Fancast: Inside TV

Rose Byrne, one of the brightest upcoming actresses in showbiz has gone from running with zombies in 28 Weeks Later to working for a Patty Hughes (Glenn Close), who proves almost as dangerous. I talked to Rose about her upcoming role.

Nadum: Right off the bat, who's more intimidating, the zombies in '28 Weeks Later' or Patty Hughes?

Rose: [Laughs] Those zombies were scary; they were really very scary. They were crazy. Patty – she may be mercurial and a little intimidating, but she’s actually – you know, not insane. She isn’t risen from the dead. So…

Nadum: Fair enough. So what did you think of 'The Sopranos' ending?

Rose : Well, at first, I felt cheated, I think, like the rest of America, probably. I felt very shocked, and like my reception had dropped out. But then, on reflection, I loved it. I thought it was very smart, and just in keeping with the whole show. You know, he never really did what you wanted him to do. He just took it the other way again. I thought it was really, really smart. I mean, it’s kind of the best show I ever saw. I really liked it. What did you think? Did you hate it?

Nadum: Yes. Very much so.

Rose : Did you, really?

Nadum: Oh yeah. But I’m a 'Wire' guy through and through.

Nadum: Talking about [Damages] – do you see yourself [Ellen] getting corrupted between the point that you’re at (6 months later) – bloodied in a raincoat – and when you first start out – or is it a matter of circumstance?

Rose : I think there’s going to be a huge kind of sacrifice that she’s going to have to start realizing that she’s making. You know, I think she’s very idealistic when she gets to the job, and I think she realized how all-consuming it’s going to be, and had this kind of danger element of the whole thing which, to be honest it has not been revealed to me yet exactly how it all unfolds. The producers are kind of keeping their cards really close to their chests. But, obviously, there’s a huge incident in this first six months of her working for Patty that we will be privy to, toward the end of the season.

Nadum: With the development of TV – you said you were a fan of shows like 'Rescue Me,' 'Big Love,' 'The Sopranos' et cetera – obviously it’s gotten better; have you become more attracted to the idea of working for an FX, HBO, Showtime type series?

Rose : Yeah, I started just watching these shows, and I found most of them better than feature to films that I go to see. You know, most feature films these days, if you look at the top ten films, I just think they’re dreadful. This filter of mine – everyone has different tastes, which is fine – but, for me, I found series actually more fulfilling and kind of less homogenized, and really willing to take a risk, I guess, because they have the freedom on cable that they didn’t use to have before. So it’s kind of an incredible playground for writers and actors and directors to be a part of at the moment.

Nadum: Well we agree on that if not 'The Sopranos' ending.

Nadum: A lot of the shows – they’re kind of attacking certain institutions, whether it be, a post-9/11 world in 'Rescue Me' or the decay of the American city in “The Wire,” – do you see any of that in 'Damages'?

Rose : I think, in a way, it’s a real comment on capitalism and power, and the power of big businesses and big companies, that there’s this huge case involving, Frobisher – very much a reflection on the huge mentality of how America is run by big businesses and men in suits. And that’s really it. And what exactly is the American Dream, really at the end of the day? And what are you going to sacrifice to get it? And being in power to do that, to make change. And there really – you know, there’s a lot of stuff with the Statue of Liberty, and a little symbolism in the show, and I think it kind of deals with those sorts of themes.

Nadum: Is there any other character on television that you use as inspiration, or feel some connection to with Ellen?

Rose: Not very much – I didn’t really draw too much from any other characters. But I’m definitely a huge fan of characters. I mean, if anything, I kind of thought that Tony Soprano was a bit like Patty Hughes, in that sense, of having such a huge amount of power, and what they actually do with it, and the kind of – the areas of gray they sort of operate in. I think that was just sort of the parallel I had drawn. But, for Ellen, I think she’s pretty unique at the moment, in that she’s kind of a canvas waiting to be sort of explored. So it’s an interesting place to be as an actor.

Nadum: Have you been close to any other shows, or read any scripts that you considered?

Rose : No, this is the first relationship I’ve ever had with a TV show in America. Yeah, I’ve never been in on anything else.

Nadum: Fantastic. It was a pleasure talking to you and thanks for taking the time.

Rose: Thanks a lot.