If you want to understand the measure of a strong woman, spend some time talking to the actress Sarah Wayne Callies, co-star of the new USA series “Colony.” When she likes a role, the actress from Hawaii will not be denied.
Callies, who had a key role for three seasons on AMC’s hit series “The Walking Dead,” wanted a part on “Colony” but was told she would not be allowed to audition. The show’s creators, Carlton Cuse and Ryan Condal, didn’t want anyone from the AMC zombie saga to overshadow their alien-invasion story.
“I was just flat-out told ‘no,’” said the 38-year-old Callies, a Punahou School graduate. “I couldn’t take ‘no’ for an answer.”
“Colony” offered an intriguing story about life after aliens take over Earth, she said. Set in the near future, it follows a family in occupied Los Angeles as it struggles to find freedom, overcome collaborators who have joined the unseen aliens, and find a missing son separated from the family during the invasion 10 months earlier.
“I got a hold of the pilot script because someone I know had read it and said you are going to love this — and I did,” said Callies during a call from Los Angeles. “It asks really interesting questions and it does it in a way that feels like entertainment and not homework.”
Although framed as science fiction, “Colony” raises human issues she wanted to explore, Callies said. As a mother herself, Callies said, she can’t fathom how a family could cope with not knowing the fate of a missing loved one.
So Callies went after the part of Katie Bowman, the mother of the family at the center of the series.
“She is somebody who had everything she wanted in life,” Callies said. “She had a wonderful job running this bar that made her feel very connected to her roots. She has three wonderful kids. She has a husband who is the love of her life. And it is all going great and one day it all goes to hell. Overnight her life becomes David and Goliath. There is no effective way to fight back against this occupying force.”
Callies was shooting a movie in September 2014 in Toronto called “Pay the Ghost,” a horror film starring Nicolas Cage. She called a casting agent — a friend of hers — and traded two bottles of wine for help recording a 10-minute audition tape.
“Then I called everyone I knew in Hollywood and said, ‘You have to sit these people down and get them to look a my tape. If they tell me no after my audition, that’s fair. Just give me 10 minutes of their life, watch the audition.’”
She got the part. From “no” to hired took about a week of perseverance. In November, the “Colony” pilot was shot. The series was picked up in April and the production shot 10 episodes last summer in L.A.
“Colony” allows Callies to work with Cuse, who wrote and executive-produced “Lost,” and reunites her with Josh Holloway, who stars as her husband, a former FBI agent forced to fix cars in the new world order.
Holloway, who also starred on “Lost,” worked with Callies in the creepy 2007 film “Whispers.” Their time together on “Whispers,” which included a love scene, helped to bring their characters to life. The “Colony” pilot also includes a love scene.
“I knew going into this that I am working with someone I can trust and I am working with someone that I enjoy spending time with,” Callies said. “And that makes a tremendous difference.”
“Colony” airs at 10 p.m. Thursdays on USA.
And that’s a wrap …
Mike Gordon is the Star-Advertiser’s film and television writer. Read his Outtakes Online blog at honolulupulse.com. Reach him at 529-4803 or email mgordon@staradvertiser.com.
