Melissa Roxburgh On Manifest, The Hunting Party, Scary Filming Moments, & More

US Weekly

Transcript

00:00Well, thank you so much for taking the time to speak with me today.

00:02I'm so excited to talk to you about The Hunting Party.

00:04And I know this is your first leading role since Manifest.

00:07So I'm curious, after Manifest, how did you...

00:10Like, what were you looking for?

00:11What was it about The Hunting Party that made it stand out

00:13and that you wanted to be a part of it?

00:15Um, I mean, I was kind of open to anything.

00:17Manifest was so specific.

00:19It was very sci-fi, and she's this cop,

00:21and, you know, like, so many extraordinary events were happening in that show

00:25that I was like, you can't really...

00:27Like, anything else will be different.

00:30Um, so when this came up, I thought it was cool

00:32because I do love profiling.

00:34I love, like, psychology and getting into people's brains and stuff.

00:37And so this character obviously does that full-time for a job.

00:40Um, and she does it for very interesting, unique killers.

00:44Um, so I just thought that it would be fun to go down that path

00:48and, um, see what creative characters the showrunners would come up with

00:52for these serial killers, um, and dive into that, yeah.

00:56And I was going to ask, like, were you a fan of true crime

00:58before you got into doing this project?

01:01I mean, who isn't, right?

01:02The podcast, or, like, I grew up watching Criminal Minds,

01:05um, that kind of stuff.

01:07And so, yeah, you want to know why someone isn't normal.

01:11You want to know how they got there and why they're doing what they're doing

01:15just because you don't see it.

01:16And I hope, hope you don't see it.

01:19Um, so, yeah, I mean, who doesn't love a serial killer story?

01:24And I've seen the first four episodes,

01:26and, you know, it can get quite dark,

01:27so I'm very curious, was there ever any moment where you were actually,

01:30like, as you were filming, kind of, like, spooked out or, you know?

01:33The only time I was actually spooked out was episode four

01:36when I'm in the chair, um, I don't know how much you've seen,

01:40but I'm, yeah, I'm in...

01:41When he, the kid, yeah.

01:42Yeah, so I get kidnapped, and I'm in his chair being held as hostage,

01:47and they put duct tape over my mouth,

01:50and it wasn't scary necessarily, other than I couldn't breathe.

01:54But we were rolling, and so I, I had, like, a freakout.

01:58It was, because you can't yell cut, you can't yell for help,

02:02you can't really do anything, but I couldn't breathe.

02:05Um, so, yeah, I definitely had a moment there of panic,

02:09but as far as the killers go,

02:11I think the only time I was ever like,

02:13ooh, I don't want to see that is, um, episode nine.

02:19It is, it's dark, it's gross, yeah.

02:23Well, jumping off that, because I did have a question,

02:25just about the emotional aspect of filming something so dark.

02:27Like, how do you kind of protect your mental health in between filming,

02:30and just kind of not taking, you know, work home with you?

02:34Because it can get quite heavy, I imagine.

02:35Yeah, I think, we, we work such long days on set

02:39that by the time we are able to go home,

02:41you kind of just leave it.

02:43Yeah.

02:44And I don't, I don't know if it's a choice, or you just do it,

02:47but on your drive home, you're just like,

02:50I'm tired, I'm going to go have a nice bath and go to bed.

02:53So that's, that's all I'm thinking about, thankfully.

02:56And I also wanted to ask you about the physical aspects of it,

02:58because this is very physical, you're kind of like getting into fights,

03:01you're like in the, you know, in the field.

03:03So what was that like for you?

03:04Did you have to prepare more?

03:06Did you have to adjust, or was it just very seamless?

03:08Yeah, I was super out of shape going into filming,

03:11so it was definitely an adjustment.

03:14It's also really hard to go to the gym when you're doing those long days.

03:18So, oops, sorry.

03:20So, we had a tech advisor helping with all the gun stuff,

03:25because we did want to make sure that a lot of that was as correct as it could be.

03:30But as far as like running through the woods and stuff,

03:33I mean, the only embarrassing moment was,

03:35I told everyone I'm a runner, which I am,

03:39and I was like, this next shot's going to be no problem,

03:42and it was me running through the woods,

03:44and within five seconds, I've fallen on my butt and really hurt my back, so.

03:49Are you okay?

03:50I'm okay, I'm okay. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

03:51But, no.

03:53Yeah, we had help. We had a lot of help, so.

03:55Perfect.

03:56And also, you know, there's a lot of kind of twists,

03:57and you really have to stick with the show

03:59to find out all of these kind of new details about your character,

04:02and kind of what was going on with the explosion and the pit.

04:04As an actor, I'm curious, do you want to know everything beforehand,

04:07or do you not want to know because your character doesn't want to know,

04:09and you don't want to kind of color that performance or approach?

04:13Um, I kind of go back and forth.

04:17Like, there's some days where I'm so overwhelmed

04:19by what's currently happening in the script,

04:21and making sure that I have my lines down, or trying to understand it.

04:25And then there are some easier days where I'm like,

04:27I'm going to go be nosy to the showrunner now,

04:29and I want to find out what happens.

04:31And as the series went on,

04:33with the mystery kind of twisting and turning a little bit more,

04:36I did start to get a little more curious.

04:38Okay.

04:39And so, at the end of episode, I believe, three or four,

04:42you know, Bex does help get info,

04:45because I was going to ask about your first love interest.

04:48You know, she does get...

04:50Sorry.

04:52She does help get info from his phone without his knowing.

04:55So I'm very... I just wanted to talk about that relationship in general.

04:58Like, how did you build it out,

05:00and kind of what can you tease about where they're kind of going to go from here?

05:03Because it is very...

05:05Like, I ship them, but I don't know if I should.

05:08I don't know if I should, but I'm invested,

05:10so I'm very curious about that.

05:12You are the unpopular opinion on that.

05:14I am?

05:15Yeah.

05:16I mean...

05:16He killed someone.

05:18It's okay.

05:19He did a bad thing.

05:19I mean, there's so many killers on the show.

05:21It's okay.

05:22It's fine. It was one little murder.

05:24I think...

05:26You know, I'd actually known Nick kind of in passing before that,

05:30so it was...

05:31And then he nailed the audition,

05:33so going into filming with him,

05:34it was nice to have a little bit of, like, history already,

05:37even though I didn't know him too, too well.

05:40And as far as the characters go,

05:42I'm always, like, cheering for the history relationships,

05:49where it's like they've been through so much together.

05:53I think, on the other hand, though,

05:55Shane, if they do build this love story,

05:58the triangle,

05:59Shane is safe, and he's, you know, very calm, cool waters,

06:04and so I think that it could...

06:05You know, we have, like, the bad boy who murdered someone.

06:09He had a reason.

06:10We have the person who didn't murder someone.

06:12So, yeah, we'll see.

06:14And also, you know, Bex is a mother.

06:16She did adopt that girl from the case where Oliver murdered someone.

06:20But I'm curious, how would you say motherhood has helped her in her career?

06:23And kind of...

06:24I'm very curious about that aspect of the character.

06:27Yeah, I was nervous about that part going in,

06:28because I don't have kids of my own,

06:31and then also it's not just, like, a three-year-old.

06:33It's a full-grown woman.

06:37And so I was like, okay, how do I do this?

06:39And then there's some solace in the fact that she didn't raise her.

06:43There probably is a little bit of...

06:46unknowing of how to raise an already-grown human.

06:51But I think, at the end of the day,

06:52it makes Bex more empathetic,

06:55because, one, she went through what she went through when she was 15

06:58with her best friend,

07:00and then seeing it happen to this girl that she's now adopted, Samantha,

07:04I think every time she goes into something,

07:06it's like, what if this happened to her?

07:09And so there's a lot of empathy,

07:11and there's a lot of, yeah, trying to understand people,

07:14because it does, has, and will affect her daily life.

07:19And I'm also curious, obviously,

07:20we're finding certain things out as each episode goes along,

07:23but I'm sure there's going to be a lot more.

07:24What can you kind of tease about where the mystery is going to go?

07:27Do we get all our questions answered by the end of the season?

07:29No, of course not.

07:30Or are there a lot of things we're not going to see coming out?

07:32No, because then we wouldn't get a second season.

07:34Yeah, no, there's definitely more question marks,

07:36but it kind of ties it up in a way that you're like,

07:40I see where this is going to go now,

07:43and it's really exciting.

07:45I think that season two is going to be even better in a lot of ways.

07:48Fingers crossed that we're going to get it very soon.

07:51But I have to also ask, because I'm a big fan of you from Tracker,

07:55so before the hunting party,

07:56you made a brief, very memorable appearance on Tracker.

07:58Is there hope that you will return as Justin Hartley's on-screen sister?

08:02I know you're busy with this, but...

08:03I mean, I hope so.

08:04Yeah, I had so much fun on that show, and Justin's great.

08:07It's such a lovely, warm set,

08:10and he does such a good job of making it that way,

08:13and so I'd love to go back.

08:16Justin's a friend, and it's nice to play with your friends,

08:19and I love the show, so we'll see.

08:22Also, I'm very curious, going back to the hunting party,

08:25what were the biggest challenges of filming a show like this?

08:30Not sleeping.

08:33Yeah, I talk a lot.

08:35I talk a lot in this show,

08:37and so as good as my memory can be,

08:41when you're working that much,

08:43and you're trying to also act good,

08:48yeah, honestly, I underestimated the amount of profiling she actually does.

08:54So, yeah.

08:55And I'm also curious, you're a smaller cast,

08:58because I feel like there are some shows where there's this big ensemble cast,

09:01but here, I think it lends itself to the fact that there's like five of you,

09:05so how did you kind of build up that relationship off-screen,

09:09and build that kind of,

09:11because you have different bonds with different people on the show,

09:14how did you kind of bond off-screen,

09:16especially because there's such a small group of people?

09:19Yeah.

09:21You know, I'm from Vancouver,

09:23and so I kind of went into the show being like,

09:25oh no, I have to be the one to bring everyone together

09:28and show them Vancouver,

09:30and thankfully everyone in the cast is very similar

09:34in the sense of taking their space or wanting to connect,

09:38and so we all did our own thing,

09:40and then we'd be like, we miss each other,

09:42and then we'd all have dinner,

09:43or we'd all, you know, go play a game,

09:45or whatever it was,

09:47and on set too,

09:50especially me, Josh, and Patrick,

09:52we just spent so much time together,

09:54and Josh and Patrick are such phenomenal human beings

09:57that it really felt like I'd known them for so, so long,

10:00and then obviously Sarah and Nick are great as well,

10:04but I didn't get to work with them quite as much,

10:07but everyone had each other's backs,

10:09which I, it's hard to get that sometimes,

10:13so it was nice.

10:14And also you're number one on, you know, the call sheet,

10:18and this is not your first leading role,

10:19but I'm very curious kind of how do you approach it,

10:21how do you, like, is there a responsibility

10:23that you feel kind of leading the show?

10:25Did you learn anything from your time on Manifest

10:27kind of being the lead that you took?

10:29Yeah, Josh taught me a lot, actually,

10:32because I went into Manifest still pretty green

10:34as far as leading goes,

10:36and so I watched a lot of how he handled things

10:38and conflict and all that stuff,

10:40and he just has such a grace about him

10:42and this pleasant energy that he doesn't have conflict,

10:45and so I was like, okay,

10:47even on, like, a really long day

10:49where nothing's going right,

10:50he still handles it like that.

10:51Okay, good.

10:52And so then going into this show,

10:55it didn't really feel like I had to do anything

10:57because everyone was just great,

11:00but I think the only thing that, like, I really care about

11:04is making sure that everyone on set feels good

11:07because I've had sets where I don't feel good

11:09or I don't feel like people want to connect with me

11:12and stuff like that,

11:13and I just don't want anyone coming on

11:15to the hunting party to feel that way,

11:17and so I guess just that.

11:20And also Manifest, obviously, was such a big show,

11:22and I feel like there's still all these fans

11:24kind of supporting you from project to project,

11:26so what's that been like,

11:27kind of getting to have this fan base

11:29that goes with you,

11:30and what has been their reception to this show

11:32because it's a little different from Manifest

11:34but still really good?

11:36The fan base is so loyal,

11:37and they feel like family in their own way to us now,

11:41but I feel just, like, warm and fuzzy

11:45the fact that they love Manifest

11:47and then they're cheering for this show to do well

11:49too, it just makes me feel like,

11:51I don't know, I don't know who some of you guys are,

11:53I don't know where in the world you are,

11:55but the fact that you spend this much time

11:57supporting and pumping it up,

11:59it's so meaningful and lovely.

12:01Thank you so much,

12:02and it was such a pleasure to speak with you.

12:04Nice to speak to you too.

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