Exclusive Interview: Pop Culturalist Chats with Rogue’s Jessica Sutton

Jessica Sutton is having a breakout 2020. Not only has her hit television series, Motherland: Fort Salem, been renewed for a second season, she also has a new film out called Rogue in which she stars opposite Megan Fox. Pop Culturalist caught up with Jessica to chat about Rogue, returning to South Africa to film the movie, and what’s ahead for Season 2 of Motherland: Fort Salem.

PC: Tell us about Rogue and your character in the film.
Jessica: I describe Rogue to all my friends as “mayhem with a message.” The film follows two story lines: one around a rogue lioness and the other around a rescue mission gone wrong and how those two stories collide. I play Asilia Wilson, the governor’s daughter, who has been kidnapped and held hostage by the Al-Shabaab.

PC: M.J. Bassett directed an episode of Motherland: Fort Salem. What was that transition like working with her on Motherland and then going to film Rogue? How beneficial was it having that prior relationship heading into this project?
Jessica: M.J. Bassett was the reason I did the project. She is so formidable and one of my favorite artists and people to work with. We have now done three projects together, and every time we wrap, I walk away going, “When can we do this again? Where to next?”

We met on Inside Man 2. Thereafter she followed me to Vancouver to direct Motherland, where she pitched me Rogue, a passion project her and her daughter Isabel Bassett had cowritten. After wrapping on Motherland, I joined her back in South Africa to start shooting.

Every time I work with her, I’m struck by how masterful she is, somehow always managing to strike the right balance between order and chaos. She holds the bigger picture while bringing such clarity and specificity to the details. Two things you can be sure of when working with M.J.: she will never ask her actors to do anything she hasn’t first tested and tried herself; she gives you freedom to try things. There is so much trust and respect. For me, that’s when collaboration is at its finest.

PC: Rogue was filmed on home soil in South Africa. Did that make this project extra special?
Jessica: Of course! If I had to pick a favorite part, it was getting to shoot with some of South Africa’s greatest cast and crew. I think South Africans are some of the most resilient people I know. Life is tougher here than in other parts of the world, and yet South African artists find a way to continue making art of such an incredibly high standard. It makes me so proud to have come from an industry that has forged my grit and steel.

PC: Asilia has a terrific character development within the film. How did you prepare to tackle her journey, especially coming off playing a completely opposite character in Motherland?
Jessica: I loved Asilia’s character arc. I knew the emotional journey was going to require a lot of emotional preparation. I love working with music. I find myself making character playlists or just working off a specific song for a scene.

Music somehow has always dropped me faster into the emotional energy of whatever moment the character finds herself in. I keep a character journal too and during the shoot found myself reading The Diary of Anne Frank, which was, by chance, a perfect resource and inspiration for such terror and bravery.

When it comes to Tally Craven, I have to say, I see more similarities in my characters than differences. But I think that’s because characters, like humans, are more similar than we are different. The power of empathy is what allows me to put myself in someone else’s shoes and is the reason I can do what I do.

PC: With the film out now, what do you hope audiences take away?
Jessica: If Megan Fox and man-eating lions don’t do it for you, I hope that the message of the show resonates with the audience. The heartbeat of the show really lies in bringing an awareness to the lion canning industry in Africa in which lions are bred in captivity for purely harvesting parts and sold to rich foreigners as hunting trophies. It’s disgusting and needs to be stopped.

PC: Motherland: Fort Salem was recently renewed for Season 2. Congratulations! Where would you like to see Tally’s storyline head?
Jessica: Thank you! I am so excited to get back to the world of Motherland and the opportunity to play and develop such a beloved character. I met the writers’ room two weeks ago and had an epic debriefing of what lies ahead in Season 2. I want to spill all, but I am sworn to secrecy—highly confidential, sorry. I will say that Eliot Laurence has topped Season 1. The fans are going to be blown away, just as we are.

To keep up with Jessica, follow her on Twitter and Instagram. Watch Rogue on Digital now!