Julie Benz – Defiance

By starrymag | July 16, 2014

Q) This year it seems Amanda is really in a dark place following the death of her sister and she’s almost on the edge a little bit as far as her own turmoil. What’s it like to play her at this stage of her life right now?

A) Well, Amanda doesn’t know what’s happened to Kenya. To her, Kenya has disappeared, so she doesn’t’ know where she is. She doesn’t know if she’s alive or dead. She doesn’t really know what’s happened. And Amanda’s really struggling because in all the ways in which she defined herself are gone. She lost the election. Her sister has disappeared. And the town of Defiance itself is redefining itself. So, she is very much on edge and being influenced by some not very positive forces. As an actress, it’s exciting to play her right now at this stage of her life. Season one Amanda was the optimist and the hope for Defiance. She was the idealist and we didn’t get to see much of the dark side to her. In season two, we really get to explore her underbelly and all that darkness that exists within her. And I love that part.

Q) What’s it like for her to deal with the new government that’s in place? I know that in the first episode she might actually be helping out. So do you think there’s a bit of a conflict for her there?

A) Oh, definitely. Amanda used to work for the Earth Republic years ago and she left because she didn’t believe in with the Earth Republic stood for. And she really believes in Defiance as maintaining its independence. But like I said before, she doesn’t know how to live without some semblance of power. And I think for Amanda, she feels that having one hand on the steering wheel is better than not having nothing in the car at all. So she definitely is trying to help, but she doesn’t necessarily believe in what Earth Republic stands for.

Q) Obviously, Amanda and Nolan’s relationship is changing at the beginning of this season. Is a lot of that is for work and pleasure, or is there maybe a deeper connection that’s going to develop over this season?

A) Well, I think it’s a bit of both. I think that they obviously have an attraction to each other and there’s a familiarity with him from the world because the world now has changed. Now that he’s back there’s – it’s almost like a touchstone to her sister in some ways. But we do see their relationship evolve and change throughout the season and I don’t necessarily know – I think Nolan and Amanda are very damaged people that have a really hard time connecting.

Q) You mentioned that Amanda doesn’t know Kenya isn’t dead. The audience isn’t 100% on that either and Kevin Murphy didn’t exactly rule it out when we talked to him a week or so ago. Do you think there’s a chance Kenya might come back?

A) Yes because I don’t think – we may see her again. I don’t think we fully know what happened to her.

Q) Amanda had some great scenes in the first season with Datak. Are the two of them going to form an alliance this season and does Amanda trust Stahma?

A) Wow. During the nine months on the end of season one to the beginning of season two, Amanda and Stahma did form a friendship and so it’s beginning of season two – Amanda does trust Stahma to an extent. We see that relationship evolve throughout the season, but yes. I think that Stahma has been there for Amanda during this hard time and obviously is providing her with Adreno. And so there has been a close bond formed between the two of them. I don’t think Amanda would ever trust Datak to join up with him.

Q) I was wondering if we’re learning more about Kenya and Amanda’s past this season?

A) Yes, we do get to see and learn more about their past – a little bit about their past. And the whole journey for Amanda this season is trying to rebuild her life after Kenya’s disappearance, and through that we definitely – there’s a lot more revealed about their past life.

Q) Amanda is turning out to be a very complex character and I was wondering what your favorite character trait of Amanda was.

A) I love how the writers have written all the women on this show as being extremely complex because that’s how women really are in life. I love that Amanda can be so deeply flawed, and especially this season we really start to see her flaws. But she’s still the hero, and we still root for her. And you don’t see that very much in television. Women are still very much written as stereotypes, whether they’re the mother, the wife, the victim. Men have a lot more leeway in television as characters, where they can be flawed by they can still be heroes. And that’s what I really love about Amanda, she obviously has a drinking problem from last season. She loves her Scotch. This season has a little bit of a drug addiction as well. But yet she’s still the hope for the town. You still are rooting for her. You still want her to succeed. And she’s still very capable of doing her job, even with all these dark issues from – that she’s dealing with and struggling with. So I love how fully rounded she is as a human being. She’s not perfect at all and she doesn’t have to be perfect in order to be the hero.

Q) One thing I notice about Amanda’s look this year is it’s darker, but it has kind of a 1940’s flavor to it -if you can comment on her new wardrobe this year.

A) I love her wardrobe this year. It’s nice to see her change it up a bit. Our costume designer, Simonetta was definitely going for that 1940’s feel as well as with a little bit of “Bladerunner” kind of mixed into it. So, it’s interesting because a lot of the response to the veil that Amanda wears has been that she’s in mourning, but the veil is not representative of her in mourning. The veil is actually part of her costume running the NeedWant and a way to keep her distance – her eyes shielded from people so as not to reveal her drug addiction and things like that. It’s kind of a way to keep her mask on. It was interesting to me that the audience was thinking she was in mourning because she’s not in mourning. She doesn’t know what’s happened to Kenya. It’s just her NeedWant costume, per se. It’s nice to change it up and I love the choices that Simonetta made with Amanda’s wardrobe this year. The wardrobe gets better and better as the season progresses.

Q) Now, have you noticed when you all went back to work this year that the sets of Defiance have kind of been “grunged up” a little bit and made a little bit more run down. Have you all noticed that?

A) Yes. I think a lot of it is wear and tear, but also the backlog is in Toronto and they have extreme weather conditions up there. So some of it is wear and tear on the backlot; but also part of it was to show the transformation of the Earth Republic taking over, to make it feel like the town has an occupying Army.

Q) Speaking of the backlot, your show has such a detailed set — not just the backlot, but all of it. Do you have a favorite part, in particular?

A) Well, I do have a fondness for the Mayor’s office. And I love the changes that they made last year to this year. Last year the Mayor’s office was very old-world. It was still kind of Mayor Nicky’s influence. You never felt like it was Amanda’s office. And this year, all Pottinger all the time. It’s totally his influence — much more modern, much more comfort, not so much of – Amanda’s office always had people in it and it was always the place for big meetings, whereas Pottinger’s office, you can tell is pretty much his own space and not very welcoming. So yes, I do love the Mayor’s office. And I love the backlot. The backlot is just so extraordinary — Doc Yewll’s office. I don’t know if you had a chance to visit the set, but Doc Yewll’s office actually has these living plants in it and it’s so cool to be in Doc Yewll’s office. You really feel like you’re in this post-apocalyptic, other-worldly doctor’s office. And there’s all sorts of props and set dressing that we all fiddle with and play with.

Q) All the plastic bugs. All I remember is plastic bugs.

A) Bugs and bottles and plants and I think there’s an old-fashioned hair setting lamp, where – like really old, old school where the metal rollers attach to a heat lamp. It’s so bizarre.

Q) I know obviously you’ve talked about how she’s taking the blue devil and everything, but besides the fact of how it’s connecting her to Pottinger and Stahma and all that, are they really going to go into her addiction or anything like that? Or is that not really part of the storyline this season?

A) No, we definitely see her struggle with her addiction. And Adreno’s not a fun drug to be addicted to. So we definitely see it take its toll on Amanda and her drinking as well starts taking its toll.

Q) Defiance is a different kind of town now. Do you think Amanda would ever consider leaving it?

A) As long as Kenya is disappeared, I don’t think Amanda would ever leave because her hope would be that Kenya would return. But if Kenya does ever return, then that could possibly be an option for Amanda. However, I do think she truly believes in the town of Defiance, and that’s her greatest personal connection is to the town. Defiance is her lover in many ways. And so she’s very invested in the town of Defiance. I don’t know. I really don’t know. It would be interesting to see if she could leave. I don’t know if she could.

Q) In recent pictures we’ve seen you sporting lovely brunette hair. What inspired the change?

A) I was working on a movie called Havenhurst and I dyed my hair for that role. And I’m looking forward to getting back to blonde at some point, but enjoying being brunette for a short period of time.

Q) For Amanda this year, without getting too specific, is there a major event going to happen for her this year?

A) There’s quite a few major events that happen for Amanda this year. She gets put through the ringer this season. It was so much fun to play all the different twists and turns that Kevin Murphy came up with for Amanda. And we get to see all different sides of her this year.

Q) Have you also had a chance to see the show that’s on right after you, “Dominion?” have you had a chance to see that one at all?

A) Yes, I watched the first episode last week.

Q) What are your first impressions so far?

A) I really enjoyed it. We share some of the same writers from our show – Todd Slatskin and Darren. They went over there. And I’ve known Todd and Darren for years. They wrote on “No Ordinary Family” as well. So it’s very exciting to see it. I am fascinated by it. I need to know what’s going on. Tom Lieber, our executive producer from “Defiance” — he also moved over to “Dominion” and he won’t tell me anything. But later on in the season, one of my friends is on the show — Amy Bailey — and I can’t wait to see her appear and see what happens with her character as well. And of course, you have Anthony Stewart Head from my years on “Buffy” and he’s just phenomenal. So I’m excited. I think Syfy has done a great double header on Thursdays with “Defiance” and “Dominion.” I think they’re a perfect pair together. It’s sci-fi mixed with fantasy and I think it’s the perfect Thursday night of television-watching.

Q) I’m getting used to Anthony Stewart Head’s American accent though. He’s not a nice man, either, so it’s definitely not Giles.

A) They used to shoot in South Africa, which I was hoping we could do a “Defiance”/”Dominion” crossover where I could go. How exciting! I know they had a lot of fun shooting in South Africa and it was a really amazing experience for all of the actors. I followed them all on Twitter and follow their pictures and was a little jealous.

 

*CONFERENCE CALL*