suggest a history of violence he was consciously choosing not to repeat, which connects to his wife’s potential disappointment. It was a strange scene, but I really enjoyed working with Annabella. We’d been in ‘Copland’ together, but never shared any screen time. It’s always fantastic to work with such a talented actress. During the dinner scene, I improvised the line about saying grace, and then followed it up by asking if she was Catholic. They cut that part, though, because my character is Protestant.

It’s crazy how deeply I got into the character! I was even defending him to my wife this morning while walking the dogs, saying I didn’t think he was that bad. She quickly reminded me I was playing a total psycho – kidnapping someone and then asking them to say grace is pretty extreme! But as an actor, I always try to understand my characters and fight for their motivations. I think villains are scarier when you can find a relatable core to them. And it’s important to remember just how brutal Manfredi is capable of being. Honestly, my character’s actions weren’t that far off from what Manfredi did – he witnessed terrible things and just walked away. Now, he’s even more determined to show how ruthless he can be.

There’s a scene from an earlier episode I remember fondly – my character completely breaks down, grabs an axe, and almost hurts his son. He stops himself, realizing what he’s doing, and walks away in tears. I was happy they kept that scene because it showed a vulnerable and complicated side to him, even if he was a bit of a wild character. Acting that was incredibly fun! I really enjoyed playing Jeremiah Dunmire – he was one of my most complex roles. The more I explored the character, the more layers I discovered. I was hoping to continue playing the villain in season four, but it was time for me to move on. Now they’ve cast Gretchen Mol, who is a fantastic actress, and she’s going to be great on the show. I’m sad I won’t be there to see it! I jokingly hope my character somehow survived and returns, maybe even as a ghost. It will be interesting to see what happens with my character’s son, Cole. The tragic irony is that Jeremiah never finds out his own son was the one who betrayed him.

ScreenRant: That’s a pretty big thing for Cole to have to reckon with.

They filmed Cole getting shot and his father suffering a terrible fate, but those intense moments didn’t make the final cut. That’s the power of editing – it truly shapes the show. We shot a lot of footage to give the editors options. There was a particularly striking scene with Cole and me where I was physically abusive towards my son. He was forced to carry a heavy load uphill while I whipped him. I felt it was important to include that scene to show just how cruel I was, and to make my eventual death feel more justified, but apparently, the show was already dark enough without it!

Be sure to dive into our previous Tulsa King coverage with:

  • Our start-of-the-season interview with Robert Patrick
  • Our start-of-the-season interview with Sylvester Stallone
  • Our start-of-the-season interview with Martin Starr, Jay Will and Annabella Sciorra
  • Our start-of-the-season interview with Garrett Hedlund & Bella Heathcote
  • Our start-of-the-season interview with Kevin Pollak & Dana Delany
  • Our guide to recent updates on Tulsa King season 4’s development

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2025-11-29 00:32