MATERNAL INSTINCT
Here’s a new mystery thriller with a sci-fi twist. Starring Allison Tolman – best known as Fargo’s Molly Solverson – Emergence tells the tale of a police chief who takes in an abandoned child near the site of a plane crash. And it soon becomes clear that the girl has unique powers…
Hi, Allison! Tell us about your character, Jo Evans…
There’s a sci-fi cliché where the heroine has to take care of a child, and although she’s reluctant about it, she learns to love. That’s not Jo – Jo is a warm person, and a mum. She already has this maternal instinct, and that, accompanied by her sense of duty as an officer of the law, is what makes her immediately take in this kid who has nobody. She doesn’t really see an alternative.
Jo is separated from her husband, but is there still a bond between them?
I think there’s something to be said for showing a pleasant divorced couple on TV. You don’t see that a lot, and it does exist. I know people who are better divorced than they ever were married! That’s just a better arrangement for them.
Is playing a small-town police chief who isn’t jaded quite a refreshing change?
Yes! She’s very collected and cool-headed, and really knows herself. Halfway through one particular scene, Jo is gracious when she doesn’t have to be. She’s just a kind person, without being smothering. You’re always rooting for the characters you play – although with Jo, she’s the type of woman that I want in my life. She’s smart and capable, knows who she is, and is very difficult to rattle!