Stella Baker
OF ‘THE REPUBLIC OF SARAH’ ON THE CW
I think Sarah’s basic knowledge of U.S. history and cartography and geography ... it’s just such a wealth of knowledge in that area. And it’s such a progressive outlook on the possibility of what a country can look like.
At the same time, she is a little bit impulsive. She can make quick, reckless decisions sometimes. She also sometimes thinks that she has the best ideas for everyone, so I think one of the biggest challenges for Sarah is figuring out how to reach out and get help, because you can’t do this task alone. I would not trust myself to run a country – I don’t have the expertise for that – but I am a bit of a control freak, so I
guess we share that.
What have you learned about politics from doing the series?
Because it’s a small town, if we’re doing a poll in (the show’s fictional) Greylock about a new law or the constitution or whatever it is, everyone who expresses an opinion on that is heard. I think we’re moving back towards more of that sort of grassroots, focused on your community, focused on your local representatives to get to pass policy that relates
specifically to the people around you.
It’s just that in Greylock, when people vote for something like that or engage civically, it’s the laws for the whole country ... but I don’t think it’s so different than when we show up to our town hall and say, “This is what we care about.
This is what we need.”
How is it now to have a father who’s also been through the series-star experience, namely Simon Baker (“The Mentalist”)?
I feel really lucky that I have some sense of guidance, that when the s–- hits the fan, I can call my dad and be like “What’s going on? Am I doing it all wrong?” He’s been through it all, so he has been available to give me guidance,
and I’m really grateful for that.