Mireille Enos stepped into the biggest role of her career with The Killing as she took on the role of Sarah Linden in the crime drama.
I caught up with the actress to talk about the drama, which is released on Blu-Ray & DVD next week, her new movie project with Brad Pitt and what lies ahead.
- The Killing is heading to Blu-Ray & DVD in the UK later this month so for anyone who hasn't seen the series yet can you tell me a little bit about it.
The series focus on the murder of a seventeen year old girl and there are three storylines that are woven together; her family, of course, and their devastation, the story of the lead detective who I play and then the third storyline is a local political who is running for mayor and his campaign is dragged into the chaos of the investigation.
- You take on the role of Sarah Linden in the series so what was it about the character and the script that drew you to the project?
The writing of the pilot was incredibly filmic and the pacing of it was slower than anything that I had ever read for television.
And Veena (Sud) is incredibly brave in the way that she allows the story to be told in silences - sometimes I think the trap that television writing falls into is they don't trust the audience to be intelligent and so they right it all down.
And, to me, that is not the way that we speak to one another and Veena doesn't do that she allows the audience to come to their own conclusions and to follow the story through people's thoughts.
- You shot the pilot for the series when you were five moths pregnant so how much of a challenge was that?
There were days when I was tired but I was out of the first trimester - the second trimester you have more energy. But mostly it was a challenge for the wardrobe department because I kept getting bigger (laughs) my clothes had to keep going up and up.
- And the filming of the rest of the series began when you daughter was three months old so how difficult was it juggling being a mum as well as your acting commitments?
That was an amazing challenge, luckily I have a husband who took it on as a family project and we drove up to Vancouver when our daughter was seven weeks.
She was on set everyday and I would run back and forth between scenes because I was nursing. It just became all one piece and I had to think about it as one project instead of two separate parts of my life.
We just didn't sleep at all in those months as I would be up memorising in the middle of the night and then with her - it was crazy.
- How did you find shooting up in Vancouver?
Vancouver is really interesting to me as I think that it is a great backdrop for this story because it brings a sadness and moodiness to the story telling. Vancouver in summer is the most glorious place but in the winter it's a little sad - so that was great for what we needed.
- What sort of preparation did you do for the role prior to the beginning of shooting?
I just spent a lot of time thinking about the qualities of a person who is extremely good at what they do - sometimes at the expense of other areas of her life.
I was pregnant so I didn't throw myself into cop cars I just spent time thinking about her and re-reading the pilot.
- Sarah has two main men in her life her partner and then her work partner so how do we see those relationships develop over the series?
Well the relationship with her work partner starts out really bad, they are kind of allergic to one another, and then through the course of the season they come to discover that they are very much a compliment to one another and they grow to trust each other in a way that they trust very few people.
Her fiance on the other hand goes the other direction. When you see them at the beginning they are right at the point of throwing it all away for each other and then by the end the trust has been very damaged.
- How familiar were you with the original and did you have any worries - because the Danish series was so popular?
I didn't watch any of the Danish season because I thought that it would hamper me to have those performances in my mind, which I have heard are so wonderful, so I thought it best that I not watch it.
I wasn't worried... the Danish series was so acclaimed but I knew that Veena would talk all of the best parts but would still want to tell an American story. So I know that it would be a different telling of the story so I wasn't concerned.
- You are moving onto the big screen with your new project for World War Z so how has filming been going on that?
Filming has been going great - it has been a big fun crazy summer. We have been filming mostly around London and then also we were down in Cornwall and in Scotland.
- So how did the movie come about?
I was filming the first season of The Killing up in Vancouver and I was asked to put myself on a tape for World War Z - so I did in my living room late one night after shooting with my husband reading in the lines (laughs).
It was very silly. But there was something about it that they like and Marc Forster (director) asked me to come down to meet him - and it pretty much went like that.
- The film sees you joined by a great cast so how are you finding shooting with Brad Pitt & Matthew Fox
They are wonderful guys! They really are really generous, collaborative and lovely people to work with.
I have been really moved by how much of an ensemble it feels and how open everyone is to figuring out the best way to tell the story - it's been lovely.
- How does working in movies compare/differ to working on a TV project?
The biggest difference is the pacing, on The Killing we were shooting an episode every seven days; sometime we would do six or seven pages a day. But on this film we do a page and a half a day (laughs).
That is not the pace for all films because this is an action movie everything takes to set up - but that has been the main difference just everything slowing down.
- Do you like that slower pace or are you quite comfortable working reasonably quickly?
There's really fun things about both. I am just really glad to have both experiences; but sometime it is great to know 'we are going to do this in three takes' and you just throw yourself in and get it done.
And then for other projects it like 'I don't have to rush' and 'I can be in this make up chair for two hours' - there are good things about both.
- And how much are movies something that you now want to focus on or are you happy moving between the two mediums?
I am very happy moving between - especially because the TV that I am doing is for AMC and it is the best possible place that you can work in television.
- Finally what's next for you?
I am going to be shooing another film, The Gangster Squad, in October and then I have the second season of The Killing in November.
The Killing is released on Blu-ray and DVD on 26 September from Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment
FemaleFirst Helen Earnshaw
Mireille Enos stepped into the biggest role of her career with The Killing as she took on the role of Sarah Linden in the crime drama.
I caught up with the actress to talk about the drama, which is released on Blu-Ray & DVD next week, her new movie project with Brad Pitt and what lies ahead.
- The Killing is heading to Blu-Ray & DVD in the UK later this month so for anyone who hasn't seen the series yet can you tell me a little bit about it.
The series focus on the murder of a seventeen year old girl and there are three storylines that are woven together; her family, of course, and their devastation, the story of the lead detective who I play and then the third storyline is a local political who is running for mayor and his campaign is dragged into the chaos of the investigation.
- You take on the role of Sarah Linden in the series so what was it about the character and the script that drew you to the project?
The writing of the pilot was incredibly filmic and the pacing of it was slower than anything that I had ever read for television.
And Veena (Sud) is incredibly brave in the way that she allows the story to be told in silences - sometimes I think the trap that television writing falls into is they don't trust the audience to be intelligent and so they right it all down.
And, to me, that is not the way that we speak to one another and Veena doesn't do that she allows the audience to come to their own conclusions and to follow the story through people's thoughts.
- You shot the pilot for the series when you were five moths pregnant so how much of a challenge was that?
There were days when I was tired but I was out of the first trimester - the second trimester you have more energy. But mostly it was a challenge for the wardrobe department because I kept getting bigger (laughs) my clothes had to keep going up and up.
- And the filming of the rest of the series began when you daughter was three months old so how difficult was it juggling being a mum as well as your acting commitments?
That was an amazing challenge, luckily I have a husband who took it on as a family project and we drove up to Vancouver when our daughter was seven weeks.
She was on set everyday and I would run back and forth between scenes because I was nursing. It just became all one piece and I had to think about it as one project instead of two separate parts of my life.
We just didn't sleep at all in those months as I would be up memorising in the middle of the night and then with her - it was crazy.
- How did you find shooting up in Vancouver?
Vancouver is really interesting to me as I think that it is a great backdrop for this story because it brings a sadness and moodiness to the story telling. Vancouver in summer is the most glorious place but in the winter it's a little sad - so that was great for what we needed.
- What sort of preparation did you do for the role prior to the beginning of shooting?
I just spent a lot of time thinking about the qualities of a person who is extremely good at what they do - sometimes at the expense of other areas of her life.
I was pregnant so I didn't throw myself into cop cars I just spent time thinking about her and re-reading the pilot.
- Sarah has two main men in her life her partner and then her work partner so how do we see those relationships develop over the series?
Well the relationship with her work partner starts out really bad, they are kind of allergic to one another, and then through the course of the season they come to discover that they are very much a compliment to one another and they grow to trust each other in a way that they trust very few people.
Her fiance on the other hand goes the other direction. When you see them at the beginning they are right at the point of throwing it all away for each other and then by the end the trust has been very damaged.
- How familiar were you with the original and did you have any worries - because the Danish series was so popular?
I didn't watch any of the Danish season because I thought that it would hamper me to have those performances in my mind, which I have heard are so wonderful, so I thought it best that I not watch it.
I wasn't worried... the Danish series was so acclaimed but I knew that Veena would talk all of the best parts but would still want to tell an American story. So I know that it would be a different telling of the story so I wasn't concerned.
Tagged in The Killing