Exclusive interview with Jenna Lind

May, 2013 | Jenna Lind joined the "Spartacus" cast in the finale Season to play Crassus' body slave Kore. In this interview Jenna talks about the experiences she made on set and in Gladiator Bootcamp which took place before shooting. She also talks about Kore and Crassus and what she thinks about this loving relationship between a Roman master and his slave.

Note: © myFanbase 2013 - The interview is exclusive to myFanbase and may not be published on other websites or the like. You may share the first two questions if you link back to this site. Translations other than English and German may be posted with full credit including the writer's name and link to this site.
Foto: Jenna Lind - Copyright: Photo by Alex Vaughan
Jenna Lind
© Photo by Alex Vaughan

1. You joined the "Spartacus" cast in "War of the Damned" playing Kore, one of the exceptionally strong female characters the show has to offer. Were you hooked on the show before or what drew you to go for this role?

I was absolutely hooked on the show before I started! I had watched all the previous seasons as I had two friends who were in the show - Jai Courtney and Viva Bianca. I started watching to support them but kept watching because the story was so great!

2. You got to work on both sides, in the rebel camp and the Roman camp. How did that work, were there two teams simultaneously or one after the other?

I was sooooo lucky to be able to play on both sides!! I got to experience both worlds and how very different they are! The way the show worked as far as filming was that each episode took about two and a half weeks to shoot. One week would be primarily the Roman scenes and the other was the Rebels - there was also a great second unit which was pretty much continuous making sure everything was finished on time.

3. Why did Kore leave Crassus? An act of selflessness because she couldn't hurt Crassus by telling him the truth about his son? Or was it rather self-protection because Crassus wouldn't have believed her over his son?

I think it was both. She still loved Crassus but it was absolutely her plan to tell him about the rape when she asked Caesar to take her to the Melia Ridge. But once she was there - she could see that Tiberius had raised himself so high in his father's esteem that nothing he could ever do would change that. Kore knew and accepted her role as a slave and realised telling Crassus would only mean more pain for the man she loved with little or no consequence. She also knew she couldn't continue living being threatened and raped - so being forced into a corner she did the only thing she could - escape and join a group of people not condemned to the whims of master.

4. Crassus seemed to genuinely love Kore. What do you think was his personal reason behind his decision to crucify her in the end?

I think Crassus was heartbroken that he had to crucify Kore. But he being the powerful man he was - his kind of love was different to a modern interpretation. He had forgiven and understood why Kore had to kill Tiberius. But she was known publicly to have joined the rebels. Crassus was a man who did what he had to stay respected and powerful. While it privately broke his heart to crucify Kore, publicly he had no other option.

5. Were there moments when you read the new script and thought "This can't be happening!" and then found the challenge especially rewarding?

Absolutely. Every script had so many of those moments for everyone - for me personally I think getting kill Tiberius was a great moment. Kore and Tiberius' sibling like relationship had been shattered and it was rewarding to see Kore coming into her own even if it meant killing someone she once loved.

6. How did you approach the explicit scenes, especially the rape scene with Christian Antidormi? Was there a certain procedure, closed set, special meetings or something like that?

Foto: Jenna Lind - Copyright: Photo by Alex Vaughan
Jenna Lind
© Photo by Alex Vaughan

All of the above. Working on scenes of that nature is exactly that - work. Every consideration for the actors privacy is taken and they make sure you know exactly what's going to happen to the point of choreographing the scene before you shoot so that everyone feels safe. They're really serious days as Its a really hard thing to do, emotionally, physically and in terms of a rape scene psychologically. I was exceptionally lucky to work with Christain - he is a gentleman and one of my favorite people so trust was easy.

7. You also joined Gladiator Boot Camp, what did that involve, especially for the ladies?

Bootcamp was AMAZING!! I loved it so much! Completely changed my body and turned me into an exercise junkie!! Everything we did was the same for the ladies as the men (except lesser loads of weights when we got to the circuits!). We trained for four hours a day for four weeks, including weights, cardio, tumbling, sword fighting and fight techniques. I didn't know anyone before we started so it really fastracked the cast bonding before we split into Rebels and Romans during filming! I find nearly killing yourself on a daily basis together really cements friendships!!

8. The "Spartacus" cast seems close like a circle of friends and family. How did you spend a usual day on set?

The cast of Spartacus really is a family. We all just love each other - its a bit sickening really (joke!!). We spent (and still do) pretty much all our free time together; training, going out to dinner or seeing every movie that came out! On set, between takes, It didn't feel like working it just felt like I was hanging out with my friends in silly clothes all day and I never wanted to go back to my trailer!! I just wanted to hang around and watch what everyone was doing!!!

9. What character facetes would you like to play that aren't in your repertoire yet?

I've been really lucky so far in my career, not to be pigeon holed into one specific genre or character type - I would love to keep changing it up! There's so many great shows and films out at the moment. My dream is to be able to work for a really long time in really great things. Whatever they may be.

10. What is next for you? Any new projects you can talk about?

At the moment I'm auditioning for lots of things and getting my ducks in a row for a move to the US. I just got back to Australia after a few months over there and it's looking more permanent. Its a strange time at the moment because I don't have a home base - my life is literally in suitcases so I can pack and go anywhere - which, is pretty stressful but also really exciting!

11. myFanbase is an online magazine about U.S. television shows. Do you have one or more favorite show(s)?

I have many, MANY favorite shows! I think it all started for me with "Buffy" - I was obsessed as a kid and still am! I pretty much watch everything if I'm going to audition for a show I want to know what it's about - I love the "West Wing". "Doctor Who", "Downton Abbey", "Game of Thrones" and "Homeland" at the moment.

Thank you, Jenna, we wish you all the best for your future projects!

Nicole Oebel - myFanbase

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