We scored a video chat with New Zealand star Simone Kessell (Yellowjackets, Obi-Wan Kenobi) about Apple TV‘s The Last Frontier, where she plays Sarah Remnick, and you can watch it above. The large-scale action-thriller series debuted with two episodes on October 10 and rolls out weekly through December 5.
The Apple Studios series follows U.S. Marshal Frank Remnick (played by Jason Clarke – watch our interview with the Aussie actor right HERE) after a prison transport plane crashes in the Alaskan wilderness, unleashing violent inmates as part of a larger, orchestrated plan. The ensemble includes Dominic Cooper, Haley Bennett, Dallas Goldtooth, Tait Blum and Alfre Woodard.
More on Screen Realm:
Kessell’s keen to finally get it in front of audiences, a big journey from being attracted by the scope of the script. “I was like, ‘This is ambitious!’ But then, know that’s what, you know, Apple does. I was a fan of Jon Bokenkamp [co-creator, showrunner]. I know Jason [Clarke] well. It was like, ‘This is a big one!’ And it was incredibly exciting. It was seven months of my life last year. So, yes, finally getting to see it, finally getting to promote it and putting it out there in the world… We’ll see what happens!”
When it came to her character, Sarah, Kessell aimed for quiet steel over volume. “I really played her with an internal strength… She’s pragmatic, she’s driven, she’s tenacious… she’s not fighting or vying for attention.”
As for why the TV format suits her: “You really get to roll with your character. You can develop more. You can bring more to it.”
These days, she’s earned her right to be selective with what roles to take on – and she’s very grateful: “That we’re talking about art at this level and I get to create a character on screen that gets shown all around the world… I mean, it’s pretty wonderful, and for that I’m eternally aware and very, very grateful.”
