9-1-1’s Ryan Guzman reveals how he’s been playing ‘Buddie’ relationship this season

9-1-1 star Ryan Guzman has revealed how he’s been playing his character, firefighter Eddie Diaz, in relation to his bisexual best friend and potential future love interest Buck (Oliver Stark) in season 9.

Fans have been shipping best friends Eddie and Buck together since season 2 of the show, but the last few seasons have hinted that the pairing, known as ‘Buddie’, may actually be on the cards in future episodes.

In episode ‘Mother’s Boy’ earlier this season, Buck and Eddie went on the road trip from hell, resulting in the pair getting into a car crash, Buck being kidnapped, and Eddie breaking out of hospital in New Mexico to rescue him and have an emotional (and ridiculously romantic) reunion.

All the while, the locals – including the sheriff investigating Buck’s disappearance – continually treated the pair like a spatting married couple.

Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, Guzman shared that he doesn’t think Eddie was aware that’s how he and his best friend were being viewed.

“I think Eddie lives in such naivety, and he’s oblivious to so much that that’s kind of the texture of the character,” he said. “I think if he knew what that looked like or played into that, it wouldn’t read as well, to be honest. So him having that spat with Buck, not knowing that he looks like the exact married couple that you see on TV, amplifies that scene.”

Towards the start of the episode, Eddie has a run-in with a local ruffian in a diner when the latter remarks that they “don’t see a lot of [their] kind around here” and Eddie gets ready to throw hands.

“Eddie has no clue where that’s coming from, and he’s just so irate at that point that he’s looking to throw his anger at somebody,” Guzman said. “So he goes after that guy, and he just leans into it, and it’s still not clicking to him like, “What the hell’s happening?” He just wants to hurt somebody. But yeah, I think, again, his naivety is what’s allowing all the tension to build.”

Season 8 episode ‘Holy Mother of God’ shocked Buddie shippers to the core last year when both Buck’s sister Maddie (Jennifer Love Hewitt) and Buck’s ex-boyfriend Tommy (Lou Ferrigno Jr.) questioned whether Buck was in love with Eddie to Buck himself.

More than a season on, Guzman maintains that Eddie still has no idea that Buck could potentially be interested in him romantically. “You don’t know what you don’t know, at the end of the day,” he told The Hollywood Reporter.

Earlier this year, 9-1-1 showrunner Tim Minear said that he thinks “the possibility of [Buddie] is what’s exciting,” and Guzman recently agreed, explaining how he’s been playing his character as far as Buddie is concerned.

“If anything, I’ve leaned more into just playing the truth of where Eddie is,” he said. “That’s his best friend, and he cares about him in a very, very deep way.”

He went on to explain how he pulls from his own experiences with his friends. “I’d do anything and everything I possibly could for them, especially their families. So I think the truth of Eddie at this point in time is leading into that naivety.”

He continued: “If Buck were to present anything else [to him other than friendship], I haven’t even wrapped my head around how Eddie would understand how to move forward with that, other than being caught off guard, I guess.

“It’s almost like when something’s so close, you can’t see [the bigger picture]. It’s right under your nose, but you can’t see it. I think that’s how it’s meant to be played. So, yeah, I have no clue what the future holds… Tim is the Almighty, and we’ll see what happens.”

So far, 9-1-1 has certainly not been shy in exploring the limits of Buck and Eddie’s relationship, but will Buck and Eddie ever explore each other’s bodies? We’ll see what happens indeed.

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