Yvonne Strahovski talks Emmy - Inscris-toi gratuitement et surfe sans pub !
First and foremost, the entire Emmy4Yvonne Team would like to say a huge 'Thank You' for taking the time to answer some of our questions. We know that you are extremely busy and it means so much to us that you would reach out to us in this way. Thank you so much! One of the many things that your fans admire most about your performance is your ability to convey great emotion with the use of very little or any dialog. Through facial expressions, subtle glances and body language you bring more to our understanding of the many layers of Sarah Walker than hundreds of pages of dialog ever could. Is this something you continuously work on, have trained for or does it come naturally to you as an actor? "I guess it's something that, at this stage, just comes naturally more then anything. I've been playing this character for four years now so I know her quite well. Sarah Walker was always an amazing spy, but in the beginning she was never great at expressing her emotions. I think she always felt that was something 'normal' people were good at. But being a spy, she often had to lock any emotions away, simply to just get on with the job or the task at hand. So having said all of that, there always has to be a way for the character to let the audience in. And I guess this was my way of doing it. I love watching layered performances where the subtext is richer then what's being actually said. And as those old sayings go: a picture is worth a thousand words - so do the eyes of an actor playing a character." Episode 4.09 became a fan-favorite solely because of your powerful, emotionally charged performance. You revealed Sarah's vulnerability and her utter devotion to Chuck, which are aspects of Sarah's character never blatantly shown before. What was the most enjoyable part about exploring this unseen, emotional side of Sarah? What was the biggest challenge in conveying/depicting this unseen side? "This episode, hands down, was certainly the most challenging because yes, it did ask me to push Sarah Walker to a completely new level. The thing that was extremely important to me, was making it clear that nothing mattered to Sarah Walker anymore. She didn't care about ANYTHING except finding Chuck. She didn't care what she had to lose, who she had to fight, or who she had to betray - nothing was more important then finding Chuck. The other aspect of the episode that was hugely important - was the scene where she finds him - the pay off - for all her hard work leading up to that point. I felt it had to match the extreme lengths that Sarah Walker had gone through, throughout the episode, and that's why it was so emotional. If I was going to say what was the most challenging? I would have to say it was the scene where I'm putting amonia in the needle and interrogating the Thai ambassador. Only because the director (Anton Cropper) and I wanted it to be a particular note - somewhere between chilling and determined and not caring about anything other then Chuck. The most enjoyable? Definitely the fight scene! It took about 10 hours to shoot the fight scene in the pit and I had a blast every second. It's for sure my favorite one so far." Sadness and despair are difficult emotions to fake. You pull off these emotions very well, even from as far back as season 1 with Sarah accepting Bryce's death. As an actor that has been portraying a character for years, are you able to tap into Sarah's emotions directly or do you have to work up the emotion from another area or experience out of your own life? "I tend to 'put myself in the characters shoes' more often then not, as opposed to deriving from my own life. Mainly because when playing this character, for the most part, I haven't experienced what she has (for example, fighting your way through a Thai jungle for the one you love only to find them hooked up to electrodes - never experienced that personally!). And secondly, I like to use my imagination and ask myself 'What would THIS exact situation REALLY feel like'." How do you feel about how your character has evolved throughout the show? "It's been a great journey. As I mentioned earlier, she was never very good at expressing herself and to go from that, to growing into someone who has started to express herself more is great. I feel like getting together with Chuck has finally started to open her up. This is what she has always wanted, a normal life, within her spy life. Someone like Chuck." Of the action sequences, comedy or dramatic emotional moments, which do you find most difficult and which do you find most gratifying? "Each one has its own difficulties. And it changes with every scene. Depending on the content, physical demands or emotion - they are all challenging in their own ways. Although I do have to say, it's always pretty satisfying after shooting one of those big fight scenes!" What are your thoughts on the Emmy4Yvonne campaign itself? "When I first got word of it, I was in Australia and I didn't have reception where I was staying. So I went into town to get my messages and found out from my publicist that the fans had created an Emmy campaign for me. I have to be honest, I was so touched I got teary!!! I can't believe the dedication, the effort and the support -- it's surreal. For the fans to go to such lengths is amazing. I truly have the best fans ever and I am eternally grateful for the support." Thanks so much for taking the time to answer our questions. It means more than you could know. Thank you again and we all wish you the best in everything! |
