Canadian Lindy Booth the go- to girl for artifact TV
From Dewey Decimal System to dewy- eyed ingenue, Lindy Booth’s role on the new sci- fi action series The Librarians is anything but bookish. The Oakville, Ont., actress plays Cassandra Cillian, a soft- spoken janitor recruited into an ancient organization that protects historic and mythological artifacts.
The group keeps its stash in the basement of New York’s Metropolitan Public Library, where King Arthur’s sword, Excalibur, is nicknamed Cal and challenges head librarian Flynn ( Noah Wyle) to fencing matches. Based on the TV film series, the show also stars Bob Newhart, Jane Curtin and Rebecca Romijn.
Booth spoke to Postmedia News about joining the Librarians franchise, playing a character with synesthesia ( a condition that links the perception of one sense with another — “smelling” colours, for example) and cracking up on the set with John Larroquette.
Q Had you watched any of the original movies beforehand?
A I’d only seen the last one they did, the Judas Chalice one. But I was always aware of it. I remember seeing the trailers for them and thinking Noah Wyle is so fantastic for this part. It was so different from knowing him from ER and seeing him as this amazing and bizarre character.
Q There are a lot of industry vets in this show — Jane Curtin, Matt Frewer, Bob Newhart. Who were you most excited to meet?
A I was super- excited to meet Jane Curtin: She’s a legend. John Larroquette is someone I grew up with. I watched Night Court every day, so getting to meet THE Dan Fielding was pretty awesome. He’s so talented and funny. We ruined many a take because we couldn’t stop laughing.
Q Your character, Cassandra, has synesthesia. How did you approach playing her and that condition? A I had never heard of synesthesia before, but I started researching it. There’s a lot of amazing research online and I also spoke to a couple of people who had synesthesia. One thing that really stuck with me was the idea of her visions and senses being so overwhelming to her that it was kind of like walking into a fun house: Too loud, too bright, too many colours, too many smells, too many people. It’s totally disorienting.
Q Some of your lines have a lot of complicated technical jargon. Do you have any tricks for remembering them?
A I don’t have a photographic memory like Cassandra, but I have a pretty great memory. I did spend a lot of time doing research, though. I would Google words and Wikipedia fourth- dimensional geometry and try to figure out what on earth it was. I can’t just memorize it — I needed to have some sort of comprehension. I felt like if I didn’t understand what I was talking about, no one would.
Q The show kind of reminds me of Relic Hunter and Warehouse 13, both of which you were in. You’re becoming the go- to girl for shows about historical artifacts.
A I still have people write me letters about how much they loved Relic Hunter! People love the idea of these artifacts that we’ve all heard of and the story behind them, and what would happen if they showed up in our everyday lives. We know the tale of the Minotaur and King Arthur and all those stories, and I think people like coming back to that. It’s like a favourite book.