Andrea Roth – Marvel’s Cloak & Dagger

By: Jamie Steinberg

Q) What are the recent projects that you have been working on?

A) “13 Reasons Why” Season Two came out and I played Jessica’s mom. Because I got “Cloak & Dagger” I was only able to do five episodes of “13 Reasons” so some things had to get reworked and rewritten. I haven’t yet seen it because I’ve been a bit busy and I have an eight-year-old daughter. But I’m very much looking forward to sitting down and seeing how the season came out.

Q) How was your character Melissa Bowen originally described to you?

A) They were very secretive. I got an audition with fake names and they didn’t say what the project ultimately was, but with a little sleuthing on the internet I knew it was a Marvel show. I tried to research it a little bit. My character was not a major character in the comic book so from the material I could see that this character was now living in a trailer as a waitress. I don’t know if I knew so much at the drinking. There was a probably a little hint about it with her pouring herself a drink after work. The scene was just really interesting with its simplicity and the character seemed to have some complexities.

Q) She does seem to be drowning her sorrows. What is it about her former life that haunts her?

A) I think as the show goes on more and more will be revealed. She seems to have some problems – an addiction to possibly painkillers before her husband was killed. So, there was already a bit of a reliance on drugs when they were living in their beautiful home and living their beautiful life. Then, of course, my husband (Tandy’s father) was killed in a freak storm thing. I guess my Spidey instincts, my need to vindicate his name and my knowledge of him and how intelligent he was I would not believe that he was the one who had caused the explosion. So, I’ve been obsessed with that. The way I coped and dealt with my grief was to turn to alcohol. And although she drinks a lot, it’s not like she drinks 24/7. She kind of wakes up and thinks, “I’m not going to drink today,” and every once in a while, she doesn’t. It’s just she’s become dependent on the escapism of it and not having to feel things or look at her life.

Q) She and Tandy aren’t very close. Is there something that happened with Mr. Bowen that she holds against Tandy or is it she spends her evenings drowning her sorrows so she doesn’t keep much of an eye on her daughter?

A) Yeah, I think ultimately my lack of good mothering pushed…Well, I wouldn’t say pushed. I think Tandy (Olivia Holt) smartly ran away from it. Tandy, as a child, saw that I was not available or when I was it was very haphazard and confusing when I chose to be a little more available. I think my choice to use alcohol and drugs pushed my daughter away and made her develop a tough outer shell and then, unfortunately for her, she also started to use drugs to numb some of the pain she dealt with.

Q) Melissa isn’t all cold. She has a great boyfriend who seems to really care about her (or did). What did she see in Greg that really allowed her to open up more and connect with him – despite him being married?

A) I’m sure there are a few things, but I think one of the things that most attracted Melissa was that he was a lawyer and when I told him my story of Roxxon and I wanted to prove my husband was innocent and that the company was doing something but I’m not quite sure what it was…I think he was probably one of the first people to actually listen and hear me because that is also another thing that pushed Tandy away – my not letting go of the Roxxon stuff and being obsessed with it and trying to clear my husband’s name. I think he thought there was something to it and that I was a total hot mom. [laughs] I think that he ultimately is a good, kind human. I think the combination of two things opened her heart up a bit to be hopeful in their relationship.

Q) What were some of your most memorable moments from filming “Cloak and Dagger?”

A) Working with Olivia is wonderful. She’s just the most composed, professional, kind, fun, dedicated and hardworking actress. So, working with her is just a lot of fun. I love the end of scenes when she’s doing emotional things that I’ve been in with her where I witnessed that she really feels it all and kind of goes through the stuff. Sometimes we’ll still be crying a bit afterwards so it’s just going in and giving her a hug or the two of us after our scenes where we’re both quite awful to each other she’ll say, “Mommy, I love you!” Then, we’ll both go in and hug each other. I think our stuff isn’t as light so there aren’t as many light moments on set. It was always some heavy stuff. It is just sort of a blur of us doing scenes and figuring out our mother-daughter very complex relationship, but it felt very much like a team with the two of us trying to figure it all out.

Q) You are a part of the series “13 Reasons Why.” What did you find challenging about playing Jessica’s mother?

A) My job was very easy on the show because Alisha [Boe] is carrying such intense weight of what her character is going through. Again, I was blessed with another actress like Alisha who is so present and so truthful. So, once the camera starts rolling it’s just being in it and feeling it. I guess the toughest thing would be witnessing this girl going through an emotional rollercoaster that she does very well. My job is to be the mom trying to get some information out of her and open up and talk about some things. My job was pretty easy on that show.

Q) What do you hope viewers take away from watching this series?

A) There is so many things! I think with “13 Reasons” there are just so many characters from different walks of life and different ethnicities that I think everyone can relate to so many characters. I think, ultimately, all of them feel alone and that’s a universal thing. At one point or another, especially teenagers, can feel overwhelmed and alone for various different reasons. Finding someone going through the same thing that you are is very difficult and the show really covers a huge majority of the things that kids relate to. I also know that adults love to watch it and my hope is that adults and kids can watch it together and it brings up a discussion. Parents not liking certain things, sexual promiscuity and even some parents who may have trouble accepting homosexual relationships – I think it is just a really great eye opener for parents to see the open truthful world that these teenagers are now living in. It’s very, very different than it once was and it will give them some insight and hopefully for the parents to learn and see and have some understanding and some compassion as well. I hope it brings parents together through discussion. Even if it causes some conflict with families then great because it might need to be discussed. If you’re observing your child and it seems really easy and you don’t have to worry about early promiscuity, drugs or anything – I think it’s watching this and asking some questions you can just learn so much from your kids.

Q) You often take on a lot of dramatic roles. Is there something about this genre that draws you to it?

A) No one will hire me for anything else. [laughs] No one is running after me for my comedy. [laughs] Really, I think it’s because I innately get excited by psychological complexities, trying to understand them. It’s exciting to play. It’s scary. It’s challenging. It’s intimidating and I think, especially the older you get, it pushes you to try to learn and figure out how to portray it and be in that person’s skin. I love psychology. I just think it’s a great way to learn things about yourself. People ask, “What do you have in common with Melissa Bowen?” Well, absolutely nothing other than I am a mother and I make mistakes and I have fierce mama bear instincts. I’m obviously fiercely loyal to my daughter. I’m sure that at times we all have certain things that keep us from being as present with our children as we should be, so I just have to imagine someone drinking and completely zoning out a lot. But I always go back to thinking, “I understand what grief is. I understand what loss is. And if I just didn’t have the skills to pull myself up after a normal grieving process what would that have been like?” Or, if I got into an addiction, living in that moment for so long and the self-disgust. I think every morning Melissa wakes up and she is disgusted with herself for drinking again. She may have said something mean to her daughter and pushed her daughter away or Greg away.

Q) You are a part of social media. Do you enjoy the instant fan feedback you receive to the projects that you do?

A) I do! I just wish that my brain and my hands could keep up. I’m new to this. Like when “Rescue Me” was on, Twitter didn’t exist. I feel like it didn’t exist. Even selfies, I’m on a learning curve – one that I’m not that quick at. But I’m trying because I love our show and I want to be supportive. And I love the instant feedback and that fans can become engaged. It’s so lovely and heartwarming what they think of you or your work. But it’s also time consuming. (Maybe that’s why I haven’t done it before.) It’s also a touch scary that people have direct access to you. I’m a bit older though. I’m coming into this world at a later time in my life. But I think it’s awesome and I’m on a learning curve so I’m just starting to figure out how to type faster and keep focused. Between live tweeting things are happening so fast, we’re all together and people are talking. The first time I missed pretty much the entire show. I’d look up and go, “Oh. Wow.” I didn’t get to watch it though as I only got to see little bits but didn’t get to watch the whole show. Since I have kids, they have a very high functioning ability to watch the show and tweet. I would just like to be able to pick up the phone and call and say, “Here’s what I think…” Talking off the cuff is easier for me.

Q) What would you like to say to everyone who is a fan and supporter of you and the work you do?

A) I say thank you very, very much for supporting me and the show. I’m very, very grateful because I wouldn’t be getting paid without them because it makes it so much more fun and appealing if people watch and relate. I don’t want people relating to her drunkenness, but I hope they are getting something out of this mother-daughter relationship. Just thank you very much. I’m very lucky and blessed in my life. I thank anyone who watches and supports.