In Conversation with… Sarah Carter

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This article was published 03/08/2013 (4743 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Sarah Sanguin Carter is in a pretty good place these days.

Actually, let’s make that places. The 32-year-old Winnipeg product has an ongoing role in the made-for-cable sci-fi series Falling Skies (which airs on Super Channel and Space), an on-the-rise music career as part of the ethereal indie-folk-rock duo SanguinDrake, and has just returned from shooting an action movie in Indonesia. Carter, who previously co-starred alongside James Woods in the CBS drama Shark, sat down with Free Press TV writer Brad Oswald recently in Los Angeles to discuss a career that suddenly seems to be going in several positive directions at once.

Q: You’ve been immersed in the sci-fi genre for a while now. Is it still a place you want to be?

A: Yeah, I love the sci-fi world. The stories have limitless potential, and our show is particularly great because it’s a combo of sci-fi and drama. … I’m a nerd. I like it. I like sci-fi.”

Q: Sci-fi fans are a very particular and demanding bunch. How would you describe your relationship with them?

A: The main thing is that I truly appreciate them, because they are, most of the time, quite intelligent and deeply engaged in the story. They’re opinionated and passionate, and as an actor, it’s a treat to really feel your impact on the fans. These people are totally committed and interested in what’s going to happen next, and it inspires you to take the story seriously.

Q: With sci-fi fans being what they are, there’s an extra burden and perhaps some extra baggage that gets placed on pretty girls on shows in that genre. You’re an attractive woman on a sci-fi show; how do you deal with the rather focused attention?

A: To be honest, it has all been pretty positive. It’s nice to be appreciated, Yes, I’ve had sci-fi fans who have been attracted to me, for whatever reasons, but nothing has happened that has been offensive. It has all just been kind of exciting.

Q: Compare the work experience and the fan experience of working on (Falling Skies) with working on a conventional-network show like Shark?

A: Oh, man. I am so glad to be out of that tight suit and out in the field, in my jeans and gun in hand. It’s great.

Q: Speaking of out-there action, you’ve been away recently working on an interesting project. What’s up with that?

A: I was in Jakarta, Indonesia, shooting a local action film called Guardian. The offer came out of nowhere; I guess they’d seen Falling Skies, and they needed a blonde Hollywood actor to take on this role that was pretty dark and angry. They didn’t have time to train someone, because the other actors from India and China and Russia had already been in training for three months. So they needed someone who knew how to shoot a gun and understood fight choreography, and they just took a long shot and made me a straight offer. And I said yes, because I had the time and the adventure sounded exciting. But when I got there, it was such an honour, because it’s the first action movie shot in Jakarta, and they really want this to put them on the map internationally.

Q: Let’s talk about the state of your music career. What is SanguinDrake up to these days?

A: We’re recording another EP, and the music just keeps getting better and better. We have a new guitar player, Kevin Barth, and a new drummer, Ben Masters, and our bass player, Frank DiVanna, has played with, like, everybody. I think we’ve found a sound that people say just isn’t out there right now. It’s my passion, my heart and soul, and I’m so grateful to have this band and I’m hoping there will be a big tour in the spring.

Q: What are the chances that people back home in Winnipeg will see you play your music anytime soon?

A: Well, I’m still crossing my fingers for the Winnipeg Folk Festival. That would be my dream, because I grew up going there every year. I would drop everything and make the Winnipeg Folk Festival a priority if they ever thought they’d have me.

brad.oswald@freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @BradOswald