Jamie Clayton on Why Fans of ‘Sense8’ Will Like Sasha on ‘Designated Survivor’
Q&A
President Tom Kirkman’s (Kiefer Sutherland) family is expanding in Designated Survivor Season 3, and fans are going to love Sasha.
Jamie Clayton joins the cast as Tom’s transgender sister-in-law, Sasha Booker, and if you enjoyed her Sense8 character, Nomi Marks, you’ll find something to like about Sasha.
TV Insider spoke with Clayton about joining the series for its third season on Netflix.
What initially drew you to Sasha and Designated Survivor?
Jamie Clayton: It came as an offer, which felt really good at this point in my career. I’m not new but I’m not a veteran of the industry.
I read the first script, that episode 3, and I said to the producer, for me as a fan, when I watch a movie or a TV show, the purpose of it for me is to take the person that’s watching and transport them to another world so they can forget about the one that we’re living in for a little bit. And when I read the script, that’s exactly what happened. I was completely taken out of this world and into theirs, and then it was this speech that she gives at the end of the episode. It made me cry, just reading the script, and I thought, “I have to do this.”
Hello? Yes, I am VERY excited that Designated Survivor season 3 hits @Netflix on June 7! BECAUSE I’M ON IT! @DesignatedNFLX #DesignatedSisterInLaw pic.twitter.com/iFsNKdeXMO
— Jamie Clayton (@MsJamieClayton) April 24, 2019
What can you say about what Sasha has been up to prior to when we meet her and preview about what we’ll see from her this season?
So, Sasha Booker lives in Paris and she is an events coordinator of type at the Musée d’Orsay. When I spoke to the writers to get a little bit of her backstory, it was that she’s been living there for a while and it was a dream she’d always had.
Was there anything about the character or show that you were surprised to find you enjoyed the most?
They just did such a really great job. It’s the first job I’ve ever had acting where I haven’t had any notes about the writing and so every time I was getting a script, I was just completely blown away at how well done it was and how much care they took in writing Sasha.
(Murray Close/Netflix)
What do you think fans of your character on Sense8 will like about or be drawn to in Sasha?
The same things that drew me to Nomi drew me to Sasha. Sasha has a much different journey but she does have a fearlessness and an empathy that I really respect and admire in human beings full stop. I think that fans of Nomi will really love Sasha’s empathy and her fight.
Designated Survivor, Season 3, Friday, June 7, Netflix
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