The character of Eleanor Nacht on FX’s “The Bridge” is a study in paradoxes. She is a Mennonite, a group that normally shuns violence, yet Eleanor instigates bloodshed without hesitation. Her conservative dress belies a ruthless killer. She talks about seeing the light but seems to be shrouded in darkness. She is a woman of few words but authoritative actions. And she is a woman working in a male-dominated field.
“She’s definitely weird so I think her character raises a lot of questions, and that is intriguing,” her portrayer, Franka Potente, tells SpoilerTV. “It’s enhanced. It’s like this weird-looking, frumpy-ish, but yet hard-ass woman in the Mexican cartel world. I think she has a lot of male attributes. She’s just as cutthroat as Fausto is, in a way. I think she’s very good at tucking her emotions away.”
Without showing those emotions, the dark character doesn’t leave the audience much room for empathy. Yet Potente has infused Eleanor with a slow-burning fire that inevitably mesmerizes you with its flickers of color and heat. You find yourself fascinated watching her, wondering what could be driving someone like this. And that’s exactly what Potente is hoping to achieve.
“How is it we can watch someone so bad, so psycho, and kind of enjoy it?” she asks. “How can we watch someone like that who is so different, and for a split second maybe admire her determination? That’s what I want. That’s what’s interesting to me.”
The actress tells SpoilerTV there is a lot more to her character’s backstory that will begin to shed light on her motivations. “She has dark secrets,” she hints. And they have everything to do with the person who is caged up in Fausto Galvan’s basement. “In the script he has been called the gimp, the beast, all those kind of things. There seems to be a relationship with him,” she teases. And it's a relationship that guides all of her actions.
“I think inside she’s quite simple,” says Potente of the character. “What’s complicated is her baggage from the past and the history of the terrible things that have happened to her and are still very present in her life and driving her to do what she does.”
Also to be revealed is the history between Eleanor and Fausto Galvan. Their connection goes deeper than boss/employee. “Every week a stone is turned, and it’s almost like I’m given a new challenge, a scavenger hunt that will eventually lead me to the goal or the prize,” says Potente. “It’s a very playful approach. It keeps you on your toes, keeps you curious – and sometimes you’re surprised.”
In the coming weeks, Potente says Eleanor will show a softer side with certain women. “She will have interesting connections that are surprisingly tender for her with female characters,” the actress reveals. She also teases that Eleanor will meet Charlotte, Ray and Monte – and their business discussion will lead to personal revelations.
While she can’t disclose if Eleanor crosses the path of detective Sonya Cross, she says the two characters parallel each other in many ways. “They have a lot of similarities. They’re both struggling with something in the past that they want to end or want to come to terms with. I think they are both driven by some weird passion, even though the surface is aloof or cold. But they’re definitely on different sides of the river. Sonya is the law and Eleanor operates by her own laws. If these women do get to interact, one can imagine that it’s going to be very interesting.”
Potente just wrapped filming last week. Audiences will see her in all but one of the 13 episodes this season. (She says Eleanor “takes a vacation” in one episode.)
Potente guest stars in “The Bridge” Wednesdays on FX at 10 p.m. ET/PT.
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Related: The Bridge Season 2 Exclusive Video Preview
What do you think is going to happen with Eleanor? Who do you think is the person in the cage? Do you have any predictions for the character's backstory? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
