Agam Darshi as Sanctuary's Kate Freelander. Photo by Carole Segal and copyright of The Syfy Channel.
No matter what business you happen to be in, it is always a mistake to get on your boss’s bad side. For Sanctuary’s Kate Freelander, it became a matter of life and death. When the global criminal organization called the Cabal thought the con artist had betrayed them to its archenemy, namely Dr. Helen Magnus and the Sanctuary network, they put a price on Kate’s head. She had no choice but to turn to the Sanctuary for help. What began as a temporary hideout became a new home for Kate, and she has since filled a void in Magnus’s team following the death of Helen’s daughter Ashley at the hands of the Cabal.
Given her background and tough-girl persona, it took Kate time to win over not only her new colleagues but also Sanctuary fans, the latter of which actress Agam Darshi, who plays Kate, saw as a challenge when first stepping into the role in the show’s second season.
“My character was a very controversial one for sure last year because when we first met her she wasn’t very likable,” says Darshi, “and with Sci-Fi, especially, it’s not easy to make someone like Kate likable. However, all that felt very real to me, you know? It felt like something that a girl like Kate would actually go through insofar as having to prove herself and gain the trust and friendship of others. So I liked the complexity of her story arc and the honest direction that the show’s writers took her in.
“Besides trying to make Kate likeable, I think the physicality of who she is, was another challenge for me last year. Getting comfortable firing guns and doing all that sort of stuff was pretty hard at first because it’s not something that I’m used to at all. I call Kate my alter ego because she’s very, very different from who I am, and my initial impulse was not to react the way she would. So it was quite tricky to play someone that tough and who has all these balls in the air and is fearless in a lot of ways. I tried my best to get there at the beginning of last year, and then towards the middle and by the end of the second season I felt like I finally settled into who she is.”
Kate's (Darshi) particular skill set, and her contacts, have proven to be valuable assets to Sanctuary's primary mission to protect Abnormals. Photo by Jeff Weddell and copyright of Sanctuary 2 Productions.
In the season two Sanctuary episode Penance, Kate accompanies Magnus (Amanda Tapping), Dr. Will Zimmerman (Robin Dunne) and Henry Foss (Ryan Robbins) on a mission to protect an Abnormal, Jimmy (Michael Shanks), who is transporting an elemental Abnormal inside him. When they are attacked in Chicago by a gang of Abnormals, Kate is shot and forced to take refuge with Jimmy in one of the rooms at an abandoned hotel. As Helen and the others search for them, Kate is shocked to learn that Jimmy is connected to her father’s death, which she witnessed as a child.
“I was thrilled when I received the script for Penance,” enthuses Darshi. “I had heard rumblings about an episode involving Kate’s backstory, and [co-executive producer/writer] Alan McCullough did such a great job of writing this episode. It was so honest, raw and sexy, and you get to see not only these skeletons in Kate’s closet but also discover this sad reality of how her father died at the hands of this man. Naturally I wanted to give nothing but my best performance possible with a story such as this.
“What was really cool about Michael Shanks, too, is that because he’s been in the industry for so long, it would be easy for him to kind of wave it off and make it up as he goes along. However, like me, Michael was determined to get it right from the start. So when we first met, he wanted to go over the story beats with me as well as our scenes together and discuss the relationship between Kate and Jimmy. I was so impressed by all of that because it brought another layer of truthfulness and honesty to our two characters. It was obviously important that the audience saw that connection between Kate and Jimmy in order for them to sympathize with what happens to the two of them at the end of the story.
“Working with the episode’s director, Brenton Spencer, was really interesting as well, in that Michael and I basically filmed an entire master of our scenes all at once. I don’t even know how many scenes it was, but the camera was rolling and we went through everything that happened in the hotel room between my character and Michael’s from beginning to end. It was neat to play out those scenes in such a natural way and see how everything came together. It was a different way of filmmaking and a lot about the characters and their stories, which is my favorite type of work. I mean, I love comedy and doing the physical stuff, but my favorite acting is the gritty, one-on-one scenes.”
Darshi (as Kate) and Michael Shanks (as Jimmy) in season two's "Penance." Photo by Jeff Weddell and copyright of Sanctuary 2 Productions.
Darshi had the opportunity to do that same type of acting once again in a later Sanctuary season two episode, Haunted, when her character and Bigfoot (Christopher Heyerdahl) are trapped together in an elevator while helping investigate a malevolent energy phenomenon that is attacking the Sanctuary.
“Kate and Biggie have a fun relationship. At the start of last season you kind of sensed that they didn’t necessarily get along and he’s probably the most leery of her out of everyone because of his animal instincts,” says the actress with a chuckle. “However, as the second season progressed, they began to develop a bond, and I think both of them realized that they had more in common with each other than they originally thought. I enjoy getting to play that dynamic with Christopher. He’s a very intense, gifted actor, and I’m sure you’ve heard this before, but when he steps inside Biggie’s costume he becomes Biggie and has this wonderful, sarcastic sense of humor.
“So I had a ball being stuck in that elevator with his character for that amount of time [in Haunted]. Christopher is such a professional and quite a perfectionist as well. When it comes to comedy, he knows where the beats are and when you’re supposed to look at one another and when you’re supposed to look away, because much of what we were doing in that elevator was comedic and required specific timing. Fortunately, Christopher is really good at that, and I learnt a great deal when shooting those scenes with him, together with, of course, further developing Kate’s and Bigfoot’s relationship.”
In "Haunted," Kate (Darshi) and Bigfoot - or Biggie (Christopher Heyerdahl) - get to spend some quality time together. Photo by Jeff Weddell and copyright of Sanctuary 2 Productions.
When Magnus begins receiving reports from around the world of docile Abnormals suddenly attacking human beings, she and her people travel to Mumbai, which appears to be the source of these bizarre behavioral changes. Their investigation leads them to the Cult of Kali, and a group of mercenaries who are trying to locate and take control of a super-powerful Abnormal nicknamed “Big Bertha” in Sanctuary’s two-part second season finale Kali.
“Those were a couple of very ambitious episodes to shoot,” recalls Darshi. “[Executive producer] Martin Wood was our director, and the most amazing thing about these episodes is that they had re-created Mumbai on the studio’s back lot. They constructed all these amazing buildings and dressed the set to make it look exactly like Mumbai. On top of that, it was around 35 degrees [Celsius] during the couple of weeks that we shot, so it was incredibly warm, which made things all the more authentic.
L-R: Martin Wood directs Robin Dunne (Dr. Will Zimmerman) and Darshi (Kate) in "Kali." Photo by Jeff Weddell and copyright of Sanctuary 2 Productions.
“I think everyone was genuinely excited about the fact that we were wrapping up the season with a bang and, again, it was incredibly ambitious for all those involved, from the crew to the cast, especially Robin, who had to perform that big dance sequence. Everyone came together, though, and blew it out of the water. As for Kate, she’s evolved from the person we first met at the start of the season to this pillar in the Sanctuary who tries to help save Will’s life. I just love how she’s become this real heroine and I’ve come to admire my character quite a bit.”
A humongous (and temperamental) spider, a deadly tsunami, and a visit to the afterlife – it is just another day on the job for our heroes in the Sanctuary third season opener, Kali, Part 3. Like her colleagues, Kate hit the ground running and risked her life in order to evacuate all the locals and save them from the approaching tsunami. For Darshi, filming this story was much like returning home to her second family.
“The Sanctuary set has a very warm, family feel to it, so coming back to that was really wonderful, and I felt equally as fortunate, if not more so, than I did last year to be a part of it all,” explains the actress. “In terms of playing Kate, I felt a bit wobbly at first just because I’d been away from her for six months or so. After we finished filming season two, I actually went off and did another show in Canada where I played a character who was the total opposite of Kate.
Kate (Darshi) finds herself in the middle of the danger zone in Sanctuary's third season opener "Kali: Part 3." Photo by Carole Segal and copyright of The Syfy Channel.
“So jumping back into Kate’s shoes was a little shocking at first, but Martin Wood, who directed the season opener, is a terrific guide as well as director, and he recognized that I was nervous during that first week back. One day he came up to me and said, ‘It’s OK, you’ve done this before. We love you, so just do it,’ and that really helped me. Once I got my bearings I was like, “OK, now I remember how to do this.’ It’s like riding a bike and I was able to go forward, but that first week, as happy as I was to be there, it took a bit of getting used to again.”
Her association with the Cabal well and truly over, Kate has worked hard to gain the trust of and establish relationships with Helen Magnus and her Sanctuary teammates. “There wasn’t a lot of trust from Magnus towards Kate at the beginning of last season,” says Darshi. “I think my character was even a little bit unsure about her role in the Sanctuary and not altogether certain if she could trust these people. This year, however, she definitely thinks of them as family, and I consider Magnus to be a maternal figure of sorts as well as teacher towards Kate.
“With Henry, I know some fans want to see more of a romance going on, and there’s certainly chemistry between the two of them. Theirs is quite an easy relationship, too. At the beginning of last season I felt it was more of a brotherly/sisterly thing, but, again, there’s a definite chemistry and sense of play with Kate and Henry. I think my character knows that she can pretty much get her way with Henry and ‘manipulate’ him. It’s a very friendly, flirtatious way of being. Also, Ryan Robbins and I have a fun relationship off-screen, and our writers have been working that into the episodes more and more.
“As for Robin, his character of Will challenges Kate in a very cerebral sort of way,” continues the actress. “She has never really been challenged in this way before, and there’s definitely a respect there that Kate has for Will. She also wants to prove herself to him. It’s more of a serious relationship than the one she has with Henry, and it’s nice to play that side of Kate where you can perhaps see her growing one day into more of a leader.”
Kate (Darshi) and Henry (Ryan Robbins). Photo by Jeff Weddell and copyright of Sanctuary 2 productions.
When asked about her favorite season three Sanctuary episodes, a few immediately come to the actress’ mind. “There’s one [Bank Job] that brings to light some of Kate’s past and gives you a better idea of who she was back in the day,” she reveals. “Any story that reaches into her past is a joy for me to do, because she’s trying to change and be a better person, but her past continues to haunt her.
“There’s an episode [Hero 2: Broken Arrow] where Kate develops certain abilities and that was a blast to do because I got to showcase a very sassy side of my character that I don’t think anyone has seen before. It was fun to wear a costume and play that type of personality and be very unapologetic. I absolutely loved it.
“We did another episode [Metamorphosis] that revolves around Robin’s character and was shot from Will’s point of view. It was something that, at first, takes you a little off-guard as an actor because you’re trained never to look at the camera. So it initially felt a bit strange, but as the week went on I realized that it was a neat way of shooting. This episode, which was written by Alan McCullough, has a real humanity to it and some cool scenes between Kate and Will.
“There’s an episode that I wasn’t in [Breach] – it was just Amanda and [guest-star] Ian Tracey – and it was a really physical and well-scripted one. It was written, I believe, by [series creator/executive producer] Damian Kindler, and to be honest I was surprised that the network gave them the go-ahead to do it because it’s quite intense. I really admire the producers and writers when they allow themselves to do something that’s risky. When you see them do something like that, it makes you want to up your game even more as an actor, and there is nothing wrong with that.”
Dr. Helen Magnus (Amanda Tapping), Kate (Darshi) and Will (Robin Dunne) in season three's "Bank Job." Photo by Carole Segal and copyright of The Syfy Channel.
As Darshi already mentioned, during the hiatus between seasons two and three of Sanctuary, she booked a regular role on another series, a half-hour sitcom entitled Dan for Mayor. “I played a really sweet girl named Brianna, and it was just fun to be doing comedy and working with really funny people. It was a very different set-up from Sanctuary, but it was great for me to take what I’ve learned on that show as far as the professionalism and work ethic and apply it to my work on another show. At the same time, I learnt some new things on Dan as well that I was then able to take with me and use on Sanctuary.”
Steve Eramo
As noted above, all photos by Carole Segal or Jeff Weddell and copyright of The Syfy Channel or Sanctuary 2 Productions, so please no unauthorized copying or duplicating of any kind. Thanks!
Great interview! Love the direction they're taking Kate and I can't wait to see more. However, I really do NOT want to see a relationship between Kate and Henry. Just like Darshi said, they act very much like brother and sister and it would just be too weird to watch. Both Darshi and Robbins are great actors but it would not work at all.
Posted by: Chris J | 10/28/2010 at 06:08 AM