Sandra Oh in Thorne: Scaredy Cat - Sneak Peeks, Interviews & More

Sandra Oh's British crime drama Thorne: Scaredy Cat airs in the US tomorrow (Wednesday, June 13) at 9 PM on Encore and here are the sneak peeks:

As you can hear, Sandra plays an English cop in the series, and in various interviews she talked about how the accent turned out to be a challenge for her: 

The first day of work was the hardest first day I’ve ever had in my career; I had mental breakdown after mental breakdown. My dialect coach, Jill McCulloch, saved my life, she really did - I got there on a Monday afternoon and then on Tuesday I had a three-hour session with her when I realised that I was in way over my head! I’ve never experienced that [feeling] before where you’re just barrelling towards failure and humiliation. - Source

‘One cab driver thought I was from Australia,’ she says. ‘I was like, no I’m not… but I’m much closer to the accent now.’ - Source

Sandra shot Thorne: Scaredy Cat in London in 2010 during the Grey's hiatus, and here is a collection of Sandra's interviews with the British press where she talks about working on Thorne: Scaredy Cat and discovering London:

• Sandra Oh Lost Her Heart To London, Elvis And Billy Bragg - Radio Times UK. Oct/Nov, 2010. 
• Mastering The English Accent - And Other Things - Metro UK. Oct 28, 2010.
• Sandra Oh's British Drama - Stylist. Oct 27, 2010.
• Sandra Oh Pulls No Punches - Daily Mail. Oct 2, 2010.
• Sandra Oh Talks Thorne And Her Summer In London - Sky. Sep 30, 2010.

Also, don't forget to check out our archives here for stills, promos and other news tidbits about this miniseries.  

'There Was Something About Her That Made Thorne A Little Wary'

Random pic of the week:

Sandra Oh in Thorne: Scaredy Cat

Sandra Oh as Detective Sergeant Sarah Chen in the British miniseries Thorne: Scaredy Cat which airs in the US on Wednesday, June 13 at 9 PM on Encore.

*Quote: Scaredy Cat by Mark Billingham

'Thorne: Scaredy Cat' To Be Broadcast In The US

The British crime drama Thorne: Scaredy Cat, which Sandra Oh filmed in London in 2010 during the Grey's hiatus, will finally be broadcast in the US this summer.

Sandra plays a troubled English detective - British accent and all - in the series, which will air on ENCORE on Wednesday, June 13 at 9pm ET/PT.

Aidan Gillen, O.T Fagbenle, Sandra Oh, David Morrissay,
Lorraine Ashbourne and Eddie Marsan

For more info about this miniseries and Sandra's character, we've written extensively about it before, so check out our archives here for promo stills, sneak peeks and more.

Thorne: Scaredy Cat Is Coming To Canada

Canadian peeps, now it's your turn see Sandra Oh in the role as English copper Sarah Chen in Thorne: Scaredy Cat.

Chen. Sarah Chen.

The Thorne-series premieres tonight on The Movie Network and next week on Movie Central and will air as a feature film. More details and air dates below:

Movie Central and The Movie Network present the Canadian premieres of the original films Thorne: Sleepyhead and Thorne: Scaredy Cat, based on the best-selling crime thrillers by author Mark Billingham. From director Stephen Hopkins (24, Californication), the Canada/UK feature-length co-productions follow the character of Detective Inspector (D. I.) Tom Thorne as he investigates a series of terrifying murders that may be linked.

THORNE: SLEEPYHEAD
The Movie Network: Premieres Thursday, February 24 at 9 p.m. ET
Movie Central: Premieres Thursday, March 3 at 8 p.m. PT

Sleepyhead is a nail-biting thriller following DI Tom Thorne's investigation into a mysterious serial killer. His first three victims ended up dead. His fourth was not so fortunate. Alison Willetts is unlucky to be alive. She has survived a stroke, deliberately induced by skilful manipulation of pressure points on the head and neck. She can see, hear and feel, she is aware of everything going on around her, but she is completely unable to move or communicate. It's called Locked-In Syndrome. In leaving Alison Willetts alive, the police believe the killer's made his first mistake.

THORNE: SCAREDY CAT
The Movie Network: Premieres Thursday, March 3 at 9 p.m. ET
Movie Central: Premieres Thursday March 10 at 8 p.m. PT

The film depicts a vicious, calculated murder. The killer selected his victim at Euston station, followed her home on the tube, and strangled her to death in front of her child. At the same time, killed in the same way, a second body is discovered at the back of King's Cross station. It is a grisly coincidence that eerily echoes the murder of two other women, stabbed to death months before on the same day. Thorne discovers that this is not a single serial killer he's up against, but two of them.

Thorne: Scaredy Cat Released On DVD Today

If you haven't had a chance to watch it yet and are a fan of British crime drama, the Thorne-series has been released on DVD in the UK today.

As you know by now, Sandra Oh plays English copper Sarah Chen in Scaredy Cat.

PS. If you live in Europe you can order a copy from Play.com who has free delivery. Visit the site to check if your country applies.

The Name Is Chen. Sarah Chen.

Sandra Oh as Detective Sergeant Sarah Chen in a promotional photo for Thorne: Scaredy Cat.

The final episode of the series airs tonight on Sky1.

Let us know what you thought of it, peeps.

Source: Sky

Thorne: Scaredy Cat - Episode 3: Sneak Peek

The final episode of Thorne: Scaredy Cat airs this Sunday on Sky1 and here is a sneak peek and a promo pic from the episode:

The net draws closer around the double murders as Martin battles with his
Demons and Sarah reveals a few skeletons in her closet.

Thorne: Scaredy Cat - Episode 3: Promo

Did you see last night's episode of Thorne: Scaredy Cat? The final part of the series airs next Sunday and here is the promo [spoilerish]:

Episode description:

Martin Palmer escapes police custody during a car crash, and, reunited with fellow killer Stuart Nicklin the pair continue their murderous spree. Thorne orders Chen off the case when he learns of her drug problem, but desperate to make amends, she decides to track the pair alone. Last in the series.

Sunday 14 November
9:00pm - 10:00pm
Sky1

What Did You Think Of Thorne: Scaredy Cat?

So dear peeps, what did everybody think of Sandra Oh and last night's episode of Thorne: Scaredy Cat? Tell us in the comments below as we know that many of our international readers who haven't had a chance to see it are curious. As are we. :)

David Morrissey and Sandra Oh in Thorne: Scaredy Cat.

Author Mark Billingham said that there would be "significant differences in story and character" from the books. But if they do keep Sandra's character true to the books, then you haven't seen nothing yet.

Thorne: Scaredy Cat - Episode 2: Sneak Peek

Murderer Martin Palmer is apprehended after an attempt on Charlie's life, and demands protection after confessing to his crimes. When Palmer refuses to name his accomplice, Thorne adopts the high-risk strategy of freeing him in a bid to flush out the other killer, and time is of the essence when another body is found.

Airdate: Sunday 07 November
9:00pm - 10:00pm
Sky1

Thorne: Scaredy Cat - Episode 2: Promotional Stills

Promo stills for Thorne: Scaredy Cat Part 2 which airs this Sunday on Sky1.

Murderer Martin Palmer is apprehended after an attempt on Charlie's life, and demands protection after confessing to his crimes. When Palmer refuses to name his accomplice, Thorne adopts the high-risk strategy of freeing him in a bid to flush out the other killer, and time is of the essence when another body is found.

Sunday 07 November
9:00pm - 10:00pm
Sky1

Thorne: Scaredy Cat - DVD Release

The much anticipated premiere of Thorne: Scaredy Cat airs this Sunday on Sky1 in the UK, and we know that many of you won't be able to see it.

But good news, European peeps. You don't have to wait too long because the Thorne-series will be released on DVD in Region 2 on January 10, 2011.

Special features and artwork is to be announced.

Mastering The English Accent - And Other Things

Another new interview with Sandra Oh from today's Metro UK where Sandra talks about "her attempts to master an English accent for her new role in Thorne: Scaredycat and the challenges of carving out a career in LA".

Grey's Anatomy actress Sandra Oh tells Metro about her attempts to master an English accent for her new role in Thorne: Scaredycat and the challenges of carving out a career in LA.

You would think any actress on hiatus from a hit US TV show would be chilling out somewhere hot and exotic. Not Sandra Oh. In the middle of a break from playing cynical doctor Cristina Yang in Grey’s Anatomy, she’s opted to play a cocaine-addicted London cop in the second instalment of Sky1’s gritty Thorne double whammy.

‘At first I didn’t want to do a project this big; I was very tired,’ admits the Golden Globe-winning actress, her smooth voice rendered croaky by a cold as she sits in a posh hotel in Soho.

‘But you know what? I think I was just scared. So I took it on because of the challenge. My character, Detective Sarah Chen, has very self-destructive vulnerabilities. Many times I’ve thought she might be a terrible cop.’

In Thorne: Scaredycat, she joins David Morrissey and The Wire star Aidan Gillen on a new case: a killer is on the loose and the victims are connected by their passage through St Pancras station. Amid it all, Oh’s detective is an unpredictable presence.

‘Chen is hinged, and those kinds of people are one way in one scene and another way in another scene,’ she says.

‘In comparison to the character I’ve been playing for years in Grey’s Anatomy, it’s like night and day. Cristina Yang is a second skin. This is something brand new.’

Oh drips with thespian intensity as she ponders all this. ‘No, no, no, don’t worry about it, no method acting here,’ she laughs reassuringly as I wonder at the lengths she might have gone to in order to get inside the head of a coke fiend.

‘All you have to do is just realise that we’re all addicted to something. Maybe to your BlackBerry or food – you just need to find those tiny little kernels.’

Channelling her inner drug addict was tough, then, but for this Canadian native, perfecting an English accent to portray autor Mark Billingham’s character was even harder.

‘In America we emphasise and stress things much more than you guys do,’ she says. ‘And your thought processes are longer. You don’t notice until you have to do an accent and then you think, why does it sound kind of not right? It’s painful, it sounds so terrible. But you just keep on at it and then it ends up being a muscle memory.’

Added to this transatlantic baptism of fire was her first scene of shooting with Morrissey, in which she had to ‘stick my hands down his pants’. ‘Which is always slightly awkward but he was like: “Hey, hi, how are you doing?” It saved my life…’

Oh may have found the demands of this three-part cop show overwhelming, then, but she’s the archetypal acting nerd. She says she likes to treat each character like a little hobby (‘For Grey’s you get to watch surgery. Who gets to do that?’) and began acting at the tender age of ten. Her first professional gig was in her mid-teens – an industrial film for youngsters about the dangers of drink-driving.

‘I was in a classroom and people were doing a mock trial. I was one of the students playing one of the lawyers,’ she laughs. ‘Oh God, I’ve done a lot of public and industrial films. I’m sure there are some terrible tapes out there somewhere.’

By the time she got to LA, there was some knocking on doors to do. ‘Being someone not from the mainstream and not white – as an actor, it’s something that you always carry around,’ says Oh, whose parents moved to Canada from South Korea. ‘No matter what, you always feel the outsider.’

The fact that Grey’s Anatomy took the risk in casting her is one of the things she’s most proud of about the show.

‘I do think Grey’s opened up the concept of casting a bit more. It’s something that I would hope opens up more in England. Just look at London,’ she implores, of the city she’s only visited once before. ‘You have such an amazing mix of people. I’m super-impressed by it.’

The success of Grey’s Anatomy has, however, been a double-edged sword. ‘I don’t do press very often,’ she states cautiously. ‘It’s a very tricky and difficult relationship we actors/artists have with the press. It’s different in people who want to be celebrities. This is one of the ways Grey’s has changed my life, doing press. But I absolutely think it brought me here so I’m very grateful to it.’

And with that, I leave her to use what little time she has left to explore the capital. Has she unleashed that English accent on the unsuspecting public yet? ‘One cab driver thought I was from Australia,’ she says. ‘I was like, no I’m not… but I’m much closer to the accent now.’

Sandra Oh's British Drama

A new interview with Sandra Oh from British magazine Stylist:

She’s best known for her Golden Globe winning role as Dr Cristina Yang in Grey’s Anatomy, but Sandra Oh is about to take a break from the long-running hospital drama series to play a British detective in Sky1’s gritty crime thriller, Thorne. Stylist meets the actress, 39, on English soil.

How does Thorne: Scaredy Cat compare to Grey’s Anatomy?
It’s a very different drama in a very different setting and probably the most challenging role I’ve ever played. It’s a dark, gritty psychological drama and my character is deeply flawed.

Having spent the past six years in a long-running series, is it nice to be pushed out of your comfort zone?
Yes and no. It’s nice to do something different because I haven’t really done anything [since Grey’s] – I’ve been too tired! But at the same time, it’s been crazy. I touched down in Britain a couple of days before we started filming and had no time to prepare. I hadn’t even seen the script.

How did you cope?
I didn’t! I had a total meltdown. I was literally on the floor going, “I don’t know what I’m doing!” My driver, Simon, had to constantly pour me cups of tea, so I got over it in a very English way.

Have you enjoyed your time in London?
I love it. I want to come back and do a play. But I’ll tell you straight up: you guys can drink in a way I’ve never experienced...

You’re originally from Canada...
Yes, I come from a very classic, close knit, first generation Asian immigrant family. My parents are religious and have a huge focus on education. My sister’s a lawyer and my brother’s a doctor.

Were they disappointed you became an actress?
I play a doctor on TV, honey. It doesn’t get any better.

Are you comfortable with playing darker characters?
I think having had a good childhood helps. I have a strong centre, so I can move off that centre point and my family will always bring me back down to earth.

You had to speak with a British accent for the Scaredy Cat role. Did you struggle at all?
Yes, it definitely took a bit of getting used to! I practiced by talking to my 6-year-old niece on the phone while in character but she knew who it was straight away. That’s when I realised I still had to work on the accent!

Have you noticed any big differences between British and American dramas?
You’ve got to let go of your vanity over here – no one is going to make you look good! The soaps in America depict wealthy people who are rich and gorgeous, while over here it’s all about people who are unemployed in east London.

Are you working on any other projects at the moment?
I’m working on two other things; the first is a kid’s programme called Ramona and the other is Rabbit Hole, based on a David Lindsay play. It's about a husband and wife (played by Nicole Kidman and Aaron Eckhart) whose child has died. I play another parent in their grief counselling group.

Did you enjoy working with Nicole and Aaron?
It was an intense project so it was tough at times – it wasn’t luxurious in any way. It was great to work with them, but the subject matter meant there wasn't many laughs on set.

Do you have an ideal role?
I’d love to get into theatre and be in a few plays, maybe even in the West End. I feel like I haven’t seen enough of London and I’ve really enjoyed being here – hopefully I’ll be back soon!

Thorne: Scaredy Cat starts on Sunday 31 October at 9pm on Sky 1 HD and Sky 1
Words: Megan Conner, Amy Grier

Thorne: Scaredy Cat - Episode 1: Sneak Peeks

The episode airs on Sky1 on Sunday.

DI Tom Thorne investigates the killing of a young mother murdered in front of her son. As his team compiles a list of suspects, a similar crime occurs in the same area of London, but when tests reveal the victim was attacked in a more restrained manner than the first crime, the detective realises two copycat killers are on the loose

Thorne: Scaredy Cat - Episode 1: Promotional Stills

Pics of Sandra Oh as DS Sarah Chen in the British series Thorne: Scaredy Cat which airs on Sunday on Sky1.

Scaredy Cat will see David Morrissey, Eddie Marsan and Aidan Gillen reprising their roles in an adaptation of Billingham's second DI Tom Thorne thriller, where killing becomes a team sport. The film depicts a vicious, calculated murder.

The killer selected his victim at Euston station, followed her home on the tube, and strangled her to death in front of her child. At the same time, killed in the same way, a second body is discovered at the back of King's Cross station. It is a grisly coincidence that eerily echoes the murder of two other women, stabbed to death months before on the same day. Thorne discovers that this is not a single serial killer he's up against, but two of them.

Thorne: Scaredy Cat To Premiere On Sunday

This Sunday (Oct. 31) is finally the premiere of Sandra Oh's three episodes of the Thorne-series called Scaredy Cat, which Sandra shot in London this summer.

This is the promotional flyer for the series:

Sandra plays an English copper Sarah Chen who is quite a departure from Cristina Yang.  In a recent interview Sandra talked about how the role turned out to be a challenge for her:

The first day of work was the hardest first day I’ve ever had in my career; I had mental breakdown after mental breakdown. My dialect coach, Jill McCulloch, saved my life, she really did - I got there on a Monday afternoon and then on Tuesday I had a three-hour session with her when I realised that I was in way over my head! I’ve never experienced that [feeling] before where you’re just barrelling towards failure and humiliation.

Yes, peeps, she also does an English accent. Exciting, eh?

We'll have much more news on Scaredy Cat during the week, so keep checking back.

Thorne: Mobile App Released

The Thorne-series will premiere this Sunday and it's been getting great reviews in the British press so far. Even though Sandra Oh's episodes will not air until towards the end of the month (Oct. 31), you still may want to check out the entire series. Now an app for the series has also been released which look interesting. More details below:

The iPhone app coincides with the Sky1 HD release of the brand new drama series, Thorne.

The app contains details of Mark Billingham's entire Tom Thorne series, sample chapters from Sleepyhead, Scaredycat and an unseen sneak preview from his new novel coming in 2011. It also features character profiles, playlists for Tom Thorne and Mark Billingham, an interactive map of Thorne's London, videos of Mark (including his cameo in the Sleepyhead) plus trailers, stills and interviews from the TV series.

We haven't tried it, but the app is free and you can download it from iTunes. An app for Android handsets will be released soon.

Source

Sandra Oh Pulls No Punches: Interview

As the premiere of the Thorne-series is approaching in the UK, we expect to have some interviews with Sandra Oh from the UK press. UK peeps, keep an eye out.

In this one Sandra talks about the new project, Sideways, not Grey's, and why interviews with her are so rare amongst many other things, so check it out below because it's a really good one.

David Morrissey and Sandra Oh in Thorne: Scaredy Cat

Actress Sandra Oh pulls no punches – in character and for real. Famous for her kick-ass roles in Grey’s Anatomy and the Oscar-winning film Sideways, she appears to mean business in person too, as a slightly nervous Benji Wilson discovers.

I am, I shall confess, a little scared of Sandra Oh. It may be because of her character in Grey’s Anatomy, the competitive, take-no-prisoners surgeon Dr Cristina Yang. Perhaps it is because of the juggernaut success of Grey’s Anatomy itself. The hospital drama may not be huge over here but for several years it was the most-watched show in America and is massive around the globe – making Sandra Oh a major, major worldwide star.

Most likely, however, I am scared of Sandra Oh because of one indelible cinematic moment. Seen the 2004 wine-doused classic Sideways? Then you know the one. Sandra’s wine waitress character discovers that Thomas Haden Church’s gadabout has been using her for a fling, so she walks up to him, cracks him round the face with a motorcycle helmet and proceeds to beat him up. As female empowerment goes, when Sandra empowered her helmet into Church’s feckless male head, it was the you-go-girl sucker punch that was heard round the world. I saw it twice in the cinema, and on both occasions women stood and applauded.

So when I come to meet her in the basement of a chichi London hotel, the first move is to sweep the room for motorcycle helmets. All clear. Yet even without her weapon of choice she is still a little intimidating. She has a sultry, sooty baritone, a cascade of dark hair and eyes that say she’s seen it all before. Chichi or otherwise, the basement feels like the lair of the Oh. Enter at your peril.

Sandra, 39, lives in Los Angeles but is over here following the filming of Sky1’s Thorne: Scaredy Cat. It’s the second of a series of gritty adaptations of Mark Billingham’s DI Thorne novels, with David Morrissey playing the eponymous detective. Sandra’s character, Sarah Chen, is an emotional train wreck with a drug problem. If you’re used to her in Grey’s, with its romcom backbone and slushy soundtracks, then a substantial reassessment is in order.

‘The two best adjectives for her are “addicted” and “unhinged”,’ says Sandra. ‘She needs to dampen voices in her head through these addictions of job, men, cocaine.’

Sandra flew to London to start filming Scaredy Cat the day after she finished shooting the sixth-season finale of Grey’s. Back-to-back filming on different continents has taken it out of her. ‘I definitely wanted a challenge, but when I got here and realised that I couldn’t do the accent, remember my lines and act at the same time straight away, it was like, “Oh my God.” It was one of the most challenging things I’ve ever done. Basically, I would say I had a breakdown.’

Anyone who happens to have been on the roads in East London recently might have witnessed what a mental breakdown looks like. ‘I had to try to drive. It was on a public road and I had the director and the director of photography in the car and I drove right into the oncoming traffic!’

But other than when causing major traffic incidents, she has loved her time in the capital.

‘Every time I was driven to the set I got to see a different bit of London. We were at locations with real houses, real people. Children came out to figure out what we were doing. There’s a really interesting mix of people and it’s just great to be around. That’s one of the many special things about London: the variety of ethnicity.’

This has particular resonance for Sandra because of her own upbringing in Canada. She was born and raised in Ottawa, one of three children of middle-class Korean immigrant parents, before moving to Montreal and eventually LA.

‘I feel comfortable in places like London. You get many cultures in LA but it’s strangely segregated.’

She began acting and ballet classes at an early age, but, although she remained heavily involved in theatre throughout high school, her parents (mum a biochemist, dad an economist) ultimately wanted her to choose a profession. ‘They didn’t want me to go to theatre school; they wanted me to be a journalist,’ she says.

She won a scholarship to a journalism college – but she didn’t take it, instead enrolling at the National Theatre School in Montreal. Then, at 19, she won the lead in The Diary of Evelyn Lau. Sandra’s audition for Evelyn Lau tells you much about her. One of 1,000 applicants, she entered the casting room…and lay stock-still on the floor. ‘Just until I was ready. But that’s the kind of thing that you don’t know that you’re not supposed to do when you’re 19. I think it was just naivety.’

She got the part and won rave reviews, although not from her parents. It was an extreme role for a debut – Evelyn Lau was a Chinese-Canadian poet who left home at 14 to get away from her parents and ended up homeless, using drugs and working the streets.

‘It was a big thing on TV in Canada, and then the next week people were weird with my parents at church. But eventually they could see that there was meaning in what I was doing. I had to convince them: “Trust me, this is good for humanity.”’ Evelyn Lau remains the piece of which she is most proud, and it opened doors to independent film – a Canadian comedy called Double Happiness was a hit, and led in turn to a biopic of the Canadian Governor General Adrienne Clarkson.

‘The beginning of my career was so brilliant. It wasn’t until ten years later that I went, “Oh, that was a big, fat fluke and, boy, was I ever lucky.”’ As with so many wide-eyed actors who hotfoot it to Tinseltown, things didn’t go quite so well when she moved to LA in 1996. A part in an HBO sitcom called Arliss, in which she played a PA to the main character, paid the rent, and there was theatre and Canadian films, but as Arliss ran and ran, the film roles she was being offered started to filter down to a lot of funny sidekicks and not much else.

Not only that, but her skin colour played a part. ‘Hollywood likes to put actors in boxes, and it likes to put Asian actors in really small boxes,’ she says.

‘As soon as anything comes in that’s a Western or a period piece, I usually go, “Well, there’s no point in me ever thinking about it,” because there are those who seem to think that people who look like me didn’t exist during that time.’ By 2003, she says, she felt that she had plateaued.

Sideways and the first season of Grey’s Anatomy changed everything. I tell her that in the UK, it’s probably Sideways that she is best known for.

‘I have felt that around here in London. I’m proud of that work; people really enjoyed it here.’

How did she get the part? She says she knew the director, which is a little coy – she was married to him. She and Alexander Payne are divorced now and she won’t talk about it, nor about whether she’s found a replacement, but she’s more than happy to take us through every detail of that punch.

‘I just started hitting him and I couldn’t stop. Oh, I was sore the next day – he was fine. It was a foam motorcycle helmet. What I love about the film is that although it’s a beautiful love letter to the American male, you also get to see the American female break his nose and punch him out!’

She’s happy to talk Sideways all morning; on Grey’s she’s more reluctant. You sense that six seasons in it has become more of a job than a vocation. But she knows to pay heed to the goose that has laid the golden egg.

‘I’m very grateful to Grey’s – it’s not the only reason why I’m here, but it’s a big, fat one.’ The flip side, of course, is that Sandra Oh is now hugely famous. Paparazzi infiltrated her friend and Grey’s co-star Ellen Pompeo’s baby shower; her divorce papers from Alexander Payne appeared on the internet.

As a result, she says, this is a rare interview: ‘The reason I’m speaking to you is because I really believe in the project that I just did. I don’t speak to people any more, because of those reasons.’ Frankly, she’s glad to get away from the Grey’s treadmill and for the change offered by Britain and by Scaredy Cat. ‘It feels like what I used to do. I haven’t really done anything that I feel is for me since Sideways.’

Time in London has also recharged her fashion batteries. Sandra is known for bold style choices – some hits, some misses. Today she’s dressed classically – Elizabeth & James jacket, Vivienne Westwood shoes, David Szeto scarf – but in general her outfits are ‘out there’.

‘I’m not a slave to fashion; I’m into exercising my individuality. What I want to be is a boy from Hoxton. Skinny jeans, a shirt like a jacket, glasses and my hair up in a little pompadour. I love the way men dress here because they’re trying something.’

So, if she turns up at the Emmys next year with a Hoxton fin, fluorescent Ray-Bans and basketball boots, you know where she got the idea from.

Thorne starts on Sky1 and Sky1 HD next Sunday at 9pm

Source

Sandra Oh Talks Thorne And Her Summer In London

The Thorne-series is just about to premiere in the UK, and here is a great new interview with Sandra Oh done in London this summer, where she talks about her role in the series as English copper Sarah Chen, her co-stars and working in London:

The cast of Thorne

Iit’s interesting that during your hiatus this was the vehicle you chose...

“I usually don’t do things during my hiatus [from Grey’s Anatomy], but I wasn’t so devastatingly exhausted and I felt much more energised so I thought this was the right piece for me. One of the most practical things about it was that I could actually fit it in, but mostly it had to do with it being completely new and challenging, and actually slightly frightening in having a very, very different character to play. The challenge of doing something in London and the fact that the cast included David, Eddie and Aidan thrilled me.”

What was it like working on a British production for the first time?

“I had just finished shooting the sixth season finale of Grey’s and flew right over afterwards, so it was terrifying, actually. The first day of work was the hardest first day I’ve ever had in my career; I had mental breakdown after mental breakdown. My dialect coach, Jill McCulloch, saved my life, she really did - I got there on a Monday afternoon and then on Tuesday I had a three-hour session with her when I realised that I was in way over my head! I’ve never experienced that [feeling] before where you’re just barrelling towards failure and humiliation.

"The next day I had to be picked up at six and was in every single scene shooting that day. I was crying all the time, but I was very fortunate that Kevin McKidd [Oh’s Grey’s Anatomy co-star] was in London as well so I called him every day, bawling my eyes out. (laughs)

“But then the experience of shooting with the crew - which was half English and half French - and the amazing cast, made up for so much. I ended up feeling more comfortable about half-way through, and I never stopped talking in the [British] accent.”

The role seems a bit of a departure for you…

“I would say the first things I was ever known for in Canada were quite similar to this; an unhinged woman who abuses drugs. It actually took me back to those experiences. But based on the fact that I’ve been working on the same character for six seasons, yes it was very different. And, I tell you, this isn’t funny. Scaredy Cat is not funny. Grey’s has a balance of drama and comedy, so you can have some levity, not only to give your character an extra dimension, but also for your own sanity. But this character in Scaredy Cat, Sarah Chen - who I was just so pleased to play - she is definitely the most unhinged character in this show.

“She’s a cop with a serious coke addiction and appears calm and unflappable but she’s actually falling apart. So you turn up on set and your persona of someone who’s capable and might actually be good at her job all has to go away - that actually felt great.”

What were your highlight scenes?

“Working with Tom Brooke, whoa! That dude is just spectacular. I think Tom and I had a really great energy and chemistry. There are a couple of integral scenes that we had to hit correctly, otherwise, for me, it felt that nothing would make sense: [Sarah and Palmer’s] connecting scene when they’re really two peas in a pod and where Sarah learns that the person she connects to the most deeply is actually the killer. I think that frightens her and she needs to cover it with her addiction, but sometimes you can’t choose who you connect with.”

How is it working with Brits?

“David was a tremendous support to me, I would look at him with terror in my eyes and he would say, “You’ll be fine”. David’s done it; he’s done plenty of American accents. Aidan obviously has the accent in The Wire and I’m sure Eddie’s done American too. It was just so thrilling acting with them, anywhere near them. The calibre of talent on this piece was so high that in one respect I was working hard, but on the other hand, all I’m doing is looking at David’s face. Then the acting part comes much more easily.

“I was completely in love with the cast and crew, and London. The experience was thrilling and the challenge was so great, it was exhausting.“

Will you take your summers on the beach in future?

“Let me tell you straight up, I have got to come back to London. I met a lot of fantastic people and made such great friends, when I was leaving I was telling everyone, shamelessly: “You’ve got to get me a job here. I don’t care what it is; I will come here for a few plays and be here for a year or two.””

 Source: Sky

Also, don't forget to check out the interview with her co-star David Morrissey which you can find here