Deep State - interviews with Anastasia Griffith and Alistair Petrie
FOX Networks Group (FNG) Europe and Africa is preparing to launch its first original series Deep State in over 50 countries in Europe and Africa. The show was officially presented in Cannes where Alexandra Shutova met the stars of the series. In this third part, we publish her interview with Anastasia Griffith and Alistair Petrie. Alistair plays George White, a strategic old-school MI6 operative who coaxes ex-agent Max Easton back into the field, while Anastasia has been cast as Amanda Jones, an ex-CIA station chief and now a formidable and highly influential force within the American intelligence community, running the CIA side of The Section.
Anastasia Griffiths as Amanda Jones in DEEP STATE © FOX Networks Group (FNG) Europe and Africa
Anastasia, there are not much details about your role in the series yet. Please, tell us more about the role you will be playing.
Anastasia: Amanda Jones runs the CIA side of The Section. She is playing the most-high stakes in the game imaginable.
Amanda is one of the strong women on the show. What are her weaknesses?
She has plenty. If I'm standing outside of her I could make a lot of judgements. She has tunnel vision. She is unable to look at the work from the broad prospective. She is making big decisions with massive repercussions from her past. As a result, she makes some decisions that I would not want to make.
We all make decisions from fear, and they are never the best one. You have to make decisions from the place of strength and love. I don't think she ever intended to end up there. It goes from a wholesome choice that she sees protecting peace and democracy.
At the same time, she is a great mom. You see her go home and tries to protect her daughter from the demands of her work.
Anastasia, you've shot in a lot of US series like The Blacklist, Zoo, Elementary, Once Upon a Time; etc. How does the production process differ for Deep State which is FNG Europe & Africa's first regional commission?
Anastasia: Mathew writes for American series, and everyone here has been on an American show, so writing is still the same. Working in the UK, a lot of shine is taken off the production. As an actor, you are not treated like royalty. I like how grounded this show felt.
What's nice in working at Fox is having to report only to two people. In the States, often you deal with various studios, various production teams, all of whom have the say. But its changing in the States - Netflix and Hulu are giving more power to the creative.
Alistair: And the people running the show they are brilliant, smart, funny. They are trusting that we are doing the best. I think the intimacy of the process- you see the results of what you are making. In America, it feels like there is a million people involved, but in the UK it is not like that.
Anastasia: Amanda Jones runs the CIA side of The Section. She is playing the most-high stakes in the game imaginable.
Amanda is one of the strong women on the show. What are her weaknesses?
She has plenty. If I'm standing outside of her I could make a lot of judgements. She has tunnel vision. She is unable to look at the work from the broad prospective. She is making big decisions with massive repercussions from her past. As a result, she makes some decisions that I would not want to make.
We all make decisions from fear, and they are never the best one. You have to make decisions from the place of strength and love. I don't think she ever intended to end up there. It goes from a wholesome choice that she sees protecting peace and democracy.
At the same time, she is a great mom. You see her go home and tries to protect her daughter from the demands of her work.
Alistair Petrie as George White in DEEP STATE © FOX Networks Group (FNG) Europe and Africa
Anastasia, you've shot in a lot of US series like The Blacklist, Zoo, Elementary, Once Upon a Time; etc. How does the production process differ for Deep State which is FNG Europe & Africa's first regional commission?
Anastasia: Mathew writes for American series, and everyone here has been on an American show, so writing is still the same. Working in the UK, a lot of shine is taken off the production. As an actor, you are not treated like royalty. I like how grounded this show felt.
What's nice in working at Fox is having to report only to two people. In the States, often you deal with various studios, various production teams, all of whom have the say. But its changing in the States - Netflix and Hulu are giving more power to the creative.
Alistair: And the people running the show they are brilliant, smart, funny. They are trusting that we are doing the best. I think the intimacy of the process- you see the results of what you are making. In America, it feels like there is a million people involved, but in the UK it is not like that.
