Although Dolman says he always wanted to be a part of the entertainment industry, he wasn’t sure how to go about it until a successful high school work experience with a director of photography found him enjoying behind-the-scenes work. “It felt good; it felt like that was the realm that I belonged to,” he says. “But it wasn’t quite enough for me, personally. And I had a friend who was taking acting classes, and I thought with my aspirations of directing, I thought I should see what it’s like from the perspective of an actor. If I’m going to direct people and give them my opinions, I should see how they’re going to view me.”

His path to acting wasn’t necessarily a smooth one, but in the past decade, he has made it his career. “It wasn’t easy, and that’s what I liked about it. It was tough, and I wasn’t getting it at first,” Dolman admits. “There was a huge learning curve for me at the beginning — not that there still isn’t; there always will be. But at the beginning it was a lot steeper than it feels anyway right now. And I just kind of fell in love with it… I don’t want to say I fell into it; that’s a little cliche, but I worked hard to feel like there was a potential for me in that route.”

The “different muscle” that Dolman got to flex in playing Philip involved a very realistic portrayal of a character struggling with a heroin addiction, which has been a key part of his arc in Travelers. “My goal with the portrayal is to accurately depict what people go through in real life and not to over-embellish it or glamorize it or anything because it’s a real problem, addiction,” says Dolman. “And with that, it comes with a lot of other problems with depression, and a lot of mental health issues can be associated with that as well. Through my life I’ve struggled with those issues myself a little bit, and it was important to fulfill an honest space for him. So I think it’s something that will never fully be fixed, per se… It will always be a devil on his shoulder.”

Another key aspect of Philip’s unique position as the traveler team’s historian is how alienating his foreknowledge can be. “Everybody has somebody; Philip really doesn’t,” Dolman explains. “Even Ray isn’t much of anything; he’s a friend-ish, but not the same way that some of the other relationships are. Once Jenny comes in, obviously there’s a bit of a vulnerability. You let somebody in, and the fact that he has really no one, the way that the writers portrayed that aesthetically was really leaving him feeling lonely. He’s really alone, and honestly it just digs the hole deeper. The loneliness only gets more lonely.”

That being said, Philip is far from a dour character, and Travelers fans have found themselves charmed by the historian’s likability in, for example, caring for his pet turtle. He knows more than his fellow team members, but his expertise often becomes his anchor. “There is a well of optimism and positivity there, which is constantly being challenged through addiction, mental health, and the lack of relationship,” says Dolman. “And that’s something that I think is important: the idea of hope and looking forward to a better day.”