Raechelle Banno – Pandora

By: Jamie Steinberg

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

A) At the moment, I am in Bulgaria and I’m working on a new project called “Pandora.” It will be airing on The CW. I’ve been here for a couple months and I’ve got a couple more months to go.

Q) What made you want to be a part of the series?

A) I think when the pilot script came through I, honestly, just blew through it. Sometimes sci-fi can be quite dense to get through and this time the world was so clear. I actually stopped reading halfway through to contact my team and say, “This is going to be amazing.” It just really blew me away. It was a really solid pilot and it was very exciting to be a part of.

Q) How was your character Atria Nine originally described to you?

A) Well, she’s pretty much described as a bit of a warrior. She was recently (unfortunately) a victim of oppression. She was a slave on her home planet. She is recently liberated so she is back on Earth and determined to make a better future. So, she is kind of multi-faceted. It was something I was really excited to dive into.

Q) Was there anything you added to this role that wasn’t initially scripted for you?

A) I think I really wanted to show her light and shade, which I’ve been able to do in some of the episodes with her storylines and stuff like that. But she is sort of puts herself across as quite a happy-go-lucky, just happy to be alive kind of gal, which is beautiful and really pure. However, I did want to show her learning to be amongst humans. She doesn’t necessarily understand social cues so I wanted to slowly develop that. She kind of puts her foot in her mouth from time to time. But I really wanted to show her how her grit and how she sort of holds herself in the world. That’s been sort of really fun for me to explore.

Q) What kind of physical prep went into getting into character?

A) I really wanted to explore her. Because she is recently liberated and doesn’t exactly know who she is yet as an individual (Her name is Atria Nine and there are many Atria’s out there, but in the show she is Atria Nine.) and I wanted to focus on her being open to the world. So, a lot of body language, I didn’t want it to be closed off. I wanted her to be sort of ready to receive information and experiences. So, that was something I really worked on. Also, whenever something comes up that maybe reminds her of her past, I wanted to sort of have a physical change in that. Her body language starts to close down as maybe a sign of trauma.

Q) What did you find the most challenging aspect of this role?

A) I think, for me, I haven’t really had too much experience in a character that has such a comedic element to her. That’s been really fun and challenging for me to explore. We are working in an environment here where we have such high stakes – the world could end at any moment kind of a thing. It’s having that sort of high stakes, but then also having comedic moments amongst that. It’s a really fine line to tread when you’re the comedic moment in that scene and to make it work so it doesn’t stick out like a sore thumb. People who are good at comedic timing, especially in a tone that maybe doesn’t always welcome it, they often go unnoticed because if you can do it well then people don’t know that it sort of happened. They just find themselves laughing along. So, trying to make that all mull together was an interesting tone for me to play with.

Q) What were some of your favorite moments or memorable moments from filming the series?

A) We have had some pretty incredible sets to go on to, one of which I think is in episode 2. I won’t reveal the nature of the location, but it honestly looked like we were on Mars. We’ve had some pretty extraordinary sets and locations and the joy of that – it really just takes you back to the reason anyone gets into this industry. We’re working on things like spaceships and we’re in this intergalactic world. It sort of makes you think, “That’s why people want to make movies and television, to sort of transport themselves into this other world.” So, that’s been really special. And being able to do that with this cast and crew, which are so excited, grounded and hardworking, has been pretty special.

Q) How did you shake off a long day of shooting the show?

A) For me, thanks to Oliver Dench and Priscilla Quintana (who are on the show as well), they got me into having a bath. I’ve not really been a bath kind of person ever. They started talking about it and I thought, “Maybe I will give it a try.” If I’ve ever had a long filming day and it’s been particularly tense or tiring, whether it be emotionally or physically or both, I think setting up my laptop to watch something or reading a book and just sort of sitting in the quiet has been quite a new thing for me to shake off a long day.

Q) What do you think it is about “Pandora” that will make it a fast fan favorite sci-fi series?

A) I think that the fans that hopefully come to watch this show that it will be they love seeing the vibrancy of the year 2199, where we’re all working from at the moment. And I think they are also going to relate to the humanity of it. It is set in the future, but it’s not too distant and not too dissimilar to what we see. We get to some and exciting and strange things that happen; however, it is the primal experiences of all the characters (whether it be loyal, survival, community or all of that) that people will really respond to and relate to. So, I think we’re going to have an audience that might see themselves in the show.

Q) You are a part of social media. Are you excited for the instant fan feedback you’ll receive to episodes?

A) Yes and no. I think it’s something that I think is wonderful that people are so easily able to be engaged with the people that make the productions and it’s always wonderful to know that they are watching and tuning in to what we’re doing when we’re on set or off set or whatever. I think it can be a really interesting thing. Some people can be super passionate, whether that be positively or negatively. So, I think that it will be interesting to see what the reaction is going to be, but I don’t quite know what I’m in for yet.

Q) Is there anything else you want to be sure we share with our readers about “Pandora?”

A) I think if people are looking for something that is witty, weird, optimistic and adventurous I think they are in for a wild ride with “Pandora.” I think it’s about this group of strangers that come together to work towards a better future in this really weird and wonderful universe we find ourselves in. And I think that’s a really exciting thing to be tuned into in this time. So, I really hope that people are really as engaged as we all are making it.

Q) What would you like to say to people who are fans and supporters of the work you do?

A) An endless thank you. I couldn’t ever say that enough. The amount of gratitude I have for people that are excited to see what I’m working on and support it even before it’s come out, I think that’s really pure. Hopefully, that comes from working hard and people responding to it. And I really appreciate it! I’m excited for them to see what we’ve come up with. I’m playing a really fun, wild character – even physically. I think it’s going to be really extraordinary for people. It is for me. So, I hope they respond in kind.