Elizabeth Mitchell Explains the Inspiration behind Her FBI: International Characters
Even though she's only a guest star, Elizabeth Mitchell's appearances abound on "FBI: International" and she will return to the show for the Season 1 finale, which airs tonight on CBS.
As Angela Cassidy, Mitchell portrays the estranged mother of FBI special agent and Fly Team leader Scott Forrester (Luke Kleintank). She reportedly worked for the US government before selling the information to Russians, leaving her son when he was just a teenager. Now, 15 years later, she has re-emerged in his life hoping to get a second chance and clear her name. But the big question is, are these her true intentions?
For Elizabeth Mitchell, who is perhaps best known as Dr. Juliet Burke in the hit series "Lost," joining "FBI: International" as a pop-in character was a "no-brainer." But how does she wrap her head around playing a woman who left her son to betray her country? It's a question Michelle answered when she sat down for an exclusive interview recently.
Mitchell believes Angela's actions saved Scott's life
As a mother herself, Elizabeth Mitchell admitted that she found it difficult to play the woman who abandoned her son on "FBI: International" — but believes Angela Cassidy has a good reason. She was really struggling with this a lot, and the only thing she could think of was... instead of saying 'she'll never be,' she said 'What will she get? What does she have to leave her son? Says Elizabeth Mitchell. There's really only one thing: if she felt that his life would be in danger if she was with him. That's the trick she took... and as soon as she realized it, it flowed to her.
In real life, Elizabeth Mitchell has her own son around the age of Scott Forrester, when Angela may have abandoned him, but the former "Lost" actor doesn't necessarily see any part of herself in the character she's playing.
It's heartbreaking, and that's probably why [Angela] aroused such deep emotion, Elizabeth Mitchell says. She's been doing this for a very long time, and she's great at letting people see what she wants them to see. That part of it was most interesting to her because she doesn't develop herself in the same way. She is here, and she says whatever comes to her mind. For him, it's so much more organized than that.
But while Elizabeth Mitchell can't explain what's really going on with her "FBI: International" character, as an actor, she has to find the straws to understand the emotional connection she has with Angela.
"A mother leaving her child is something that's really hard to wrap your head around," she says. "It's something that we as a society can't understand, and even as a mother, you're like, 'How?' That's the only thing I can think of... that by removing yourself from the equation, you save your child's life. Then it matters to me [as an actor], we have to choose those things what we think is right. So that we can play in these imaginary situations as the absolute reality, the absolute truth. I considered it a struggle."
Tune in tonight at 9 p.m. for the "FBI: International" Season 1 finale. Elizabeth Mitchell on CBS.
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