Laura Fraser in Breaking Bad
Scottish actress Laura Fraser, who plays Lydia Rodarte-Quayle onBreaking Bad, talks about the most intimidating actor on-set, theorizes what a Scottish version of the show would look like and explains why she can't walk into Apple stores any more...
Q: Lydia seems constantly on the verge of death. Were you worried that she was going to get knocked off?
A: Oh yeah, absolutely. They told me I was going to be in more after the first half of the season, but I thought they could change their mind pretty easily and I could be gone.
Q: Who did you find to be the most intimidating person on-set?
A: I found Jonathan Banks the scariest. My very first scene was with him and I was incredibly nervous myself. With him kind of playing that scary character opposite me, there was a level of fear that was real. And I hadn't had a chit-chat with him really before it. With Bryan Cranston, when I watch the show he's extremely sinister and frightening. But chatting with him before acting with him, he's just hysterical.
Q: Jonathan Banks has said that Mike is responsible for his own downfall for not following his own rules and killing Lydia. What's your take on that?
A: I didn't read that, but I remember him on set saying, "What the f***? No half-measures! What am I doing?" But, you know Mike f***ed up. He took a half-measure, what can I say? I felt sad when I heard what happened -- I left at Episode 505 and came back at Episode 508 expecting to see him there, and then realized that his character had died the previous episode. I was a bit bereft because I was looking to get to know him a bit more!
Q: You're from Scotland and talking to you now, I hear a strong accent. How did you master Lydia's American accent -- and her unique way of speaking?
Q: Lydia seems constantly on the verge of death. Were you worried that she was going to get knocked off?
A: Oh yeah, absolutely. They told me I was going to be in more after the first half of the season, but I thought they could change their mind pretty easily and I could be gone.
Q: Who did you find to be the most intimidating person on-set?
A: I found Jonathan Banks the scariest. My very first scene was with him and I was incredibly nervous myself. With him kind of playing that scary character opposite me, there was a level of fear that was real. And I hadn't had a chit-chat with him really before it. With Bryan Cranston, when I watch the show he's extremely sinister and frightening. But chatting with him before acting with him, he's just hysterical.
Q: Jonathan Banks has said that Mike is responsible for his own downfall for not following his own rules and killing Lydia. What's your take on that?
A: I didn't read that, but I remember him on set saying, "What the f***? No half-measures! What am I doing?" But, you know Mike f***ed up. He took a half-measure, what can I say? I felt sad when I heard what happened -- I left at Episode 505 and came back at Episode 508 expecting to see him there, and then realized that his character had died the previous episode. I was a bit bereft because I was looking to get to know him a bit more!
Q: You're from Scotland and talking to you now, I hear a strong accent. How did you master Lydia's American accent -- and her unique way of speaking?
A: Well there was a description from Vince Gilligan that said, "Low and fast." That's how she talks. And I knew that he wanted a nervous energy from her, and whenever I started speaking as her, it just sort of came out. I thought, "This is kind of odd, but I like it!" She breathes really fast and light from the upper-chest, and she doesn't really like to take deep breathes from her diaphragm. That type of breathing helped, too.
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