Jacqueline McKenzie

by James Ellis, November 26th, 2004

Forget Mulder and Scully, the new darlings of sci-fi fans are Diana Skouris and Tom Baldwin - two agents assigned to keep an eye on a group of returning alien abductees in Sky One's smash series The 4400. Jaqueline McKenzie has appeared in films such as Divine Secrets Of The Ya-Ya Sisterhood and Deep Blue Sea and looks to have finally hit the big time.
  



Tell me what happens at the end of the series.
No.

Your Aussie accent's quite strong. Do you have a voice coach?
Lord, no. I've just come back from filming in Australia so my accent's back to being quite strong. But when I got the role of Diana, they didn't even know I was an Aussie.

So you fibbed and pretended you were a Yank?

Not really. I just went into the auditions and did it American. At the time, I'd spent quite a while in America so it wasn't that hard.

When did they find out?

About three weeks into filming. Some of the cast and crew knew I was from Australia but it was only when I was p***ed off and threw out a load of expletives that it hit them. We were filming in Vancouver and staying in a hotel where they allow dogs on the premises. We were going out for dinner and the others were waiting in reception. I was coming down in the lift, all glammed up, and it just stank of dogs. It was really hot and I could feel the smell permeating my clothes. When I got downstairs, I really let rip. I couldn't keep up the accent pretence any more. They all just looked at me with their mouths on the floor. Joel [Gretsch, who plays Tom Baldwin] said: 'What the heck language was that?'

It all seems very X-Files.

We filmed at the same studios they did and there's the alien abduction angle but it's focused on the problems this small group of people have when they re-assimilate into society. The sociological aspects could be an analogy for any group of people who don't quite fit in.

Did you keep any memorabilia from filming?

When we finished the first series, we didn't know whether it would be commissioned for more. They were closing the studios so I got all of Diana's wardrobe, put it in a suitcase and shipped it home just in case. I wanted to keep the continuity going. The wardrobe department was hilarious. There was one episode where I have to carry a gun and they got me this holster. When I put it on, it was huge and looked ridiculous. One of the guys disappeared and came back with another holster that fit perfectly. He said: 'You should be honoured. Take care of it. It's the one we had specially made for Gillian Anderson.'

I couldn't keep up the accent pretence any more. Joel said: 'What the heck language was that?'

Do Tom and Diana get off with each other?

They don't, but Diana does like him. He's got loads of problems. His son's in a coma and he's going through a divorce. She's got her own stuff going on. And the show is not like the X-Files in that it's not mainly about Tom and Diana. It's an ensemble piece.

You wouldn't fancy kissing him?

Uggghh, not at all. Screen kisses are awful. You have a zillion cameras around you, the director is asking you to move this way and that, then to press lips for a few seconds and pretend you're enjoying it.

So no tongues then.

Are you mad? Definitely not. Well, it did happen in one of my screen kisses but I'm not telling you who with.

Do you believe in UFOs?

Not necessarily, but I do believe in different realities. There could be something that's happening right here where we are right now but it'd be happening in a different dimension. Perhaps UFOs are just things that come through from a different dimension and then go back.

Why do all abductions happen in rural areas?

That's true, isn't it? I was filming last month in the Australian outback. We were miles from the nearest city and they ended up using locals as extras. One of the guys told us how he'd had a couple of beers and was looking at the sky when a car full of Zulu warriors drove by. Not slowly, he said, but quickly, as though the car's speed made it any more believable.

Do you think it had anything to do with the 'couple of beers'?

You reckon?

USA Orders 4400 Third Season

USA Network is bringing back The 4400 for a third season, Variety reported. Production on 13 new episodes will begin next year for a summer 2006 premiere, the trade paper reported.

The SF drama's second season ranked as summer's number-one cable show among adults aged 18-49, better than F/X's The Closer and The Shield. Though down from the first season's ratings, when The 4400 was presented as a limited five-episode event, the season maintained a solid average of 3.7 million total viewers. The first season also received an Emmy nomination for best miniseries.

Ira Steven Behr, Scott Peters, Maira Suro and Perry Simon executive-produce the show.

Cast members Billy Campbell, Joel Gretsch and Jacqueline McKenzie are all expected to return for the third season, the trade paper reported.