Five minutes with … LAUREN LYLE CARLOS SANSON JR.
THE GLASWEGIAN ACTRESS TELLS WHO ABOUT HER ROLE IN NEW CRIME DRAMA, KAREN PIRIE THIS ACTOR IS QUICKLY EXPANDING HIS RESUME
Who is your character Detective Sergeant Karen Pirie? She’s a sarcastic, dry young woman who doesn’t have any time for the BS of the masculine nature of the police. She’s funny, although not trying to be, and is naturally very good at her job. She doesn’t play by the rules at all. How did you prepare for the role?
I watched every detective show you could probably watch. I had the whole case, the characters and their personalities up on my wall.
The material was quite heavy – how easy was it to shake that o each day?
Waking up at 5am most mornings to bright sunrise, I had a Spotify top 40 playlist to try and get myself amped, then I’d go to set, do a full day, get home late at night and just had to navigate my evenings in silence. I’m more of an extrovert than an introvert, but I could not be around people when I came home at night. I was living in a beautiful apartment that overlooked the hills and the treetops of the city, so that was quite serene to watch that and have glass of wine – but I really didn’t do much else. Why do you think true crime is becoming so popular? I think it’s a visceral thing. Could that happen to me? I’m someone who always thought, “Do we need to see more violence against women on-screen?” But with this show, it’s not about being dead for entertainment, it’s about her life, her soul and who she was, that she was just trying to get home. That’s what we focus on. Many women go missing all the time. It all became very relevant as we were shooting. More needs to be done.
Perhaps the show will encourage more conversation around this subject?
Other channels normally shy away from this kind of thing. It is a bit controversial. We see it as ‘unfortunately that just happens’. That shouldn’t be the case. A lot of people decide not to engage with it and decide it’s easier to just step back. This is a cool way for viewers to see something they may have not before. How was the chemistry on set? Chris Jenks, who plays Jason Murray, is one of the funniest people. We couldn’t look at one another without p---ing ourselves laughing. It wasn’t even that funny what we were doing, we just couldn’t hold it together. What’s on the agenda for you at the moment? I’m now in the Dominican Republic shooting a new Studio Canal thriller. We’re by the beach, so the location’s stunning. My character is very di erent from Karen, she’s a lot more glam. I’m very busy. (Watch Karen Pirie on Britbox)
Carlos Sanson is a man in demand. Last year, he was nominated for the 2022 Logie Award for Most Popular Talent, and after working on several new projects, the 24-year-old actor returns as male lead Santiago for Season 3 of Bump. “I’m really excited for everyone to see it. The jump forward of ve years has brought a fresh energy to the show,” Sanson told WHO. “Everyone’s so di erent, but also it’s the same characters we love.”
He adds, “It’s also nice to be playing a little closer to my age, not playing high school. It was ne when we did Season 1 and 2, but now I’m growing facial hair and wrinkles. It’s a little bit harder to pull o .”
Sanson says that after taking a break over summer, he has a new lm coming out in early 2023 called Sweet As, a coming-ofage lm set in the Pilbara region, in which he plays a counsellor, Fernando, who helps troubled youths.
(Bump S3 is streaming now on Stan)