Burn Notice‘s sixth season has just gotten underway on USA Network, and star Gabrielle Anwar took some time to talk to a group of journalists about her experiences on the show and her feelings about her character, Fiona Glenanne.
Why she loves playing such a strong female character:
“I’m very grateful that she was even created. I think there are more fabulous female roles coming our way lately, particularly in television, Homeland and The Good Wife. There’s plenty of good women being represented as we are, which is incredibly exciting and refreshing, and let’s hope that there’s more to come. I think we’re well deserving.”
What advice would she give Fiona?
“Well, that’s a very good question. I think I would probably just tell her to relax. Though having said that, I think that Fiona is sort of chilling just a tad over the years. I think with the lowering of her skirt hemlines, I think that her angst has been somewhat calmed, quelled. Let’s hope so.”
What made Fiona sacrifice her freedom for Michael?
“Love? I think it’s just plain old love. I mean, I like to think that when there is that sort of commitment and devotion to another person that you would in fact sacrifice your freedom for them. I mean, I certainly feel that way in real life about my children, so that kind of love does exist, and I like to think that that’s what Fiona and Michael have between them.”
Does she enjoy the episodes in which Fiona goes undercover?
“Actually, it has its moments of being challenging, you know, particularly when there’s different dialects involved, but I am very grateful to play these because after six years of playing the same character, it really does breathe a breath of fresh air into each episode when we get to do something that’s completely out of character. You know, Jeffrey Donovan, who plays Michael, gets to do it much more frequently than I, and I get a little bit sulky about that.”
And her favorite undercover role so far:
“Yes, I mean, I played a sort of gum-chewing kind of New Jersey girl a few seasons ago, which was so much fun. You know, I had some cleavage, and just prancing around with an attitude, and I just recently played a Boston girl, which is a very hard accent to do well. So I like to play these women that are clichés of sort of bimbo-esque gals who actually underneath it all have a whole other world of intelligence and skill, and that’s always a bit of a fun role.”
Does she do many of her own stunts?
“I do. I do do a lot of stunts, hoping to do less now that I’m you know, I’m not quite as flexible as I used to be, but yes, I do a lot of stunts. It’s odd. I think it’s easier somehow. You know, when we’re coordinating the stunts, and our schedule is so tight and we shoot so quickly that it’s almost easier to just say ‘You know what, I’ll just do the bloody thing,’ so that there’s not these cuts of the stunt girl doing some sort of tai kwon do, and then me jumping in and pulling the expression on my face that I kicked someone. It just takes longer and I’m rather impatient, so I just say, ‘Oh, bloody hell, just teach me the moves and I’ll do it.’ And you know, obviously I’m not as equipped as the stunt double, but I give it a damn good try.”
On her dream episode:
“I think I would like us to do an episode in Dublin, in Ireland, you know, maybe a parent is sick and she flies home and we get to see who she is – just walking into the front door of her home would say so much. We know so much about Michael and his family of origin . . . Even though there’s something to be said for the enigmatic idea of where she came from and who she is, I would love to go to Ireland and just take a little slice of her life and reveal something. And I have a whole concept of who her family is and how she lived and you know, perhaps the idea that she came from a well-to-do upbringing, and so the fact that she’s running around with Michael and Sam and Jesse is not because she has to support herself financially by these means. It’s because she wants to. I think that’s an alluring idea.”
To get you excited about season six, here’s a teaser for a real upcoming episode she enjoyed:
“You know, we did in fact just shoot . . . I think it was 6.09, could have been 6.08. They all kind of merge into one after six years. I get to play a Boston mobster, so that was tremendous fun for me, to get to sort of mix it up a little bit and incorporate different characters and accents and costumes and hair and makeup. It’s just fun. You know, it’s like dress-up as a kid.”
And looking way into the future, where would Fiona want her and Michael to be in ten years?
“Well, they would definitely be together. There would be no CIA in sight, nor FBI, and they would be saving the world one hand grenade at a time.”
Don’t miss season six of Burn Notice, airing Thursdays on USA Network at 9/8c.
(Photo courtesy of USA.)
Love Gabrielle and Fiona. Her idea for a dream ep would be awesome. I’d love to see where Fiona comes from!