TV LEADING LADIES PANEL : RHEA SEEHORN
@hollywoodfamerps
What drew you to this character when you first read the script?
"Oh my god, well... considering I was drawn to it before I even knew a single thing about her, that kinda says it all. Vince told me he was creating this world, and this character, with me in mind. And when someone like him comes to you, says that, and doesn’t follow it up with 'just kidding' ten seconds later like some cruel joke, you say yes. So when I actually got the first script and started to unravel who Carol Struka was, it was like being a kid in a candy store. Here's this woman who has almost everything she's ever wanted, and yet she can't quite find the joy in it. Then she's pushed into this situation where her career and her wife are just ripped away, and none of it is black and white. To open a script and find a woman in her 50s written with that level of complexity and agency — that’s so rare"
What parts of your character do you relate to, and what parts are different from you?
I wanna start by saying — I'm not that miserable, I swear ! Honestly, I'm kind of intimidated by someone like Carol. I’d want to be her friend, but I feel like she’d just be silently judging me. I'd get nervous so fast, and she’d probably offer me a drink while she downs the entire bottle. But... can you blame her ? I definitely repress my anger a little more than Carol does, so maybe I can learn a thing or two from her... maybe get into a fight at the con with a wookie later ( joking ) I really relate to that underlying self doubt — I think any human does. To find out your wife didn’t actually like your work, and to hear that through someone in an Alien Hivemind who literally knew her inner thoughts ? You’d be so bitter. My skin is definitely not thick enough for that. Oh, and definitely her love of golden girls, easily could watch that for hours and hours "
Is there a moment in the series you’re especially proud of as an actress?
Can I say my golf swings in Episode 7 ? I'm very proud to say not all of those shots were a stand-in! But truly, just the entirety of that episode. I had zero dialogue, and the entire hour was just me. I remember getting that script and thinking, 'Jesus, who wants to watch my face for that long?' But I trusted Vince. I know this is what he does best. It didn’t matter that there were no lines — here was this woman completely isolated by an alien hive that was upset with her. There's a real psychological shift in your brain when you're doing something like that. You have to make sure the audience can read every single emotion behind your eyes without relying on words, and I'm really proud of how that came across
What have you learned from working with the cast and crew?
During our first few weeks, when we were doing night shoots—it was jarring. The hours were really long, and we were filming these incredibly high-stakes, emotionally devastating scenes. You'd wrap at dawn, go home, and then have to jump right back into that heavy headspace the next day. Early on, I found myself getting way too in my head. I just remember members of our camera crew coming up to me and saying, 'We have your back. If you fall, it's okay. We're holding you up.' That really stuck with me. You can't do the kind of vulnerable work this show demands without that level of support behind the lens. And the same goes for working with Karolina, Carlos, and Samba. Everyone has so much patience and trust. We have a strict zero asshole policy on set, and I can happily say our cast and crew stand by that 100%."
Was there a co-star who challenged you to become a better performer?
"My beautiful co-star, Karolina Wydra. She had by far the most difficult role to play. I'd be pushing her, getting so angry as Carol, and she couldn’t react like a normal human, she couldn't hold or return any of that emotional energy I was throwing at her. I'd constantly see her meditating and keeping herself in this incredibly calm headspace during filming. As someone who personally cannot stand still,who literally needs to dance around between takes, watching her challenged me to become a better performer just in terms of grounding myself during those long shoots. She took her craft just as seriously as I do. We'd practice takes on weekends and call each other every night to go through everything, especially when it came to that kiss in Episode 8. We both just completely went for it and trusted one another. It had to feel desperate, and it had to feel needy. I mean, she made that easy — look at her ! Not a bad day on set at all."
Why do you think audiences connect with your show?
"So, so much. That's the thing about the show, and it's audience. It's not just one thing. I've had people come up to me asking me if's about AI, about isolation, about grief. I think, if someone can see thing's they relate to in the show, in Carol, then that's what it is. You could tear it all apart, and find so many things people connect with. But i think especially, a huge part a people connect with i found, is here's this very complex, flawed woman. Who's hidden her Sexuality, who's gone through multiple traumas with conversion therapy, who, despite her anger towards these hive members, she found herself sleeping with one out of loneliness. And i think, even just as a queer woman myself, getting to play someone who just happens to be a Lesbian, i've had many people from the lgbtqia+ of all ages just feeling seen within that. Again, it's an unfortunate, rare thing to have not only a middle aged woman as a lead, but someone who's sexuality is just her, it's not the story"
What song best describes your character’s journey?
"I had a lot of Phoebe Bridgers on her playlist. She's just such an easy way to tap into a deeper emotional place, the way that genius woman writes her lyrics. But one in particular I really resonated with, especially earlier on in Carol's journey into this new world, was I Know the End. There's this grief, this fear, and then eventually... surrender. Surrendering to a change that's completely outside of her control. It captures this really messy ending to a chapter,to an identity, really,to the life she once had. Nothing about that kind of loss is clean or graceful. It's confusing and overwhelming, and you're left carrying all of these emotions that don't really have anywhere to go. I think that's why the ending of that song always got me. It builds and builds until all that's left is this need to scream. And I think Carol understood that feeling better than she ever could've put into words
