The Times Square scene in I Will Find You has a deeper meaning, but here’s why it almost got cut

Harlan Coben reveals why this major scene in I Will Find You almost got cut, and what the scene actually meant for the protagonists, David and Rachel.

The show, which is number one on Netflix right now, was filmed in real locations across New York. But there was one scene the Coben genuinely wasn’t sure the team would be able to pull off.

So, which scene almost got cut?

via Netflix

Speaking to USA TODAY, Coben revealed he was worried about filming in the middle of Times Square. He remembered arriving on set late at night and wondering how the crew would ever manage to shoot there with so many people still around.

“I’m like, ‘How are we possibly going to do this?'” Coben recalled asking showrunner Robert Hull. “And we managed.”

The biggest problem was that Times Square was still packed, even though filming was due to begin around midnight. Coben thought the crew would have to wait for everyone to leave before they could start. But that wasn’t actually what happened.

Hull laughed as he remembered someone on set saying, “These extras look so real.”

“They’re just real. They’re not extras,” he replied.

So instead of filling the square with actors, the production simply filmed among the real crowds. Basically, they made one of the busiest places in New York part of the scene.

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There was another challenge too. Every night at midnight, Times Square’s giant digital billboards switch over for what’s known as the “Midnight Moment”, where they all display the same piece of digital artwork. The crew had to wait until that had finished before they could finally start filming.

According to Hull, all of that was worth it because the location was perfect for David’s story. “We wanted to put [David] in the most crowded cacophony of sounds and sight, and it’s a real testament to Sam’s performance,” Hull said.

“Just watching him take it in is pretty spectacular,” he added.

Sam Worthington reveals what the scene meant for David and Rachel

via Netflix

Sam Worthington, who plays David Burroughs, said the location helped him understand exactly what his character was feeling. “Even if you lived in New York City like I have for decades, Times Square can still be overwhelming,” he said. “So imagine what it’s like if you’ve been locked up. It’s going to be too much. It’s going to be a visceral reaction; it’s a sickness.”

Worthington also joked that, for once, David wasn’t the hero of the story. He said his character was “the damsel in distress”, adding that Rachel “is the heroic one, coming in and saving him and pushing him through this story.”

Meanwhile, Britt Lower, who plays Rachel, had a very different memory from that night shoot. She laughed, “I remember being wide awake and just being so hungry for a burger. That’s all I wanted. There must have been burger ads.”

I Will Find You is available on Netflix now. For all the latest Netflix news and drops, like The Holy Church of Netflix on Facebook.