Episode Transcript
[00:00:02] Speaker A: Hello. Welcome, fellow travelers, to fate's wide wheel. I'm your host, Sam Feyne, and I am thrilled to be joined this episode by Nadine Ellis, who plays Connie Davis on the episode the outsider of Quantum Leap. Nadine, thank you so much for being here.
[00:00:15] Speaker B: Yes, of course. Sam, thank you so much for inviting me on.
[00:00:18] Speaker A: Yeah, absolutely. I'm very excited. It's funny, I've had a chance to speak to some of the main cast. I've had a chance to speak to writers, directors, producers, but you were the first guest star that I've had the chance to speak to in a while, so I'm really excited.
[00:00:32] Speaker B: Yeah, right after our little bit of a break.
[00:00:35] Speaker A: Yeah, exactly.
But it's such a unique show in that obviously, every week we're bringing in these guest actors that, frankly, get a little bit more to do oftentimes than a lot of guest actors on television. And I think that this episode is really true to that because connie feels, in many ways, just as much the lead in this episode as Ben does, which is so exciting. And I felt like.
I'll just say it up front. I felt like you were incredible throughout the episode. I felt very connected to Connie's story. I thought it was a great script, but you were able to take that and really run with it. So I'm looking forward to being able to talk a little bit about the process and the episode in general.
[00:01:24] Speaker B: Thank you so much. I felt exactly the same way. I mean, especially after our bit of a break last year, it was nice. I started this episode right before Christmas, and then we came back and finished at the top of the year. But it was just such a pleasure to come back to this set, this crew, this cast after that bit of a break. And exactly to your point that you get to kind of spread your wings and fly in a different way than you do in a lot of guest star situations. So I was over the moon. Not to mention the fact that I was a huge quantum leap watcher back in the day with Scott.
Even when that audition came up, I was like, I'm so in, I got goosebumps immediately. So it was so great when I got the call.
[00:02:11] Speaker A: Well, you're going to make this easy because you just answered my first question without me having to ask. So can you talk a little bit about that audition process?
Did you get sides that were from the actual script, or were they sort of dummy sides? Did you get to read with Ray, or were you reading with other folks?
[00:02:29] Speaker B: Yeah, it was just a self tape, and I did get it was pretty much what you saw. It changed a little bit, but it was pretty much what we shot. So I got a real script, but just obviously just clips of the scene as opposed to the full scenes, but enough so that I understood where she was coming from and what her dilemma was and where she had to go and where Ben was going to take her. So it was just a fun one, and I literally just put it on tape. But again, I had the goosebumps, and I connected with her very quickly. And ironically, way back in the day, during college, I had an internship where I dabbled in news, like in public access, and I thought for a while that I was going to get into news. And I remember kind of the first time I had to cover a funeral and had to put a microphone in the faces of people grieving. I was like, oh, I don't know if news is necessarily my thing, like hard news. And then I thought, well, maybe entertainment news. I always had that affinity and the feeling of being out on the street, kind of producing your pieces yourself, all of those things. And so I thought maybe entertainment news. But it's ironic. In my acting career, this is the first time I've had an opportunity to play a news reporter. So I was like, yeah, it's fun. I told my parents, I was like, that college money paid.
[00:03:53] Speaker A: You know, you say you connected with the character of Connie, and that was something that Deborah had mentioned to me because I had the chance to speak to Deborah Pratt as well. And what was it about Connie that made it easy for you to connect to the role?
[00:04:08] Speaker B: Well, I think we all understand that space of, like, especially if you're an adult and you've been adulting for a while, we understand the space of, you go after your dreams, and you may have a few potholes along the way, but sometimes you have a full on crash, and you're like, okay. And you get up and you walk away from it, and there's a moment of disorientation where you're really trying to figure out which way is up again. And I felt like that's where she was. She understood. She kind of hit this wall. She had to reframe, move to a new city, kind of recreate herself, and almost be resigned in the space of like, well, this is it. This is all I have left. This is all I get. And then really kind of helps her to reconnect to herself. And I think that's what's so great about the show that that's every week, every week. It's like, hey, we get it. Something's gone wrong in your life, and he's going to help you get back. And we all wish we had a Ben and an Addison step in and go do this.
I think that's the hopeful nature of the show, that, yes, you are going to fall. Yes, things have gone wrong, or things haven't gone the way you expected, but there's a way to turn it around. There's a way to stand back up. And so that's what I connected with her, because as an actor, believe it or not, Sam, there's times where you feel like is all lost. Should I go try something? And so I understood that, especially after the year that we had with SAG and AftrA last year. So I understand that feeling of, like, well, maybe this is all I get to do. I don't get to know, express myself in the way that I hoped. But I'll take this. And I think that's where Connie is. She's in a space of, like, I guess I'll take this. This is good enough. And gets to tap back in and go, wait a minute. No, I deserve more.
[00:06:03] Speaker A: Well, I think it's fascinating, and you touched on something that I think a lot of people can connect with, because even when you look at the pandemic and the way that it halted a lot of people's careers, and I'm a regional theater actor based out of Chicago, and so the pandemic halted everything.
And even before the pandemic, things had been kind of grinding to a halt for me, and I'd been struggling a bit with where I should go, what my next move was going to be. And I was working at a nonprofit arts company and just kind of trying to figure out, like, okay, well, maybe I'll do this now.
And I think that once things started to kind of open back up again, it's strange the way that opportunities can sometimes present themselves, and you can kind of feel that motivation to go back to something and you get that push.
In this case, obviously, you get the push from somebody like Ben in the context of the episode. But I do think that ultimately, one of the things that I love about the episode, too, is that Ben really does it more through empathy than by just kind of ordering Connie around. Right. Like saying, like, if you do this, this will happen. There's much more empathy there. The chemistry that you had with Ray through the course of the episode, I thought was just fantastic.
Can you talk a little bit about working with him and what it's like to come into a situation where there's an established cast and crew, and they've got their rhythm, and it's a little bit different for Ray. I was talking with one of the producers about this because he's working with new people every week, whereas the hq folks are working with the same people. They kind of get that experience a little bit more, but just coming in as the outsider, no pun intended. What was it like? And what was it like working with.
[00:07:53] Speaker B: You know, all the way up from my fitting to my makeup, like, stopping into the makeup trailer to say hi. Everyone was like, have you met Ray yet? Like, every single person along, really. It was to the point that I was, well, where is Ray? Because seriously, honestly, that day I came in for my fitting, I felt like I encountered four people that were like, have you met Ray yet? He's amazing. You're going to love him. You're going to love him. That was just the feeling. And you don't always get that. I mean, quite honestly, for me, I don't know if I've ever had that where someone was like, have you met the Core cast? Generally, I come onto sets, and I think there is a bit of a camaraderie among actors where we know, right, especially if you are a guest star, or rather if you are a series regular and you see a guest star, we all know that space for the most part, so they're usually very welcoming, but I've never encountered that, where everyone was so on this guy's. They were on his. And so when I met him, he was so exactly what I thought from what they told me. And he was just so welcoming and so cool. Like, seriously, so cool. From moment one with both myself and Caitlin was we just immediately, it was like, boom, day one. And when I told him later on that day, I was like, I have to tell you, seriously, probably about four people told me, have you met Ray? He's amazing. And he was like, dude, you're kind of the real deal. And throughout the process, so generous, so open, and so welcoming, especially when you are coming into somebody else's house, you want to make sure you take your shoes off, and you abide by all the rules of the cast and crew. But they were like, yeah, come on, keep the shoes off. Whatever, it's fine. Come on, the water is warm. And so it was really such a lovely way to come back to work after that.
[00:09:48] Speaker A: You know, I think that one of the things that I loved so much about Connie and your work in the episode, and again, this speaks to the writing as well, but I think it speaks a lot to what you get to do is that there are so many levels to this role and so many levels that you get to play.
Can you talk a little bit about the arc of the character and what you saw as sort of how you were going to color this in and bring what you work with your tools to the table to tell that story?
[00:10:25] Speaker B: Yeah.
Well, first of all, shout out to Margarita Matthews and Raimi park, who wrote this episode. And of course, deborah Pratt is.
I was blown away. I was blown away. I was just like, wait, what? She's directing the episode. So, I mean, they're amazing.
I unfortunately didn't get a chance to work with Raimi one on one. She was away on something else. But Margarita and Deborah were there the whole way, and so supportive, and really, what they wrote on the page just jumped out to me, and I just wanted to be the vessel to just step in and allow for all of the things that were already on the page. Because her sense of comedy was there, her sense of teasing was there, her sense of mama Bear was there, her sense of being in complete distress and falling apart. It was all there. And it's so rare when you get that as a guest star. Right? Normally, you kind of come in and you're like, it was Fred, and you're out.
You kind of say what it is and it's like, bye. And it was so nice that really, we got to see her from the very first moment where she's boss lady. Let's go to.
This is a big moment for me. I don't want to mess this up. Like, all of her vulnerabilities, all of the spaces of who she is as a person and being able to see the person behind it. I think we can all appreciate that when we find a space of. Wow, you feel that, too in anyone, especially someone on tv, your local news person. And you kind of always see them in their perfect state. To see her kind of fall apart or just be a little nervous or be anxious about what job she had ahead of her as she's trying to build herself back up, I thought was just so beautifully done in the writing. And then, of course, Deborah was just amazing in just guiding me. She would just be like. It was like a hand on my back going, go, you got it. Go. Just fly, fly. And so, honestly, it was all those ladies, they had it on the page, and I just got out of the.
[00:12:41] Speaker A: You know, I yet to actually do my solo review of the episode, which I'll do later, but I think that the script and it's funny because Margarita has written some episodes that are very popular with the fans. One of the posters behind me ou of little faith, for instance, is one that she wrote in the first season that people really just loved.
And in spite of that, I feel like this is her strongest work in so many.
You know, what a gift, right? To be able to have a script like that to work from.
And then Deborah, I mean, Deborah's phenomenal. I mentioned this to you earlier, but I got to speak to her earlier today, and she's in Uganda right now, and she still set aside time to talk to me while she's having an adventure.
And I've spoken to her a number of times over the past year or so, which is a delight for me because I've been doing this podcast now for like six and a half years and covered the classic series. But it's only within the past year and a half or so where I've been able to start to talk to some of the people involved with the show. So Deborah was huge for me in so many like, oh, my gosh, it's Deborah.
[00:13:45] Speaker B: Deborah.
[00:13:46] Speaker A: Yeah.
Can you talk a little bit about working with her and if there's anything specific that stands out, a moment in particular that stands out, that she really gave you something that just felt like it pushed you in that right direction.
[00:13:59] Speaker B: Oh, absolutely. Overall, I just have to say she was pretty hands off.
She would come in and go, yeah, I love that moment where you did that. And then she'd walk away. She would come. That was amazing. Okay, keep that going. She was pretty much hands off so long as I wasn't doing anything. That was like, oh, that's a little to the left or to the right. She kind of just let me be. But without giving anything away, there is a moment where I'm really at the height of my distress and she just kept saying, go. She just kind of pushed me to go. She's like, blow the doors off. Just go for it. Don't feel like you have to hold anything back. It's not like certain shows, they all say they're like a little much.
This is network television. Calm down. And she was just like, go for it. She was like, go for it. She was just my coach, just saying, you got it. Just trust yourself and go.
It was wonderful. I remember the first take, I surprised myself and I was like, and that's such a gift. You know, as an actor, it's such a gift when you're like, what? Like, you literally got out of the way and the character is able to kind of fly free with all the parameters that you've worked on and you put into place, and it just happens. And so she was so great for that. Just such amazing. Not to mention her connective tissue to the original series and now this one. And so it was just a gift in itself. Just to be around her, let alone to have her kind of just guiding me, was incredible.
[00:15:37] Speaker A: Yeah, I love that. I love that so much. I love what you said about getting out of the way. I had an acting teacher, and that was one of the things that he said to me towards the very end of my time with him, and he was just like, just get the hell out of the way and let it happen. Like, that's the best. It's just when that happens.
You mentioned Caitlin earlier, and one of the challenges, I think, for the show, and it's got to be, sometimes you're almost left wanting because there's this other actor in the room, especially, like, training. It's like you want to connect with everybody. You want to listen, you want to react, but you can't know that she's there at all. What's it like doing that?
What was it like having Caitlin in the room and what she brings to the room during those scenes?
[00:16:22] Speaker B: Well, first of all, I just want to talk about the energy she brings onto set. She's got such a playful, incredible energy, just, like, girlfriend energy. Immediately. Like, absolutely immediately. It was like, come on, girl. And I was like, oh, okay.
So she's amazing with that. And I was so proud of myself because I looked at her once in this one, I was like, uh oh. I just remember having that, like, oh, you're not.
She's great. But I had that challenge, and the beginning of each day, I was like, okay, she's not really here, so just connect with Ben like, you're just with know. And it is. There are certain interesting takes where sometimes she was right next to me, and you kind of have to look through her so that we kind of keep the realism of the apparition, if you will.
And it's hard because sometimes that one. Sometimes she's like, when she's off camera, she's like, right. And I'm like, girl, she was great. She was great. Yeah, but one time she got me one time where I was like, right, girl? Oh, no, you're not here.
[00:17:34] Speaker A: Okay, that's fantastic.
One of the things that's nice about being able to talk to you right now is because I've seen the episode, and this will actually air after the episode is aired so we can talk a little bit about some spoilery type stuff.
And one of the things that I wanted to talk about is that we get this moment where Connie starts to sort of reclaim her power a bit, and really is like, I'm going to get back into this. And then, of course, it gets derailed when we find out that the car explosion, that we think that Robbie was in the car and died.
That scene just stands out to me. And it's lovely because within the context of the episode, we revisit know almost immediately, because we see the tape playing as well. Just as an actor, can you talk a little bit about kind of that moment and also the way that it plays out where we do see it from kind of multiple perspectives, if you will, because we get to see the videotape playing later on after the scene has actually taken place.
[00:18:37] Speaker B: Yeah, it was just a beautiful way to the way the episode kind of starts up where you see this woman who's like, okay, I got to get back on the horse. She's attempting to get back on the horse. And, as you say, she finds herself being reinvigorated with this idea of like, yes, I'm going to get this story. I'm going to do it. I'm going to go full force. And then, bam, she hits another wall, and she finds herself once again back on her heels, not really sure, a little disoriented, and now resigned to resign. Like, really, she is out of it. She's like, I'm done. I keep hurting people, and I'm not doing this anymore. And so it was specifically that night of shooting the scene with Robbie's explosion behind us, just like, the adrenaline of like, yes, we're going to do this. We're going to grab. We're going to make it happen. And just to have that crest fallen space. And that night when we shot that scene back at the office, that's the scene I'm talking about, where Deborah just really said, go, girl, just go. And it crushed me, crushed my very spirit. But it was such a beautiful expression of when you feel like there's no other way, like, you have to go away, you have to let go of the dream because you're hurting people, or you're hurting yourself, or this is not the right space to be in anymore. And to allow myself to fully fall into the very bottom depths of despair, it was so freeing in a really interesting way. I don't know if I have fully released some of the angst and the fear around, just as us as actors with our strike. And so it was just a nice way to completely bottom out. And just the journey on set of connecting those pieces from that night where we had the fire department and we had all of our background actors. And that moment and the excitement of kind of jumping out of the van and getting to it, and I'm back in the saddle, and then, boom, falling off that horse again. It was such a ride, and it was really fun. Sad, but fun, right?
[00:21:01] Speaker A: Yeah. Well, in that scene afterwards that you're mentioning, there was this strange catharsis. Because one of the things you say that you were too overzealous and somebody took their own life because of what you did.
I think one of the things that was so moving for me, it wasn't just the fact that you were blaming yourself for the death of someone else, but you were blaming the very things that made you good at what you do. So all of these positive things again, your power, you're blaming that part of yourself for this horrible tragedy.
Obviously, it makes sense. Of course, why would she ever want to touch journalism again or be in front of a camera again, especially now that it's happened a second.
There was. It was a wonderful moment. And in spite of being incredibly sad and moving, there was something about it that I just really appreciated the way that it was put together. Of course, the flip side of that is that we then get you in the news van later on and Ben comes to you and it has that lovely moment of empathy.
Think, you know, he's telling you that it's not your fault and that obviously, that Robbie's still out there and that we can still do some good. Can you talk about the way that that scene, just as an actor, affected you, especially coming after. I mean, obviously, I know things are not shot in sequence, but coming after the fact that everything has kind of just gone to hell now and you're done.
What was that moment like for you? Because I felt like with Ray's performance specifically in that moment, there was just something so beautiful about the sensitivity with which he approached it and offering that empathy to Connie. So I'm curious, what effect that had on you and just that scene in the van, what that was like?
[00:22:46] Speaker B: Yeah, I mean, I think it was really credited to Ray because he did. He came in with such a soft touch, just such a gentle hand, and realizing what this person has been going through and wanting to tell her, it's okay. We're not done. You're not done until it's done. So let's get up and do it. And I really do give him the credit for specifically that scene because he had such. All you had to do is look into his eyes. There was just so much there. He had so much generosity, not only for me as an actor, but within the story. He wanted to see this woman succeed and realize that she was ready to chuck it all because apparently I'm broken.
I think we all understand that feeling. Like, well, clearly I'm just not good at this, so I'm just going to walk away. And he is that olive branch that says, no, it's just a thing. It's just a thing. Let's move on. And, yeah, I credit that to him. In that moment, all I had to do is just look at him. And I was like.
[00:23:53] Speaker A: Well, I love, too, that it's not pull yourself up by your bootstrap sort of moment. There's this acknowledgment of this pain and this awfulness, and I can't imagine how terrible that was for you. And I just love that it is a softer touch, that there is sensitivity and empathy involved in it, because to me, that recognizes the human being and not the situation. Whereas that pull yourself up by the bootstraps. It's all about like, well, you got to do it.
[00:24:22] Speaker B: And also, I will say, too, for Ray, he's also threading in Ben's journey. Right. And with what's happening with him. And so he fully understands, like, I get know he understands that feeling of loss and trying to make it work, and it just doesn't work. And so I think he layered in that so beautifully, both of those stories and where he was in that moment and trying to help Connie.
[00:24:46] Speaker A: Yeah.
This just popped into my head. How aware are you of the larger story that's being told just in the frame of this episode with the HQ scenes, for instance, do you just know kind of your stuff in the leap, or are you also kind of aware of what's happening with the rest of it?
[00:25:05] Speaker B: Yeah, I am aware. Luckily, we do get the entire, you know, obviously, our focus is our side of the story, but yes, totally able to see what's happening on the other side.
[00:25:17] Speaker A: Yeah.
Because the reason I ask is you brought up, like, Ray and Ben's story and kind of threading that through is, I think one of the things that the show has done so well, especially this season, is having that mirror between what's happening in the present day and what's happening on the leap. And so there's these kind of really interesting workplace dynamics and heavy stuff happening back at HQ. And then, of course, we've got the situation here. So it's interesting the way that. That sometimes it's a thematic thing as opposed to it being, oh, the team is just trying to help Ben figure out what he needs to do from an episode.
[00:25:59] Speaker B: Right?
[00:25:59] Speaker A: Yeah. Yeah.
Now, of course, after this, you guys have to go and see Robbie. And I just wanted to mention Charlie Vodin real quick because I felt like he gave a great performance as just. Just wonderful, you know? Again, this is the scene where I feel like we really start to see, know she's kind of tiptoed her way in a couple of previous scenes, but this time it's just sort of like, it's not relying on, oh, I know a guy at the precinct who can get me the phone number that the telephone booth was called into or whatever. It's really a moment of just power. Like, I'm doing this because I know that this is the right thing to do. Can you talk a little bit about that scene? Were there any rehearsals that you guys got to do? Was it just, like, get in front of the camera and go. And just what Charlie brought to it as well?
[00:26:46] Speaker B: First of all, Charlie was amazing. Like, amazing from moment one. Ironically, my very first scene was with him.
[00:26:53] Speaker A: Oh, nice.
[00:26:54] Speaker B: Yeah, both of our first days.
And he brought just such a younger sibling fighting for survival moment in the family within the story. Right. And really a different kind of fight, a different kind of sibling fight where he's playing the younger brother of this very powerful company and realizing that things have gone the wrong way and he doesn't want to betray his family, but at the same time, he can't betray himself. So he just did that so beautifully. He had, like, all this. It was all this angst, this bubbly angst. I could see him as a little boy. I kept seeing him as a little boy because he had such that energy. And so it was very easy that specifically, I think you're talking about when we find him at the motel and I kind of slowly coerced him. Maybe it's not the right word, but I encourage him. I encourage him to listen to himself and to his own sense of morality and to do the right thing, not just for the family, but really for the greater good, because he's aware. I mean, I think both of the brothers are aware. Going to hurt people, but. Oh, well, yeah.
And it was just so, again, another actor where you just look into his eyes and they're so connected. They're so there.
There's no need to act right. You just have to be in the moment with them. And he had that really beautiful quality of allowing. And it was cool to.
[00:28:30] Speaker A: Oh, that's excellent. Yeah, it definitely comes across. I mean, there's no doubt about it. And then of know, there's the interview scene with Chet as played by Matthew Polkamp. And the thing that I love about not only this scene, but also the earlier scenes where you're in front of the camera and you're doing the newscaster thing is that there are times where I feel like actors play newscasters and they're in front of a camera being a broadcast journalist, and it feels like an actor being a broadcast journalist. And that is not the case I bought in. And especially we get that moment when we're seeing the videotape, like after the cars exploded, for instance. It's just sort of like I felt like I was watching a video from 1981 of somebody's news broadcast.
The sit down interview felt the same way. And I just loved your approach to it. Obviously, you had mentioned earlier that you had that internship at school and stuff, but can you talk a little bit about your approach to bringing that honesty to this aspect of the role?
And if you felt like that there was like a duty to kind of to do that, to actually just be that thing, for sure.
[00:29:42] Speaker B: I do. I, too, am always a little annoyed when I see actors that are like, tonight on 11:00 News, and you're like, what world is this?
What's happening?
And I'm happy to say I think that we're seeing more of this, and I think it will shift the way people take to it. We're seeing more films using actual news people, whether they're anchors or they're reporters. They're actually using a lot of local. I know a lot of local LA talent is being used. A lot of local LA news. My 06:00 a.m. Team is now popping up in Marvel or whatever because they realize that when they bring someone in who, I don't know where the disconnect is. And yes, again, I did have a moment in the news world, but you can watch in any industry, right?
We're just the storytellers. We're all around the campfire trying to tell our part of the story, right? So I don't understand where that super I am on tv.
I don't know where that comes from. And so when you just play the honesty of the, like, people are going to die and you knew about it, and what are we doing? Do you want to speak to, do you want to answer this question. And again, Margarita and Rainey just kind of had it on the was, and it was very easy. And Chet, Matthew, it was very easy to be.
[00:31:23] Speaker A: Again. You know, I just feel like the guest cast for this episode, again, the script, like you say, the script is so strong, but everyone did such a wonderful job. And I loved what Matthew did with Chet because it wasn't just like mustache twirling was. You really kind of felt like that's a real person.
We know that person. We don't like that person, but we know that person.
[00:31:46] Speaker B: Yeah. Charismatically.
He had such charisma. Yet, you know that this dude does not care. He's like, my accountant will thank me.
[00:31:59] Speaker A: Exactly. Yeah. The money and the power. It's like, I'm good.
Really. The culmination, I feel like, of Connie's storyline comes towards the end of this. And I love the way that it happens because Ben and Addison are kind of having their wrap up of the story behind the wall. And then Ben asks, what happens to Connie? And, you know, why don't you see? For just. I love the fact that. And again, credit to the writers, obviously, it's left to Connie to make this decision that this doesn't come from Ben. Like, maybe indirectly by Ben's support throughout the course of the episode. She has the confidence to do this, but ultimately it's her. Could you talk about that moment, that decision to go back in for the final question, the decision to just really put the button on this interview and what that was like for you as an actor because it's so powerful.
[00:32:53] Speaker B: Oh, thank you. Yeah, it was so great because it's everything that she has been kind of pressing the brakes on in her life. Right. She keeps slowing down. She's just like. Because at one point, she was going 100. She was taking the curves, and she was managing her life, managing her career. Things were going great. Again, that accident happened. She gets disoriented. So now she's driving again, and now it's more. Now it's speed limit. Right. And then she hits again. And now she's not even getting on the highway. She's just going as slowly as possible just to make sure that she doesn't hurt anyone. And in this moment, she gets to decide, but I can. I have the ability to do it. And just because these two things happen doesn't necessarily mean that I'm a bad person or what I do is, like, what I do can, in fact, help to save so many. It's my duty. I think she feels the need to. There's that hesitation where she's going to let him go. Thank you so much. This is all the time we have left. Thank you so much. And then that gnawing feeling, and we all have it, whatever it is that you do, we all have that feeling of like, no, I can go further. I can do more.
I can do a few more hours. I can make this happen. And it's that moment where she's like, where the rubber truly meets the road. And she says, actually, I have one more question for you. She's ready to go in and stop this atrocity that she knows is going to happen or that she believes is going to happen. From Ben's intuition.
[00:34:31] Speaker A: Yeah, absolutely.
I don't want to keep you too long, but I do just have a couple more questions for you.
If you had to sum up your experience working on quantum leap and your feelings about coming off of this, and now, of course, everyone's going to see it, what would you want to say?
[00:34:55] Speaker B: I'm walking on sunshine is what it felt like. It really did. It was just such.
This is one of those. I've been an actor for a long time.
I've done a lot of guest stars. I've been a series regular on a couple of shows, and this was one of those gifts that really just filled my heart. It was like, right, this thing. This thing. This is the reason, right? It felt so good to have this full circle moment of being, like, a young woman, watching the original show and going, oh, man. Like, I would love. Like, really? When it was just, like, the whisperings of, like, you should do know for myself, right? My own little Connie going, you should maybe do that. And me going, I don't know.
And finding my speed. Finding my speed and realizing that I could. I'm able to take on more than I thought. So to watch the original show and then to be a part of this show and to be a part of this show at this time in my life, after what's been happening in our industry, it felt like a reawakening of, like, yeah, this is why you do it. This is totally why you do it. And going on set every day was such a joy. The last day, it was bittersweet. It was bittersweet because I just felt like. But.
[00:36:23] Speaker A: It'S so funny, because even as an outsider looking in, I've had that feeling a number of times where it's just like, no, I don't want them to go, I want to see Connie again.
There's an episode in the first season, somebody up there likes Ben. And John Chaffin plays this older brother of a boxer. And by the end of the episode, I remember when I got to talk to the writer, I was just like, he can come back, right? Like, there's some way that you could, and it doesn't happen all the time, frankly, but there are some times where you're just like, oh, please, please come back. I want to see Connie again.
[00:36:57] Speaker B: John Chaffin, by the way, who I love. We were in a class together years ago. I mean, I love that actor. Yeah, he's amazing and so beat. So, yeah, I get it. Yes.
Maybe we could find a way for John, right?
[00:37:12] Speaker A: I know Connie can interview his character again, like 1985 ish or something like that, and it'd be lovely.
[00:37:20] Speaker B: There's another episode in there thinking, sam, I like it.
[00:37:24] Speaker A: My final question for you, and I've been asking this more and more to folks just because I think we lost a member of the community, the quantum leap community and fandom. A very special, very important human. His name was Matt Dale, and he'd written a number of books about Quantum Leap and had been a co host of another Quantum Leap podcast, the Quantum Leap podcast, actually. And he was a good friend of mine, someone that I miss dearly. And I've just been thinking a lot about over the past couple of months about the things know inspire us and move us to do the things that we do, because I know that Matt. Matt was obviously inspired by this show to create so much work around it. And so the question that I'll pose to you is, what inspires.
[00:38:07] Speaker B: Know? My parents are from Jamaica, West Indies, and they are a huge part of my inspiration in a lot of what I do, because I know that they love their country, but they fought, like so many immigrants do, to come to this country to give their children the possibility to do whatever they wanted. And my very conservative, very religious parents, when I was just like. Because I started off as a dancer, and they were like, okay, yeah, sure, dance. And then when it came down to school, they were like, you could do whatever you want, but you're going to school. Education was very high up on the list for them. And then I was like, I want to act.
I had that moment with Ayo at the Emmys, her experience with her parents, where she's like, I'm sure my parents love the fact that I was like, I want to do sketch comedy.
I completely had a kindred spirit moment with her, but just in knowing that they worked so hard to allow me to do whatever I wanted to do. And how different my life would have been had I not been born here.
That is a huge inspiration to me, to really honor them by doing it as much as I possibly can and to allow myself to fully dive off the edge and just really go for it and not pull any punches, not hold anything back and really live your life, because these two people worked really hard to make sure that you could. And so I think that's the hugest part of my inspiration.
[00:39:43] Speaker A: That's lovely.
I'm never going to stop asking that question because I get so many lovely answers. But that is a lovely, lovely answer.
[00:39:52] Speaker B: Thank you. It's a great question. It's a great. What? Why are we here? What are we doing this?
[00:39:57] Speaker A: Exactly. Yeah. Yeah. Well, Nadine, this has been such a pleasure. I cannot thank you enough for coming on.
I could talk to you for hours, I'm sure, and whatever you're doing next, if we get the opportunity to do it again, I would be happy to.
But, yeah. Thank you so much. And thank you for your work. Thank you for your work. Because, seriously, I think Connie is just an incredibly realized, honest, true, wonderful human being. And it really was a moving performance, getting to see start to finish, I was just so invested. I'd heard good things even before I saw the episode. A couple of people had been like, oh, yeah, the guest star in this one, she's great. And literally, from the first moment you were on the screen, it was just such a pleasure. So thank you for your work.
[00:40:41] Speaker B: Thank you so much, Sam. I appreciate it.
[00:40:44] Speaker A: Absolutely. All right, fellow travelers, we're going to get out of here. Thank you so much for watching and listening. Take care of yourselves. Take care of one another. Stay safe out there. And remember, always, always leap responsibly close.
