Kasha Kropinski – Hell On Wheels

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

A) Well, the thing about “Hell On Wheels, ” it is on an unusual shooting schedule. It precludes us for the most part from doing other projects because we are shooting in Canada for half the year. Then, when we come back home, all the pilots that were casting while we were filming are already filming. So, it’s a difficult kind of revolving door as I’ve done “Hell On Wheels.” There are a few projects that I have had to pass on because the scheduling doesn’t work out. It’s just a question of luck and being in the right place at the right time for all of the pieces to fall into a conducive place.

Q) How was your character Ruth originally described to you?

A) When I auditioned for the role, my sides noted that Ruth was quite saucy and quite forward. She was advanced in knowing and precocious. My audition scene was with Joseph (Eddie Spears) and Ruth was reading the story of Adam and Eve from The Bible. She’s talking about seduction and temptation, the juices of the forbidden fruit. It was quite audacious language for her! When I booked the job, obviously, you can see that is not at all what Ruth was and how she was written. So, when I came on to the show Ruth was quiet, demure, subservient and very reserved. That was almost the opposite from what I had auditioned with and I wasn’t expecting that. It was a complete turn around for the character when I joined the show. I wasn’t sure what to expect because the scripts were so different from how I had envisioned her and how I had portrayed her. It’s always interesting to see the evolution, how things change in the writers’ room and how the characters relate to one another.

Q) For it time it seemed Ruth possibly had romantic feelings for Cullen and the cast has such great chemistry together. Was there an instant connection between all of you or did you spend some time to bond as a cast?

A) I am about ten years younger than the rest of the cast. MacKenzie [Porter], who came on to play Naomi, took that mantle away from me so I’m not the youngest anymore. I didn’t really socialize with the cast much. They would go out drinking and that’s not really my idea of a good time. I didn’t join in with them and I didn’t get to know anybody really well. It’s only now, towards the end of this season, that I’ve gotten to know the cast members a bit. We didn’t have bonding exercises or trust workshops where we developed relationships with one another. Really, honestly, I don’t like to work like that. The less I know about the person the more I prefer it, actually. I feel like that creates more of a separation, for me, as an actress. It is less distraction in a scene if I don’t know too much about my scene partner. Sometimes I’ll be acting with someone in a scene and it will look completely different on screen than it felt to act in the performance. I think that is something intangible and I don’t think it is necessarily something you can work on or develop. You can be best friends with someone and have absolutely no chemistry with them on screen or be completely in love with someone and have no chemistry. It’s a delicate, unknowable thing. Personally, it comes across on screen. I don’t think there is anything an actor can do to convey that or portray that necessarily. But I’m glad people are responding to it.

Q) It seemed Ruth was disappointed when Cullen returned to town with a family. What was going through her mind when he came back?

A) That is revealed in episode 4-12. You get the answer to that question. I won’t give anything away, but that episode reveals all. Ruth lays herself bare and we get to know her. We get to understand what she has been going through and how she feels, all the emotions that have been burdening her. Ruth is not necessarily an expressive person. We’ve never seen her really talk to anybody, except to Eva (Robin McLeavy) on that one occasion. She has never trusted anyone to give herself over completely. Given where she is and her circumstances after killing Sydney Snow (Jonathan Scarfe), she is in a heightened state. She has nothing left to lose.

Q) We have learned Ruth’s background. She had a rough upbringing and her father became a religious zealot. Is that what makes her so pious and strengths her religious beliefs?

A) I thought the reason that Ruth dedicated herself so entirely and committed her intensely to spreading the word of God and being a pious and religious woman was because she grew up witnessing all this violence. She grew up in quite a toxic, unpleasant, negative and overwhelming environment. We learned in the second episode of this season that Ruth had brothers. She had that influence and she had her father’s influence. I think that strengthened her resolve to be a pure and good and nonviolent person. I think she felt  that somewhere within her there was a capacity to be violent if she had to be or perhaps she even wanted to be. That’s her whole life and she has devoted herself to being a woman of God in almost retaliation to her father. She wanted to be better than her father. She wanted to pursue light and goodness and not succumb to that darkness that she was surrounded by growing up. That’s why killing Sydney is such a significant moment for her. Killing in violence is something she has spent a lot of time and energy in her life to avoiding and, yet, she snaps and it happens anyway. All of her work is for not. All of her passion and devotion to goodness and to spirituality is eradicated in the space of two seconds. We filmed a scene where she says that her brothers taught her how to use a gun. That’s something that we are ultimately not going to see on show, but that’s how she knew what she was doing. When I was being taught how to use the gun, I had absolutely no idea how it worked. The concept that Ruth would find a gun, know how to cock a gun and know how to shoot it not once, but twice was completely unrealistic to me. I decided and I asked if we could put it into the script that Ruth’s brothers taught her because that is the only way feasible. As I said, it’s just everything she thought she believed in and everything she thought she was is obliterated. She is left in a vacant space. Up to that point, she always tried to practice what she preached and everyone witnesses her killing this man. She can’t really tell anybody what to do anybody anymore or advise anybody anymore because she has gone against her word and that’s also disturbing for her.

Q) Ruth has been raising this orphaned boy. What else is in store for Ruth the remainder of the season?

A) I don’t know what to say without giving it away! There is a lot that goes on this next episode. Obviously, there has been a seismic shift in her personality and in her identity. We witness the repercussions and the consequences of what she has done and how that effects her. That has fundamentally altered her. It’s rendered her almost into a more pure state because she has lost everything. She has become this person who she never thought she would become and that has given her the opportunity to just leave no holds bard and be who she truly is and reveal of herself. You will discover Ruth’s heart and soul. I think that is the best way to put it.

Q) What have been some of your most memorable moments from filming “Hell On Wheels?”

A) My favorite scenes of this season is in episode 4-10. I loved the conversation that Ruth and Cullen (Anson Mount) have in the burned church. I really enjoyed filming that scene. Also, the scenes with Sydney – I have never done anything like that before. Obviously not in real life, but also not on the show. That was unusual and it was an empowering moment for Ruth. To see her strength and courage and her self possession I thought was something I also enjoyed because we have never seen that from her before. I think the most memorable is in tonight’s episode. I can’t say what it is, but I had very strange dreams after filming 4-12.

Q) We recently learned that Season Five will be the final for “Hell On Wheels.” What do you hope the legacy is of the show?

A) That’s a lofty question! I have heard that it is going to culminate in the completion of the railroad. It’s astonishing to me that the railroad was actually built and that it changed America. It influenced progression and development and it effected the country. The fact that we have been portraying that on screen is quite remarkable because all of these – Obviously, we’ve taken liberties with storylines and we can’t know what actually truly happened throughout the building of the railroad. To think that we are representing the men and women who accomplished this feat and changed the course of history is quite rare. It’s not always the case of a period piece, but this is a period piece that is actually representing something that transpired in history. That’s not always the case. The fact that you can imagine these people and we are the conduit for their experiences and we get to watch that on the screen today is quite remarkable. Hopefully, we are honoring and playing homage to all those lives, all those men and women who made it possible and changed the course of their country’s history. We are honoring their lives and all the stories of those men and women in “Hell On Wheels.”

Q) You are a part of social media. Do you enjoy the instant fan feedback you receive when episodes air?

A) I am such a grandma and I’m also such a Victorian person. I find the Internet so overwhelming, unyielding and so difficult to navigate. But it is so wonderful to hear that people are enjoying my work or my performances. I receive such lovely messages from people. That’s so humbling and heart warming to know that people are responding to my work. I am so pleased that I have the opportunity to interact with them and know that they appreciate what I’m doing. I’m very grateful for that.

Q) Many people might not be aware that you are quite an accomplished ballet dancer. Will we get to see you on stage again soon?

A) I think my professional ballet dancing days are behind me. I developed a lot of injuries when I was dancing and that is why I had to stop. I would love to dance again somehow. I think I would have to develop a way that wouldn’t be too painful or cause me more injuries. I’d love to be back on the stage, not necessarily dancing, but just to do a play or musical. I love theater. I adore theater! It’s such an incredible feeling to perform for a live audience. I’d love to do that again. Hopefully, that is in the cards for the future.

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

A) I would like to thank them profusely. I would like to say how much I appreciate their kindness and support. The fact that they have stood by Ruth…Because I know a lot of people didn’t care for her a bit. I think the tides have turned and a lot of people seem to be on her side now. It’s so reassuring to me. I know that Ruth is not a real person, but I like the idea that people are rooting for her and wanting for her to survive and come out through the end of the tunnel and into the light. I am just immensely grateful and full of appreciation for the people who support me and like me. It’s a lovely feeling.