Jacqueline McKenzie.
In today's Sci-Fi Blast From The Past, Australian-born actress Jacqueline McKenzie talks about her first two seasons playing Agent Diana Skouris in The 4400.
Wearing high heels and an evening dress, Jacqueline McKenzie looks stunning this particular day on the Vancouver set of The 4400. The actress usually dresses much more conservatively as Diana Skouris, agent for the US Department of Homeland Security/NTAC (National Threat Assessment Center). Today, however, she and her fellow cast members are filming a special VFX shot for an episode of the show’s second season, thus her change of attire. The scene involves members of the 4400, a group of men, women and children who one day were suddenly returned to Earth after being missing anywhere from a few months to 50 years. Diana and her partner, Agent Tom Baldwin, have spent over a year delving into the mystery behind these returnees. The experience has been a life-changing one for Diana and a new acting challenge for McKenzie.
“It’s been quite a difference for me in playing Diana because she’s a tough, trained professional who’s not sitting on the sidelines; she’s actually in the centre and very much has a voice in the world that she’s in,” explains the actress. ”Also, Diana doesn’t have to fight for that voice unlike many other characters I’ve portrayed. For example, I did a film called Angel Baby and in it my character had schizophrenia. Another time I played Saint Joan at the Sydney Opera House and even though she’s the centre of her own universe and has God on her side, she’s ultimately burnt at the stake.
“So I’m familiar with portraying strong women with a great belief in what they’re fighting for and standing up for. However, they’ve usually had to fight for themselves as well, but Diana doesn’t have to do that. She’s fighting to help the 4400, who are trying to find their voices and places in society since returning from wherever they were taken. That’s been a lovely departure, or should I say arrival for me, and I’m having such a fantastic time.”
In The 4400 two-hour first season opener, the 4400 abductees, none of whom have aged a day since they disappeared or can remember where they’ve been, are rounded up by the government and quarantined. They are eventually released and reunited with their loved ones, but many are subsequently shunned and feared by those who cannot understand them. Several of the 4400 also start to exhibit superhuman abilities, and Diana and Tom (Joel Gretsch) are assigned to investigate these “gifted” people. Among them is Maia Rutledge (Conchita Campbell), an 8-year-old who can predict the future. Diana becomes so attached to Maia that she invites the little girl to move in with her. The 4400 marks McKenzie’s Sci-Fi debut, and although she loves the work, the actress was a bit intimidated by it during the first season.
“One of the big challenges for all of us, I think, last year was that we were scared,” she says. “I assumed that I was going to be replaced at every turn; that maybe they’d made a mistake [when casting me]. It wasn’t anything that anyone said to me, either. The producers and everyone else here are so friendly and supportive. It was purely my perception of things, and I wasn’t the only one who felt that way. I just think because TV can be so fickle, I thought, ‘I’ve got to be good, very good, or else.’
“This [second] year I finally feel like, OK, I still have the role. Now I can relax into my delivery and try to fill out Diana’s story and her journey as much as possible. Of course, it’s a joy working with Conchita Campbell. She’s bright as a button and a delight to be around. I recently read the script for episode 11 [The Fifth Page] and Diana and Maia get to do some juicy stuff in that. In fact, I wrote to Maira Suro [executive producer] and told her how much I’m looking forward to filming that story.”
The 4400 begins its second year with the episode Wake-Up Call, which is set six months after the season one cliffhanger, White Light. In it, audiences find Diana is not only as involved as ever with the 4400 case, but is also finalizing her adoption of Maia. “Diana is getting used to being a mom and she loves it,” notes McKenzie. “Maia needs to be looked after, and my character wants to give this little girl protection, love and safety in her life. I don’t think it’s easy, though, for Diana because she didn’t have that great of a training ground growing up. Oddly enough, it’s Maia who’s helping teach her what it truly means to be a parent.”
When it comes to partners, there is no other person Diana Skouris wants watching her back than Tom Baldwin. “She simply feels he’s the best she’s ever worked with,” says McKenzie. “As we saw in this season’s first episode, the new agent that they paired my character up with turned out, in fact, to be a snitch and he betrayed the lot of them.
“Tom is very experienced in the field. He’s quite a volatile person and has a strong emotional attachment to the 4400 as well. So there are pros and cons, but ultimately Tom’s the one who Diana should be partnered with and they bring out the best in each other. The 13 episodes we’re doing this year prove that.
“The relationships on The 4400 aren’t at all cut and dry, and that includes Tom’s and Diana’s. They’re constantly evolving and growing. I can’t tell you how pleased I am that the writers haven’t made obvious choices. I mean, they haven’t had Tom and Diana argue for argument’s sake, or thrown them in bed together. They’re just two professionals going about their daily lives and jobs with their own slants on situations. Sometimes they tread on each other’s toes but mostly they just get on with things, and I so love that.”
Having only watched the first two episodes of The 4400’s second season, McKenzie is as yet undecided on her favourite story from this year. However, she does have some favourite moments. “I love the relationship that’s grown between Diana and Marco Pacella [one of NTAC’s whiz-kids],” says the actress. “He’s played by Richard Kahan, who is a wonderful actor to work with. You look across at him in a scene and his eyes are always flashing and he’s always in the moment. I also relish my scenes with Conchita and Natasha Wagner, who plays Diana’s sister April. Those moments help further round out Diana and give me a bit more to play with, so I really enjoy doing them.”
As a child in Sydney, Australia, McKenzie was passionate about music and dreamt of one day becoming a star of musical theatre. At 17 she began singing in a rock band, and later went on to study acting for three years at NIDA (National Institute of Dramatic Arts). A gifted stage and film performer, McKenzie couldn’t be happier with her role on The 4400.
“I really feel like I’ve landed on my feet with this project,” she says. “I’ve never had the challenge of doing episodic TV to this degree. So I’m thrilled with the opportunity to learn about and try to get my head around what is an entirely different ‘animal’ from stage and films.”
Steve Eramo
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