Slippery role for actress in ‘Tin Star’
CHRISTINA Hendricks is akin to a spin doctor in Tin Star. The 10-part series tells the story of a small town being overrun by migrant workers from a new oil refinery – and the wave of drugs, prostitution and organised crime that follows threatens to sweep away everything in its wake.
Hendricks plays Elizabeth Bradshaw, a former journalist who now works as a corporate liaison for the town’s oil industry to sweet talk locals into the new development.
“The refinery brings a whole new element – people, workers and corruption – to what was a peaceful town and a good place to raise your children, so obviously there’s a lot of controversy and she finds herself in the thick of it all,” Hendricks said.
The series gets dark very quickly, but Hendricks said her character was far from two-dimensional.
“Everyone has multiple sides to them. Bradshaw definitely has an ambitious side. But she is struggling with the demons in her to be ambitious and move forward in her career, while maintaining her voice,” said Hendricks.
She said her character struggled with working at an oil company, because it was everything she’d been against throughout her career.
“She really goes in there thinking that she’s smart enough to make some changes. Being the voice against the company didn’t work, so she is trying to embark on a different route,” she said.
Hendricks, who was attracted to the role because she loved seeing the idea of the oil industry on screen rather than in a documentary, said the refinery became a “character” in the story.
“Bradshaw is trying to justify her business with it, and trying to see it in a positive light or as something she can change.
“But as it starts to change the town, it’s clearly doing no good. So she has to justify everything, and that changes who she is,” she added.
Hendricks said she sometimes questioned the fact that her character wasn’t questioning things more.
“It seemed like she was letting things go past her. Initially, she turns a blind eye or just assumes that things are going as she thought.
“It was a challenge to get in her head space, so we had to work on getting the character to reflect her own history,” said Hendricks.
“It was a bit unusual to be the only American on the production. I really enjoyed working on an Alberta accent. It was a tricky one to do. You’ve really got to be on your toes, but a lot of the time no one realised I was putting on an accent,” she said.
Tin Star is a smart, suspenseful thrill of a show as deceit, guilt, love, and rage lead inevitably to a gutwrenching finale.