"The Last Ship" TNT Series. Interview with Rhona Mitra.

       Question: I really enjoyed those first three episodes. And I liked the fact that the characters weren’t all just a kind of a one note character. Yours in particular had a lot of development even just in those first three.

Is that something that existed when you started with the part? Or is it something that developed as you were working with it?

        Answer: Gosh. Thank you so much for saying that. It had to develop very much because of the nature of the first episode and the information that she was holding with the - against the Navy I suppose.

And so once that information implodes, there’s a great release of a human being that was allowed to unfold. And I very much wanted to make sure that she was released and the human being underneath that was released and exposed with a chance to exchange some level of vulnerability with a view to working as a unified force.

And also with the audience accepting her as not just being this sort of closed off, very guarded scientist who is really keeping a great, dangerous treasure from her comrades - potential comrades - and the audience. And so it was a conscious shift that I had to make to make sure that she was warmed by the ship and hopefully by the ship.

Question: Now we’re given hints about there being something unnatural about the virus. Obviously I don’t want to get into it too much. But will we be learning more about that as the season progresses?

Answer: Yes, absolutely - yes. There’s all sorts of - oh gosh. What’s the word I’m looking for?

I suppose - well there’s definitely that. This character that is the virus just really has a number on the call sheets because the personality of this particular virus is exactly what - I mean I think the ship should have her own number on the call sheet and so should the virus. They’re two such strong personalities, you know?

And we’ll see them unfold and see exactly - and how other people have impacted the virus and what has happened and how that exactly has taken hold of the planet in the way it has. And that’s really to me I think one of the most intriguing parts of our show.