Amanda Tapping discusses recent developments on Sanctuary and reflects on all things abnormal: Ashley’s death, Helen’s relationships with Druitt and Tesla (and Olaf!), the epic season two finale, story arcs for season three, Robin Dunne’s embarrassing habit, and more. She also answers many of the great questions submitted by CliqueClack readers. Here’s the interview — enjoy!
Ruby T.: With the death of Ashley, are you playing Helen differently? How has Ashley’s death changed her?
Amanda Tapping: It’s changed her drastically. I think you’re not going to see a huge outward change because that’s not Helen, but you’ll see moments where it’s revealed just how deeply she’s hurting about this. But she’s such a tightly wound character, and she plays her cards so close to the chest that it’s very rare, except in the first three episodes, where you’ll actually see her struggle. And then, of course, in episode five, which has already aired, she talks about trying to find a cure for her longevity because she just doesn’t see the point of being around any longer now that she’s lost Ashley. So it’s moments like that that are revealed. And then she just sinks back down and gets back to business. And then in “Next Tuesday” she talks about the fact that Ashley’s birthday is coming up and she can’t handle it. And then she sinks back down to business. So it comes in waves for the audience. For Helen, it’s a constant, but for the audience, you’ll just see it revealed in little moments. Definitely, I mean, it’s a massive impact because she decided to have this child in the first place and bring her into this environment, and of course the consequential guilt that she feels is huge.
RT: So with the loss of Ashley we have a new character in Kate Freelander. What do you think that she brings to the show, and what does Helen see in her—why does Helen ask her to be a part of the team?
AT: It’s what she does. Like she collects these abnormals, and she brings them into the Sanctuary, protects them and nurtures them. And then, in a lot of ways, in Kate she sees a wounded bird who, given the chance, can just blossom beautifully. She doesn’t trust her off the top, … but I think that after a while Helen goes, “Wait a second, there’s huge potential with this girl,” and decides to take her under her wing. And the thing with Kate that I love is that you don’t like her off the top. We wanted her to be revealed to the audience organically. We wanted her to slowly become something that the audience could trust—to go on the journey with us, essentially. Nobody in the Sanctuary network likes her off the top. They’re like, she’s—there’s something wrong with her, and she’s wily, she’s up to something, and then slowly we start to trust her and then start to like her, and then genuinely embrace her. So we’re hoping that that’s the journey that the audience goes on too.
And in terms of casting her, we did a huge search for her, and we saw hundreds of actresses. And Agam came in, and right off the top I said, “She’s Kate.” And the guys were like, “Well, we got a lot of people to look at,” and she was shortlisted and shortlisted. There was just something about Agam’s energy for me that I knew would fit in beautifully with the Sanctuary cast. Not that she—you know, she’s a phenomenal actress, and I think she did a great job with the audition. She nailed it. But there was also something about her energy as a human being that just jelled so beautifully with the rest of the cast and with the show. So, as much as I know there’s a lot of derision on the Internet about whether or not she’s the right character for the show, I think she’s absolutely perfect.
RT: You mentioned “Next Tuesday,” which is one of my favorite episodes because it shows a different side to Helen and also to Will. How would you describe the relationship that’s grown between Will and Helen?
AT: I love this relationship because it’s so much more honest this year than last year. And you know, it has to be. Will was still trying to find his feet last year, and he didn’t have the confidence that he has now. … That’s how it feels like everything has rolled out with this show in terms of the relationships, so organically. He’s now really comfortable, and now he’s calling Helen out, and he’s not gonna let her get away with stuff. … So it’s actually interesting for me though because Helen’s so uptight and knowing that she’s dealing with this and she’s not dealing with it well because she doesn’t deal with emotions well. She comes across almost—when I read it I was like, uh, it seems like Helen’s jealous that Will might have this booty call! [Laughs] And I don’t think it’s that so much as she just didn’t know how to say, “I need your help.” And that’s because he’s the closest thing to her. It’s even harder. So he says, “I don’t know why you’re acting this way. This is weird!” But I think it’s a really interesting dynamic, and the two of us really enjoyed playing it, but there were moments where we would call Damian and go, “What did you mean by this? Why would she say it like this?” Cause you read it, and it’s weird. It’s a weird dynamic between the two of them, but ultimately what it shows is how comfortable they are with each other.
RT: In “Next Tuesday,” we met a guy named Olaf. Will we be seeing more of him?
AT: I don’t know. I don’t know whether we will or not. [Laughing] I think he’s just so—he was so great, the actor was wonderful—but he was just so schmarmy. Initially we were trying to get … Chris Sarandon, which was our original thought. Wouldn’t that be funny? You know, from The Princess Bride, but I don’t know … I mean, I can never see [Olaf and Helen] together. He’s just too—you know, he might be fun for a weekend, but for the long haul I think he’d drive her crazy.
RT: Are we going to see more of Helen’s relationships with John Druitt and Tesla?
AT: Oh definitely. Definitely. That’s something that has to be explained. I don’t know if “Haunted” has aired yet in the States, but it’s an episode that reveals a lot about John Druitt, and you see why in some ways Helen fell in love with him in the first place. Because he wasn’t Jack the Ripper when she fell in love with him. So that relationship is the quintessential relationship in Helen’s life. He is her paramour. It’s just incredibly screwed up. [Laughs] Because of what he does subsequent to their [relationship]—because you see why she would fall in love with this man … with his intelligence and his passion … Also, you know, I talked to the guys about doing more history with Helen. I mean, what informs this woman? …. Wouldn’t it be great if we actually showed what the Sanctuary was all about in the early days?
RT: “Sleepers” was a really fun episode. At the end, it looked like Helen was softening toward Tesla. How would you describe her feelings for Tesla, especially after what happened to him in that episode?
AT: It’s again, you know, it’s this 100+ year old friendship. So there’s such a history there that, I mean—it’s the same with friends that we’ve had for a long time. It’s just that, when you know so much about them, there’s a level of comfort there. Inasmuch as he drives her crazy, she absolutely adores him. And so the softening is sadness really, that this incredible pain-in-the-ass guy that had this crazy gift is suddenly forced to face his own mortality and his own normalcy, if you will, and I think that there’s a real sadness for her. It’s like, wow, I knew I had to deal with the thorn in my side, and now he’s not gonna be one at all. And it’s also that one of the Five has gone down again—although at the end, of course, we find out that he has other powers which could be quite fun to play with. But I think that there’s a massive amount of—she absolutely adores him and loves him; he just drives her nuts. You know, that crazy guy from college that everyone still knows, but he’s like—ugh, that crazy guy from college. [Laughs]
RT: And we’ll see more of Tesla this season and next season?
AT: Oh, definitely. Definitely. Jonathan’s a huge part of the family, so we want to bring him back as often as possible. He’s such a wonderful actor, and the character—he’s such a great antagonist. So, definitely.
Clacked by Ruby T.
on Dec 30, 2009 @ 15:00 EST5EDT
I, like Lisa, started watching the show because of AT but soon found Ashley to be my favorite character. I was not in the habit of posting to forums so it did not occur to me to post about Ashley. As far as bashing AT goes, there is a difference between criticism and bashing. With all the spinning AT has been doing I think it is legitimate to question what is really going on and why. I mean we have heard about “ballsy” moves and then her fight to keep Ashley. That sort of thing opens one up to questions.
i’m not quoting amanda exactly, but i remember her saying something about there being reasons for the (ashley) decision that we, the fans, know, and some we’ll never know. so maybe we’ll never know everything…
First, thank you to Majorsal, Ruby and those who are defending Amanda. Mark Stern, has a terrible reputation of interfering in their scripted shows. Look at the history of the mess he caused with BSG (back articles in industry periodicals). If not for him BSG would have fared better. Who do you think was the originator of some of the stupid moves with the SG franchise? I don’t really know who Mark Stern is, but it seems like he doesn’t know what he’s doing, and you’re right about the position he put Amanda in, he did basically give her an ultimatum, an if she hadn’t thing would have turned out worse for more people. So then now it seems that she’s trying to clean up his mess.
Amanda had a choice. She had to do what Stern wanted or no renewal. There are three other creative producers; the production company and the jobs of the people that work on the show. Like Tim said, can you imagine the loss of jobs and the legal battles that would have insured if she refused. People who blame Amanda are just not knowledgeable about how the crappy industry works. I never met Amanda; I wish I had that privilege. I can tell from her interviews and what fans have said about her that she is a wonderful person.
Again, I don’t think much of Kate, I feel sorry for her and AD because of the fans take on her, but my main concern is to Amanda, I’m on her side. Always. I’m glad those pro Amanda fans see the position Amanda was put in, and I truly do want Ash to come back, but out of concern for Amanda and the show, I do like Ask, but no where near as my fandom for Amanda. I can you such wonderful stories, they’ve made gain much more respect for her than I had 2 years ago. I support Amanda, and believe in her, and I’ll continue to do so even if EU doesn’t come back.
It pains me that the fans Amanda loves, and who she does so much for can say things like this about her.
For one thing, when someone gives a reason for a decision other people can decide how much merit that reason has. If the reasons are kept hidden, people are left with a missing portion of the equation that led to the decision. All we can do is evaluate the reasons that are given, and to at least some of us the reasons are highly insufficient. The choice not to make the reasons public just makes people wonder if there was a less than honorable motive, which has spawned the rumors of Amanda Tapping getting her fired out of jealousy. Personally I don’t think that’s the case at all, but AT saying that Ashley won’t be coming back permanently isn’t helping her case. We already know she’s spinning on behalf of the network, so her credibility isn’t the best. Once you start spinning like that, people have every reason to question what you say.
The argument that AT is doing what she is to save the show would have validity if not for the continuing fan outrage and falling ratings. She’s supporting decisions that are slowly killing the show instead of fighting to put things back the way they were when the show was doing better. She isn’t sacrificing to keep the show going and keep people employed, she’s backing bad decisions that I think will eventually push Sanctuary off the air and put a lot of people out of work.
Supporting someone does not mean supporting every decision that they make. Anyone who has seen someone they care about go back to an abusive relationship (for example) knows what I’m talking about. If you let someone make a mistake without trying to let them know that they’re making a mistake, you’re not supporting them as much as letting them fall. When the whole Ashley being dead was confirmed I initially saw Amanda as being one of “the good guys.” She stated that she fought the decision, which was enough for me then. Now, it isn’t. She just continues to spin things for the network, even though by doing so she is siding against the upset fans, as well as the creators and writers of the show that didn’t want the cast change. She’s siding with the network against pretty much everyone else, so that’s clearly where her priorities lie.
I really used to like AT (especially on Sanctuary), but the longer this goes on the less that is true. I love her charity work, and her acting is great, but as far as I can tell her role as a producer is either completely ineffective or actually harmful to the show, depending on whether or not she’s still supporting the network behind the scenes.
Again, it hurts me to think that some of the fans she loves won’t return that love just because she’s saying how someone she works with is a good actress, what, Amanda can’t give praise to a co-star without being bashed for it? I’ve read many interviews from co-stars, guest stars from SG and Sanctuary, and from MANY fans who have met her, and I can’t ever remember reading anything from someone who didn’t have anything but kind words to say about her. I’ve never read anything like “Amanda is fake” or “Amanda as so rude to me and she ignore me” and I’ve never read anything in the news or in magazines where someone wrote something shocking about her. What burns me is that she’s made it clear she wants EU back on the show, and she is aware of the fans reaction to Ash leaving. To me personally, that tells me she hears the fans, and she’s on their (our) side, yet they still chose to bash and blame her, and why? Some people have said she didn’t try hard enough, or that she’s a sell out. That makes me mad.
People have also been saying how could they so easily kick EU to the curb, well rumour I’ve read some threads saying she left due to injury. The other being it was the networks choice. So either way it’s not Amanda’s fault. I know she didn’t leave due to injury, it’s just an example of things I’ve heard. As for people bashing her for liking Kate, well so do I and happen to think there’s a place for both should they go that way. And Sanctuary (unlike SGU) are listening to fans and want to do well by us. And what’s with the comment that AT is spinning stories!?! She is always as honest as commitments will allow. She’s not a sell out, Amanda works harder for her people then most EPs would bother with. Just because the show isn’t going to some fans liking doesn’t mean that it has anything to do with Amanda.
One of the reasons I’ve always believe Amanda wanted to keep EU and why she’s trying to get her back is because being a mom of 1 herself, she probably didn’t want to see Helen lose her only child. Amanda’s talked about how being a mom has changed her, and it changed Helen as well.
adam, did it ever occur to you that maybe what’s not being said is to protect ‘emilie’, and not the other way around?
it seems so easy for you to jump to conclusions (and blame amanda). it’s obvious we *aren’t* being told everything, why is that? maybe…
Well, absolutely nothing has been said indicating that they’re keeping quiet to protect Emilie, and given the way she was fired (not told until she showed up for filming) it seems unlikely that they’re loyal enough for that. Honestly, I find it more likely that the people blaming Amanda outright are correct, since at least then they’d be protecting the reputation of the show and the network. Should I be suggesting that the silence is to protect Amanda? It is more likely, although it would be a harsh thing to say.
Season two has been an unbelievable disappointment for me. It started with the death of Ashley and the subsequent introduction of Kate Freelander. I find Kate intolerable but I’m going to side step the Ashley vs Kate arguments since that dead horse has been beaten enough recently. My main complaint isn’t about the loss of Ashley, it’s about the drastic shift the show has taken this season. That being the choice to move away from the dark intellectual Steampunk feel to something more action based.
I feel that this seasons writing has been weak in comparison. The vast number of glaring plot holes makes it hard for me to get through a full episode.
AT mentions how Helen is handling the lose of her daughter in this interview. I don’t agree that Helen’s grief has been handled well. I think DK and MW should sit down and watch Sons of Anarchy season two and take notes on what Kurt Sutter does with Opie’s grief. Something as drastic as the violent death of a loved one should have equally dramatic consequences on the survivors. Ashley was in her own way was the heart of the US Sanctuary, her death should have been palpable through out the whole season.
oh, i have no doubt something else is going on behind this decision with ashley, but we’re not going to be told.
and why amanda’s fault? why not damian’s? martin’s? syfy’s? why is it being focused on amanda, adam?
I’m not saying it’s entirely her fault, just that she shares some of the blame. The only reason that Amanda is the focus of this thread is that Amanda is the focus of the interview. Personally I think that people were telling the truth when they said it was the networks (SyFy and Space) who forced the decision onto everyone else, as I think I’ve mentioned. The others are guilty, however, of letting it happen and publicly defending the decision.
You go Majorsal.
Again, it hurts me to think that some of the fans she loves won’t return that love just because she’s saying how someone she works with is a good actress, what, Amanda can’t give praise to a co-star without being bashed for it? What I don’t get is, we all know about those interviews where Amanda herself says she’s aware of the huge fan reaction to the loss of Ash, and that she’s trying to get her back in some way, heck I’ve posted like 4 interviews of her saying that. Yet, every time an interview like this comes around, even when it doesn’t say anything back EU, it’s bashed on, all because they didn’t say the right things. I support Amanda, I’ll stand by her no matter what, and I’m happy to see that she likes JY and Tesla, and that she wants him around more often.
Yeah, she is trying to shield all involved in the decision so that nobody is blamed. And Amanda thinks very highly of the people she works with, she shouldn’t be vilified for that. It shows she cares about her coworker, that she is able to praise the skills of both EU and AD and feels both characters bring something to the show. She is also fighting to get Ashley back, because she knows how fans feel about the situation and also because she enjoys working with EU. Yeah, I like how she says this is the new character, this is what I like about her and I hope that fans can take that journey with us as we at the Sanctuary come to trust and like Kate. I also like how they are dealing with Ashley’s loss in little moments through Helen like the wanting to stop her longevity and her wanting Will around for her birthday. Amanda is very supportive of those that she works with and what more could you ask for from an employer. People should leave her alone and realise she is a gem in the industry.
Re: sanctuaryforall.com
I have also tried to join this website. It is thee official website for the show, it’s the web address given at the end of the episodes when I watch them on DVD.
As you experienced, I joined but never got my account activated. Emails have been ignored. I look through the forum and see that the newest member joined last April. Heck of a long time to ignore new member requests.
They REALLY do not want new members! It’s a very closed group of die-hard fans afraid of input from newer fans, obviously. Which is fine, except that it is being advertised on the DVDs! Surely a professional operation would demand that their official website was a functioning group, open to new fans.
The moderator of the site is Jaclyn MacRae, the script supervisor for Sanctuary. If anyone is on twitter (I’m not), it would be great to ask her why new members are not activated. Here’s her twit: @jaclynmacrae
Hey, EU/Ashley fans – since there seems to be a lot of interest, I wanted to let you know that I’ll probably be interviewing Emilie next week. So stay tuned for that.
I usually don’t get involved in these debates but couldn’t help myself. First, I should declare that I am a fan of the Ashley character. Also, I I have met EU and she was extremely kind to me so I am a fan of hers as well. Having said that, however, the only people who have the right to make decisions regarding the show are the people who make the show. It is not our call, it’s theirs. As fans we have the right to give our opinions on whether we like a decision or not as long as we do it in a respectful manner. Let’s face it, TPTB are never going to please all of the fans all of the time. What we do NOT have the right to do is cast blame. Again, it is the right of the people who make the show to make the decisions regarding the show. Besides, none of us know all of the facts behind the decision and to rely on rumours or things you read on the internet is a very dangerous practice.
I agree that they people who make the show should make the decisions. That isn’t what happened here. The people who broadcast the show forced the creators, writers, and cast of the show to make changes they didn’t want. By supporting the show the way it is you’re actually telling the people who make the show that they don’t have the right to make their own decisions.
Ruby, I’m very excited to see that you’re interviewing Emilie next week. Staying tuned…
Ruby, I am also excited to see you will be interviewing EU. I look forward to it.
Wow, this was really well-written. You asked good questions, and I enjoyed reading Amanda’s responses. Were you nervous?
:-) Dawn, you rascal! You don’t even know who Amanda Tapping is, do you?
(Dawn is my buddy from grad school.)
hi guys iam new to this nad iam hopefuly that u will be able to help me i want to know if seasion 2 of this cool sereis has been release in Australia