"After meeting Xander, I rented his film 'Shanghai Noon'. His character totally played into my badboy fantasies. I was a goner." - Sarah Clarke
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NINA MYERS: This isn't how you thought it would end, is it, Jack? JACK BAUER: This isn't over yet. - "24"
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"24 syndicated interview" Girl.com.au
(2003)
Q: This has been a pretty amazing 18 months for you hasn't
it, what with the success of 24 and your whirlwind
courtship and marriage to co-star Xander Berkeley?
SARAH CLARKE: It definitely has, it's been just like the show -
one big adrenaline rush. But I would say by far the best thing
that's happened was meeting Xander. Having said that I think I've
had enough momentous changes in my life for a while.
Q: How did 24 originally come your way - was it shot
as a pilot and then picked up?
SC: It's like any show that they try to get made in Hollywood,
you take the pilot by itself because you never know if it's going
to go further than that. And as an entity within itself it was an
interesting project, it set up a lot of intrigue as to where all
these characters would go. We got to explore one hour of a day
that had the potential to be very interesting, and I think it set
up a lot of very interesting relationships that could be
explored. And on top of that you got to work in a realm that was
sort of unknown. So I was intrigued on many levels just doing the
pilot. Then when it got picked up it was exciting to see where it
was going, you remained close to it because you never know what
people are going to respond to, what the network will feel
confident in. You just do your job and hope you do it well, not
thinking about the results.
Q: When did you realise the phenomenon you were a part of?
SC: I think when I saw the first episode put together I realised
that we had really created something different, and I got excited
and started to become even more intrigued by it. I wanted it to
do well from that moment, and to continue on. I think what
[director] Stephen Hopkins established in the format and the look
of it was really thrilling to see, I wanted to continue telling
that story from that point onward.
Q: So because of all this was the writing done very far in
advance of what was being shot?
SC: They were basically writing it as they went along. They
projected certain plot lines I think, but a lot of things changed
through the course of the year. Relationships changed, peoples'
jobs changed and became more clear. Even key plot points that
they had thought of, like the assassination attempt on Senator
Palmer, was supposed to happen originally around show 18. They
began to see that they couldn't extend it for that long, it was
coming up to show 7 and they realised they would have to do it
sooner otherwise they would lose the audience. So they had to
start turning in a different direction with that story.
Q: It is incredible that a show can peak so often during one
storyline, isn't it?
SC: Those dramatic peaks seem to happen all the time on our show,
and I think it's because they've set up so many interesting
relationships, and have the potential for so many guest stars to
come in and throw a loop on these peoples' lives that they can
sustain that intrigue, and so many climaxes. Doing it this way
keeps you in the moment, that's for sure. Each hour explores the
subtleties of emotion and action that happen. Usually in an hour
you might get two minutes to describe the agony you feel from an
event, but in this you get the whole episode to experience pain
and recover. You learn to extend things in real time, which of
course is the way it happens in life.
Q: Is it true you were filming season one during September 11
2001?
SC: We'd just started, we were on about episode 3 or 4. It seemed
more and more from that point that 24 had started to
mirror the world we were living in. You just have to see the
second season to see how close it is to what's happening right
now. I don't know if someone tapped into some kind of universal
pulse, or if they are consciously mirroring what's going on in
the world, but it is very pertinent to the times we are living
in.
Q: How did you get in the spirit of the piece, were you able
to do a lot of research?
SC: I tried to jump start myself into the technology that we'd be
employing by renting Enemy of the State. That was just
to get a sense of the NSA's invasion into our privacy and to
understand the tools they use for their investigations. That gave
me a sense of just how much information we have at our
fingertips. Things like this can also feed the paranoia in us
all.
