Elizabeth Mitchell is one of those actresses that has a way of drawing you in. On Lost, Juliet became such a beloved character that I would venture to say was probably just as popular as the Oceanic 6. She now plays Erica Evans on V, where she doubles as an FBI Agent and a leader of the 5th Column (the resistance movement against the Vs). Whatever the role she takes on, Elizabeth Mitchell is just brilliant. I recently had the chance to speak with her and we talked about the upcoming Erica/Anna showdown, the similarities and differences between Erica and Juliet and her favorite moments from filming Lost. (We even chatted a little bit about our golden retrievers!) And while she could share next to nothing about the way Lost ends, we talked about her time there and if she was happy with the way her story ended.
What originally drew you to the role of Erica?
Well, it’s actually really interesting because since I was a little kid, I wanted to play kind of a sci-fi hero protagonist woman. And that really was it. That was the initial draw, and it was basically kind of a childhood wish fulfillment — that sort of thing. Because that’s what I watched, and that’s what I love. And then as I started getting into it and my character started getting more interesting, I was like “Cool, okay this is cool.” So that’s what initially drew me to it. Actually, honestly that was it. I thought it would be a really unique and interesting way to spend my time. And I thought it would be really fun. I had been doing such deep, dark stuff, I thought that taking a little kind of a popcorn movie would be great. Not of course realizing that once I joined it, she would become twisted and dark. (laughs) But you know, that’s just me, that’s what I tend to do.
Well, I like it!
Good, I’m glad. Thank you!
What do you think makes V different from Lost or any other shows you have been on?
Well Lost was really its own world, and so completely unique in the way they went about doing things. Because of Damon, I think, and his tricky little intricate mind. But I actually think that V for me is different because it’s an action-adventure sci-fi show. Whereas Lost was really — I guess you could call it sci-fi, but it was really just this unique hybrid of all kinds of wonderful things. But I just think V is kind of — or what I was hoping for at least — was kind of a shoot-em-up, sci-fi, us-against-them kind of thing and of course, it’s turned into all kinds of wonderful murky shades of gray which is even more interesting, really. Those were my kind of hopes. I kind of wanted to be Han Solo, you know, that kind of thing. So we have one of those now. I think I really do best as the kind of tortured critter who walks around trying to figure everything out. (laughs)
Erica is very suspicious of the Vs for good reason. Do you think the 5th Column is going to gain more followers as the show goes on?
I do think they will, and a lot of it has to do with faith. The whole show I think — it’s so funny, people went political with it, which I thought was great, because I love hearing what people think about things. But to me, it’s all about faith — blind faith for them. It’s about having faith in something. And really, the faith is here, but the Vs are bad. You know, there’s only been a few instances that she can actually pinpoint to say this is true. But her overall feeling is one of such tremendous evil coming her way that she’s taking it on faith that that’s what this is and she’s doing everything she can to stop it. So I believe more and more people will start to feel that way, and things will start to get scarier and scarier. And of course, we as the audience know that Anna is up to no good. But as far as the human race goes, she’s pretty good on paper, as they say. (laughs)
What don’t we know about the Vs that we might find out soon?
Well, I mean, the fact that Anna has all those teeth is pretty cool. I guess we’re going to find out a little bit about the baby which is super super cool. And I think that’s going to be really fun. That’s something I didn’t get to see that I just read about. So I’m very excited to see how the Val and Ryan thing goes.
Yeah, the baby with the tail.
Yeah! How cool is that?! I think we’re going to find out more about what their agenda is, and what their capabilities are. And a little bit more about what they possibility might need from us, and why can’t she just take it peacefully? Why do they have to take it with such force? Obviously, they want something from us that we’re not really willing to give up, or else they wouldn’t be so sneaky about it. I mean, I don’t think Anna’s being sneaky just to be sneaky, that’s just a waste of time. But you never know. (laughs)
And talk a little bit about Erica’s relationship with her son, Tyler. Is she ever going to talk some sense into him?
No I know! It’s really funny, because I was just reading one kind of little review which I don’t usually do because I feel like it can get in your head a little bit. But there’s a couple people that I read, and I’m like “Oh, okay,” because they usually have a pretty good understanding. And one of them was like, “And then he put on the jacket. And that’s getting old!” And I thought well, it is actually, if you think about it. So I don’t think it’s the jacket that keeps her from talking to him, I think it’s the fact that if he knew, and he’s such a kid, I don’t believe he would make good choices with his knowledge, if that makes any sense. I think that any more knowledge that he has, puts him in more danger. And she’s just, she’s completely lost. But I love their relationship. It’s such a teenager relationship. He’s just a long streak of misery. And she basically kind of puts up with it. She’s obviously not a good mother. I mean, anyone who comes home and downs three fingers of vodka is probably not a good mom. (laughs)
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ABC’s official upfront presentation isn’t for a few hours, but they have released their fall schedule ahead of time. I am pleased to see a bunch of new shows. As I’ve said before, there’s a lot of buzz around No Ordinary Family, so I look forward to seeing that. I’m also excited to see Matthew Perry’s new show, Mr. Sunshine, which won’t air until mid-season. Wednesday night for ABC is still comedy night, and you can’t go wrong with the shows they have scheduled. I hope that Better Together fits right in. V is also held until mid=season, which is better than last season where they went on a really long hiatus. Overall, I think it’s a very solid lineup.
A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of attending the Nurse Jackie panel at The Paley Center in New York. 
