SDCC 2011 Press Room: Fringe- Jasika Nicole and Blair Brown

Q: How much do you know about what’s in store for your character? How far along of what you can tell us?

Jasika: We don’t know a lot, because that’s sort of the beauty—or the torment—of the way we work. They don’t give us a lot in advance. It makes it very exciting to get scripts. I think what we know is that everybody’s life is now quite different, not only on a personal level because of what Peter meant to them, but also just the structure of their lives. Without Peter, Walter never would have healed in a way that Walter would have taken over Massive Dynamics, so that’s a big one for me.

Blair: Astrid is not the babysitter for Walter this season, which is weird, because I love that. But I am excited to see the changes that will happen because of that. Instead she’s a bit closer to Olivia, they work more together, and so that means that Astrid’s out in the field, which is a huge thing that I wanted, and that other people wanted, and I’m excited about that. Like she said, we’ve only seen two episodes, so that’s taking a little information and going a very long way.

And I’m really excited to see exactly how important Peter is to these people’s lives in all of the small, tiny ways. You know you take for granted how important it is to have somebody in your life for four years, and then all of a sudden they’re not there anymore, and they never were there.

Jasika: The curious thing is now, looking back, this is a way in which people who’ve never seen the show can now start because it’s like the whole show has been rebooted in a sense. So for people who have watched it, it’s very cool because the layers are so dense; but if you haven’t, you can still follow the story. It’s very clever on their part, [the writers,] to do it that way. And also now that you have everybody on one side, that war- that more simplistic war – has ended. But now it’s "is your old enemy your friend" or "is your old friend your enemy?" That’s all now up for grabs.

Q: Do we see Astrid getting out more?

Blair: Yes!

Jasika: With a gun!

Blair: And with another thing- I don’ want to spoil it, you find out in the first episode- you find out why she is out in the field. She and Walter have this arrangement they’ve made. Because, like we’ve said, Walter is so very different because he did not transition out of the mental institution into real life, and so because of that he’s really, really weird this season. Even more so than he has been- and before, which I thought was impossible- but it’s sad. It’s funny, but it’s sad, because he’s really broken.

Q: And he never went into the mental institution?

Blair: He went into the mental institution but the reason that he came out was that Peter brought him out, and Peter helped bring him back into the fold. Peter was now never there to do that, and Olivia…

Jasika: That triage that they did, where they take care of him together, now didn’t happen. So there’s a whole chunk missing.

Q: Is he still in the institution, or is he…

Blair: He- you’ll find out! There’s a chunk missing.

Jasika: Particularly for Olivia and for Walter, there’s a chunk missing- they don’t know what it is.

Blair: It’s like he’s institutionalized himself in a way, that you will discover in the first episode.

Q: Have you gotten a chance, since you’re out in the field now, to do the sort of action star, you know, running around and shooting?

Blair: Okay, we’ve filmed one episode. (laughs) I’m really, really hoping! I’ve got a taste of it; she’s got a briefcase. That’s exciting!

Q: It’s a first step.

Blair: It’s a great big step, and I’m hoping after some point she’ll be chasing after people in her heels, and pulling out a gun.

Jasika: That’s the wish! (laughs)

Blair: That’s a huge wish!

Q: At least you had the gooey, blood stuff.