Toronto Fan Expo Day Four: Amy Acker Q&A

Amy Acker, a genre TV fan favourite for years, appeared for a Q&A session on the final day of Fan Expo in Toronto. She reminisced about her experiences on Angel and Dollhouse, both Joss Whedon projects. Whedon has been a frequent collaborator, and gave her one of her first major roles, on Angel. Acker credits her experience working with a Shakespearean theatre company for sparking Whedon's interest in her--and, of course she played Beatrice in Whedon's film of Much Ado about Nothing. Acker also told stories and provided some teasers about her current show, Person of Interest, on which she plays Samantha Groves, aka Root.

Acker was interested in the performing arts since childhood. In a way, her career can be credited to the influence of her high school theatre arts teacher, who had her students work on current and interesting theatrical works rather than stodgy classics, which Acker reported was a key factor in driving her to want to act. However, in a way, her career can also be credited to the influence of a brown recluse spider. "I wanted to be a ballerina," Acker told the crowd, but a brown recluse spider bite caused serious leg problems requiring surgery, which prevented her from being able to pursue dance. Theatre became the alternate.

Acker also commented on how theatre provided an outlet for her. She describes herself as shy, and stated that having words written by others to say provided a great outlet for her. She asserts that she's always better when saying someone else's words, rather than when she speaks in her own voice. Of course, when one can say words written by figures such as Joss Whedon or the wirters of Person of Interest, who wouldn't feel that way? When one fan asked about how much ad-libbing there was on Angel, Acker responded, "I don't remember there being a lot of ad-libbing;" "I think we had to say the words that were written," she continued, concluding, "and who wouldn't want to say Joss's words?"

Fred, the role she played on Angel, did not come to her until she had auditioned three times. She met Whedon at that point, and she told the crowd that it was her Shakespearean background that prompted him to give her the role. And what a role it was. Fred was thirteen roles in one, Acker says, and that was even before her transformation. Acker said that she has always enjoyed doing genre series because characters in them tend to get to grow and change over time, in contrast to characters in, say, cop shows (she mentioned Law and Order as a show in which the actors are basically just playing the same figure each week). Fred, though, changed more than most. Acker recalled the day Whedon asker her to meet him for coffee, at a randon, out-of-the-way location, to tell her that he had decided to kill Fred. During the long pause following this revelation, Acker recounted, the told herself not to cry, before Whedon continued, reassuing her that she would still on the show, because "I'm going to turn you into a demon goddess."

Thus was Illyria born. Acker was delighted to see several cosplayers in the crowd dressed up as Illyria. She said that Illyria was actually an easier transformation than she might have appeared to be: a comfortable costume, and only a couple of hours of make-up. She confessed to thinking that actors who complained about how difficult it was to be heavily made up and covered in prosthetics were just being whiners--until she had to endure some prosthetic work herself for the Angel episode "Smile Time." "I wanted to call up all the other actors and apologize" for her earlier dismissal of their complaints, she laughed. When asked what she thought of the continuation of the Angel storyline in comic books, she confessed that she had never read any but was intrigued by the covers when she has been asked to sign them. She also indicated that at one point there was some talk of an Illyria/Spike movie, but nothing ever came of it.

She also worked with Whedon on the short-lived series Dollhouse--and only for the first season. She told the crowd that she was under the impression that the series was going to be cancelled so moved on ot other projects; had she known it was going to get a second season, she said, she would have been delighted to continue with it, as she enjoyed playing doctor Saunders. When asked whether she would have preferred to play one of the more active dolls, she did admit to occasional jealousy, especially over the nice outits they sometimes got, but on the other hand, she noted, they were always erased, so playing a single character was an appealing option.

Acker has done numerous guest appearances on other shows, and she offered amusing tidbits about many. About How I met Your Mother, she recounted that kissing long-time friend Neil Patrick Harris--"and telling my husband I was kissing him"--was the weirdest thing. When asked whether she'd consider ever reprising her role on Supernatural, she joked about how long the show has been on and suggested that they've probably run out of other actresses now, so she'd be happy to come back. Grimm was fun, she said, but being transformed into an old woman "was kind of depressing." Asked about her recent work on Suits and whether there were plans for her to do more than the two episodes, she said, again, that she would be happy to come back but that there were no plans for that, to her knowledge. About Once Upon a Time,  she spoke about how much she enjoys playing clumsy characters.

Root, of course, is anything but clumsy, and it is her current turn as Root on Person of Interest that generated the most enthusiasm and discussion--including a few probing questions from fans that had Acker laughing as she attempted to provide answers without providing spoilers. One key piece of information about the upcoming season that Acker confirmed--in case anyone out there is still in doubt about it--is that Shaw is back for the new season. She provided no details about how that return will come about or how Shaw will interact with Team Machine, though.

As for the Root/Shaw relationship, Acker indicated that the idea was not part of the original plan, but that it evolved very quickly once their initial encounter was shot. Nobody really expected the sort of chemistry the scene generated, she reported, but they opted to run with it, leading to the complex love-hate relationship between the characters. When asked whether Root would choose Shaw or the Machine, it if came down to a choice, Acker grappled with the question, as both are clearly important to Root. She ended up suggesting, however, that the Machine would probably be number one, because without the Machine, any relationship with Root would be impossible. She also discounted the suggestion that, had Samaritan got to Root first, she would have ended up on the other side. She suggested that there is something specific and unique about the Machine, as made by Harold, that formed Root.

We can also expect more philosophical debates between Harold and Root, Acker reported, as they explore what they need to do with and to the Machine in order to defeat Samaritan. And defeating Samaritan is now going to be a real challenge. Acker reported that Team Machine is in hiding this season, so Root's globetrotting adventures seem to be an end--that will need to be another show, she suggested. We can also expect more of Person of Interest's trademark action, she confirmed. She mentioned having to do weight training so she could hold Root's pistols up during long takes and sequences. She reported that she likes to do her own stunts, as well--when the show will let her. The sequence for last season when Root played chicken with the Machine by threatening to step off a building, for instance, was a sequence she wanted to do, but the show insisted on her stunt double Heidi (as a side note, I am always pleased to see performers give such eplxicit acknowledgement to the hard-working stunt people who take the risks and rarely are known by name) doing the shots of the character actually on the ledge--which was 55 storeys up, though  Heidi was tied off, making the shoot "safe-ish," as Acker put it.

Will there be more Person of Interest after this season? Acker doesn't know. She told the crowd that even for the end of the past season, the creators did not know whether they would be back so designed a finale that could serve as a conclusion, but that there is still more story they can tell. So, she hopes we will get more Person of Interest after this season's thirteen episode run ends, but there is no guarantee that that will happen. So, Person if Interest fans, get out there and proselytize. Even if the show is not back, though, Acker will certainly be, given how in demand she is.