Cara Gee – InHuman Condition

By starrymag | September 8, 2016

By: Lisa Steinberg

 

Q) How was your character Tamar originally described and broken down for you? Did she evolve or change at all as filming began?

 

A) I was originally sent the entire script, so my first exposure to Tamar was reading her entire arc. I was sold on the project right then and there. I met with director Jared Pelletier right before filming and we went over some ideas that he brought back to RJ Lackie, the creator and writer. They were both really responsive to my ideas and we were able to include them. I can’t say too much more without spoilers! Certainly the choices I went in with on day 1 were consistent for the duration of shooting. We all had to come in super prepared because we only had five days to shoot the whole thing!

 

Q) Tamar seems to be filling voids with sarcasm and distractions, does she see a light or has she been dragged to another dark place?

 

A) I think she’s pissed off. She has been controlled and manipulated for her whole life and she’s sick of it. She’ s becoming independent. Expressing her negative emotions is one way to set herself apart from The Centre and Kessler (Torri Higginson). She is less and less interested in pleasing people and I don’t think that’s a bad thing. I think that IS the light.

 

Q) What has been your favorite part of Tamar’s character development?

 

A) One of the biggest reasons I wanted to do this project is Tamar’s incredible arc. In the beginning, she is so afraid of her power and FAIR ENOUGH! She has been raised completely alone in a cold and sterile institution. The guilt of having accidentally killed people with her power hangs over her at every moment. But as she learns to stand on her own, she begins to question the way she was raised. She is learning to think for herself. That is my favorite part of her development. Being able to think critically and separate ourselves from what is ingrained in us from birth is how we move away from prejudice. So, I really love seeing a character move in that direction right before our eyes.

 

Q) Tamar has this tenseness and fragility, but also tremendous power and inner strength. How do you as an actress balance and approach this?

 

A) I just really relate to those aspects of Tamar, I suppose. It’s just me, guys. [laughs] You’re seeing flashes of my anxiety as well as the dream-powerhouse-Sasha Fierce version of myself that I have inside. It’s really fun to get to play these different versions of myself in one complex character. As far as balance, the biggest challenge of this job was plotting how confident/insecure Tamar is in every given episode. I wanted her growth to be as believable to our fans as it was to me when I read it.

 

Q) Besides Graham and Kessler, will we see Tamar extend her relationships? Has she invested herself too far already with Graham who still has ties to and is a monitor for the centre?

 

A) Oh dear. I don’t want to spoil anything, but obviously Graham (played by Robin Dunne) is a megababe. So, I think Tamar is probably gonna try to ride that out for as long as she can. Plus she loves him.

 

Q) What was the hardest scene for you to film and why?

 

A) On any given day, the last scene of the day would be the hardest. We were shooting something like 30 or 40 pages a day and by the time we got to the last scene my brain was just so full of words. It was an incredible challenge. I don’t know how Torri Higginson did it. She is a champion.

 

Q) What I love about the writing is it has this deeply rooted darkness but then also at times it seems so soft and poignant light. What can you talk about working with the writers?

 

A) RJ was incredibly collaborative, he knows that script inside and out. He knows the characters really, really well. So if you throw an idea at him, he’s open to working with it because he is so prepared. I have such admiration for him and I feel grateful to be able to work with him so early in his career. He is going to be very famous.

 

Q)  You have played a lot of fierce but flawed females, I especially love your work on “Strange Empire.” Can you talk about what it is about these roles that you might gravitate towards and their significance?

 

A) Thank you for saying so. Wow. This is an essay question! Seriously. There is so much to be said about roles written for women and in particular First Nations women and women of color. I LOVE that I am becoming the go-to woman for these tough, smart, badass characters. Truly, it’s a dream typecast. Give me a pretend gun and let me shoot some blanks and act tough! Brrrrap! It’s completely empowering. But then again I also just finished filming a romantic comedy called Red Rover with Kristian Bruun where I played a quirky, funny musician love interest. It’s nice to be able to bounce around to different projects and share all the different facets of my weirdness. As far as the significance of these roles, there are people who can speak to this much better than I. My favorite is Dylan Marron who created the project #EverySingleWord. Check it out. http://www.dylanmarron.com/every-single-word/

 

Q) As we move towards the finale, is there anything you can tease about Tamar’s story and what lengths she might take to keep from another incident or going back to the centre?

 

A) Oh man, it gets so good. You have to watch. Tamar does not disappoint.

 

Q) What have you taken away from your experiences being a part of this series?

 

A) I now have a new community of artists I love. Producer Steph Ouaknine is an inspiration. Everyone at Smokebomb is the…bomb (sorry). I am thrilled to get to know RJ and to tell a story that metaphorically speaks about issues facing marginalized people. Sharing that outsider perspective is what I live for because I believe it can bring us together and make the world a better place.